-7- 



"Balancing Production and Color," offered this explanation of the coloring 

 of apples during cool weather: The temperature preceeding and during harvest 

 has a pronounced effect on color development. Regardless of the size of the 

 crop, relatively cool temperatures increase color. The effect of temperature 

 may be explained by the fact that during cool nights the loss of sugar by 

 respiration, one of the life processes within the plant, is loss than at 

 higher temperatures. Hence the sugar reserve from which the pigment (antho- 

 cyanin) is formed, is increased at the lavier temperature. Cool temperatures 

 result in about the same conditions as those cultural practices vdiich promote 

 early maturity, namely, a hardening of the tissues, accumulation of sugars 

 and high color. (3) Mulc h ing . J. H. Gourley in discussing the subject, "Some 

 Recent Discoveries witli Orchard Soils," stated that the conservation of mois- 

 ture is generally considered to bs the chief benefit of a mulch. Vifithout 

 minimizing this effect he pointed out the accumulation of plant nutrients 

 under a mulch. Available potassium is quite high from 24 to 32 inches beneath 

 the heavy mulch in two of the Ohio Station orchards. An adjacent cultivated 

 area and an unfertilized field plot are notably low in available potassium. 

 In addition to potassium, otlier elements are also accumulating beneath the 

 mulch. Calcium is higher in the surface three inches; phosphorus is about 

 8 times as high in the surface soil beneath a mulch as in the cultivated 

 area, and boron is definitely high<3r in the surface soil but not so below 

 a depth of 3 inches. Other elements and even grovrth promoting substances 

 may be present in larger amounts to explain in part the superior behavior 

 of trees which are grown under the mulch system. 



NOTES ON THE HARVEST LA BOR SITUATION 



meeting 

 At a recent/of Middlesex County fruit growers all angles of the 



labor situation wer~carefully considered. Thirteen of the larger growers 

 reported a total of 177 workers needed during the harvest season. The num- 

 bers ranged from to 28. Quoting from the report of this meeting by County 

 Agent Agnew, "Most growers eported paying by the day. Last year boys were 

 usually paid by piece (mostly ten cents) and per day, ^4.00 to |5.00. For 

 good men 60/ an hour should be paid. There are 500 to 700 state highvmy 

 employees in the state who may be released for picking, provided they are 

 paid at the same rate - $6 per day. The local highway men are not so numer- 

 ous in some sections. In local towns the selectmen should be contacted by 

 the growers themselves. Conscientious objectors in army will not be avail- 

 able for many roasons. F.S.A. nigrsttory labor camps will not be available. 

 No funds for moving thorn and they never go above southern Connecticut or 

 New Jersey; our season is tno short for them. The general feeling is that 

 the boys in the army camps have a job to do, that of winning the war, and 

 the fruit groivers should not ask for tlieir release. 



"The greatest source of labor was thought to be part-time workers 

 from mills, quarries, etc. The Emplojauent Service men are to contact some 

 mills around Lowell and Fitchburg to find their working hours and the possi- 

 bility of their help during harvest season. The Employment Service is also 

 listing all available fruit pickers at their offices. Labor will be scarce 

 and sometimes hard to got at the right time. However, many people vdll work 

 in orchards if they are paid a decent v/age. The rates of 7,8, or 9 cents 

 per bushel should be forgotten. A price of 10 to 12 cents will bring pickers. 

 If we stop to consider, two cents a bushel more will give us a much better 



