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a build up in the mouse population in the heavy grass beneath the trees. To 

 make matters still vrarse, the strips between the trees have been so persist- 

 ently cultivated that serious erosion has occurred and only a scanty growth 

 of grass is in evidence. We point out these three items, namely, applying 

 poultry manure at tnevfime, failing to control mice, and long continued strip 

 cultivation, as three reasons for an extremely poor block of trees. Fortu- 

 nately, the rest of this orchard is under a much better system of management. 



Soils, Good and Bad . If it were possible to place side by side two 

 orchards visited during the past few days, we vrould have an object lesson 

 worth travelling many miles to see. In the first orchard, the soil is very 

 sandy and the trees are seriously crowded. The foliage has a sickly appear- 

 ance due to lack of nitrogen and v;ater, and the apples are failing to size 

 up as they should. The grass turned brown during the recent dry spell. In 

 the second orchard, conditions are the exact opposite. A fertile, retentive 

 soil has shovm no sign of drought in either the tree or the cover crop. A 

 rank grovfth of grass is in evidence and the leaves on the trees are unusually 

 large and green. Yellow Transparant trees bearing a heavy crop show many 

 apples 2 3/4 inches in diameter. The soil and the manager are two extremely 

 important factors in fruit grov;ing. 



Magnesium Deficiency in a Middlesex County Orchard , A few trees 

 about 25 years of age in this orchard showed mild symptoms of magnesium de- 

 ficiency in 1943. These same trees are beginning to show symptoms again 

 and the evidence is a little more widespread than it was last year. Evi- 

 dently this particular orchard is on the border line as regards magnesium 

 deficiency. An application of epsom salts will be highly desirable. In 

 another block on this farm where symptoms'isere more pronounced, an applica- 

 tion of epsom salts has corrected the difficulty. Other striking examples 

 of the effectiveness of this material in providing needed magnesium in apple 

 orchards are to be found elsewhere in the state. 



Rainy Day Jobs . Nailing apple boxes is one of the favorite rainy 

 day jobs on a fruit farm, -fhis summer we have had so few rainy days that 

 this important task has in many cases been left undone. As we approach the 

 harvest season, we may have more rainy days, and we certainly have more reason 

 to survey the box situation. Spare time should be used in such jobs as nail- 

 ing box shocks, repairing boxes, and if both of these tasks are completed, 

 we night use the next rainy day in looking around for more apple boxes to 

 take care of the extra bushels on those trees vxhich we thought were entirely 

 frozen out, 



Hold-Over Maggot Flies , In one of the YJ'altham cages v;hich housed 

 maggots of the 1942 season only, \i. D, V/hitcomb has observed five flies 

 this siunmer. In other words, five flies failed to come out in the summer 

 of 1943 and have emerged after spending two winters in the ground. This 

 behavior has been reported before, although it is interesting to have actual 

 evidence of hold-over flies in Massachusetts. 



Meeting of lfe.ssachusetts Fruit Growers - 

 Rice Orchard, Ilarlboro, 10:00 A, 11,, August 19. 



