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That the per capita annual consumption of apples decreased from 68 

 pounds in 1910-1914, to 43 pounds in 1935-1939? Citrus fruits offer the 

 strongest competition. Their consumption during this period increased from 

 19 pounds per person per year to 49 pounds. Bananas and other fresh fruits 

 (mainly peaches, grapes and pears) have not shovm any marked trends in this 

 regard. The per capita consumption of bananas has fluctuated betv;een 15 

 and 25 pounds. Of citrus fruits, oranges are still liked best and are used 

 in grea test volume, though grapefruit showed an eightfold increase in con- 

 sumption from 1.4 pounds per capita in 1910-1914, to 11 pounds in 1935-1959, 

 Even lemons seem to have gained in popularity. 



That the word "fruit" from a horticultural standpoint is defined as 

 "The edible pulpy mass covering the seeds of various plants and trees, as the 

 orange, apple, pear, berry, otc," and from a botanical standpoint, "The 

 matured seed and its contents, together vdth such accessory or external 

 parts of the inflorescence as seem to bo integral \vith them"? The seed 

 of a dandelion is therefore as worthy to be called a "fruit" as a luscious 

 peach. 



That some rain fell in Amhorst on 53 of the 92 days of May, June and 

 July? The excess rainfall for the first six months of 1945 amounts to more 

 than 10 inches. 



That a white f orm of the common blackcap is sometimes found growing 

 wild? A few days ago a fon.ier student dropped in at the State College with 

 a sample of these berries gathered on Mt. Toby. The fjruit is amber yellow 

 in color and is technically known as Rubus occidentalis, variety pallidus. 



That the genus Prunus, one of the sub-divisions of the Rose Family 

 which includes pluJis, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots and ali.ionds, 

 is divided into no less than 82 distinct species of plants? Ilany of these 

 species are again divided into large nuiabers of viirietiea. 



That a fairly definite relationship exists in most orchards between 

 the percentage of apples in different grades and the fact of closely or 

 vddely spaced trees? The following table taken from Bulletin Ko. 443 of the 

 r/asliington Agricultural Exporinent Station brings out this relationship. 



„ „ , , % "Extra Fancy" "^ "Fancy" % "C Grade" 

 Zone of tree t^ Close Wide Close vade Close Wide 



Ground to 5 feet above 31 4 48 96 16 



5 to 10 feet 7 35 39 55 54 8 



10 foet above the ground 



"to top 65 79 24 18 10 2 



That the forerunners of our present large strawberries were first in- 

 troduced to Europe in 1712 from Chile? In August of that year five plants 

 arrived in France which, together v;ith later importations, laid the founda- 

 tion for strawberry grov/ing in Europe. Later those plants were crossed with 

 pollen from Europfjan and North American species and from the seed secured, a 

 new race of largo fruited strawberries originated, better than anything pre- 

 viously knov\m. 



That apple varieties vary considerably in tlioir content of Vitamin C? 

 A variety under study in New York State is found to contain about 10 times 



