-3- 



to son, Norhing c.^uld be farther fr.>m the truth, A fow ex.aj7iples will 

 illustrate this point. 



Let us consider first some '-'f the chc'jiges in fruit varieties. 

 In 1914, a firuit authority included the Hubbardston and the Blue Pearmain 

 apples among the varieties v;ell suited to plcjiting in Massachusetts, T-^day 

 these varieties are practically a thing of the past. In 1925, about 25% 

 of -lur commercial apple crop was of the Mcintosh variety ejid about 40^ 

 were Baldv/ins, By 1940, these percentages v;ere just about reversed, T^^day 

 at least 60^o of the commercial crop: is of the Mcintosh variety. The pen- 

 dulum has probably sv/ung far enough, and we now find growers thinking in 

 terms of other varieties instead of planting a still larger percentage of 

 Mcintosh, 



Of the recoirinended peach varieties 25 years ago, only two remain 

 today, Elberta and J, K. Hale, The Hovmrd 17 strawberry vmich was grown 

 almost exclusively for many years is gradually being replaced by the Cat- 

 skill, These two varieties are about equally prominent today, V/hen the 

 "Nev; Eng^land Seven" list of varieties was prepared in 1928, the Cortland 

 was not included. Today there is no question as to its place in comparison 

 with, for example, the Wealthy and Rhode Island Greenings both of which 

 were included in the 1928 list. 



In 1916, the above mentioned authority advised every commercial 

 apple grower to provide hiraself with a good barrel sprayer. But the barrel 

 sprayer has given away to the power sprayer v«hich in turn is being constant- 

 ly improved. We have seen a ^vide variety of spray nozzles including the 

 single disc nozzle, spray gun, triplex, quad, spray bro^om, etc. And today 

 many of the larger orchards are equipped with a so-called speed sprayer, 

 Furthemore, most large orchards find it necessary to use both a sprayer 

 and a duster. Things are changing rapidly in the field of pest control 

 equipment. 



Along with improved equipment, very radical changes are taking 

 place in insecticides and fungicides. The audh" publicized material, DDT, 

 is very effective against codling noth^ Oriental fruit moth, leaf hopper, 

 tarnished plant bug, etc. But it is not a panacea for all insect problems. 



In 1920, many gr'owors were viondering because of heavy scab in- 

 fections, if we would ever be able to grow Mcintosh apples successfully, 

 (Some have been wondering about the sane thing in 1946), Sulfur in its 

 many forms, including lime sulfur, dry-mix sulfur lime, wettable sulfur, 

 sulfur dust, etc, has been the main stay in preventing scab infections for 

 many years. Today, hov^evor, ferraate, Puratized, and other prjmising 

 materials are beginning to replace sulfur. Now for the first tine we have 

 in fermate a promising control for the rust diseaseas of apples as virell as 

 a means of avoiding so much russetting of Delicious and Baldwin, In Elgetol, 

 we have a material which may be applied on the ground in early spring to 

 reduce the dcjigor of heavy scab infection. Yes, rapid advancement is being 

 made in the control of fruit pests. 



