-9- 



Strawberry Leaves and tg'ext Season 's Crop. There is said to be a fairly close 

 correlation betv.-esn 'the" nimber of vij^orous leaves on a strawberry plant in 

 September and the ntmber of berries the plant produces the follov/ing Jime* 

 This explains the disappointing yields of late formed runner plants and the 

 bumper yields of veil spaced plants v/hich form their root systems in late 

 July or early August, 



lYintrsr Fruit .'Schoo l. No plans have been made for a 1948 

 Fruit S'diool thus far, V.^iether or not a School is held 

 ViTill depend in part on the prospective enrollment. Any 

 reader of Fruit Hotes interested in attending" a School 

 of from 3 to 5 days diiration some time betv/een January'' 

 and April is invited to drop a card to "/. E. Thies, Depart- 

 ment of Pomology, University of liassachusetts. Please 

 indicate (l) your preforence as regards subjects, (2) 

 number of students you represent, (3) month preferred, 

 and (4) any other suggestions. 



P erils in Pear Pick ing , In a recent is.^ue of a Boston paper there appeared 

 tv70 items ~c*oncGniing elderly men vrho had suffered injuries in falling from 

 ladders v/hile picking pears. Doubtless similar stories about yo\mg or middle- 

 aged apple pickers might be told. The harvest season invariably bring its 

 list of casualties resulting from this once-a-year venture into the tops of 

 tall troes, Prunors seldom shoir such a venturesor/3 spirit. The lesson to 

 be draTm from the harvest season casualty list is briefly this: '."whenever 

 a tree requires a ladder more than 20 feet in length, the oMier should sharpen 

 his sav/ and do one or more of the follov;ing: (l) cut out some of the trees 

 entirely to prevent the others from reaching slcyimrd, (2) if the trees are 

 40 years old and older m>ake a start on removing the whole block, and (3) 

 v;here spacing is satisfactory but tops are beyond reach, "top" the trees to 

 a height of 15 to 17 feet, Winter injured 3aldv;in trees present a special 

 hazard and should receive priori'cy as regards the crosscut saw. 



Keeping "Posted" , In the Middle Vfest a thorny tree knovm 

 as Osage Orange (Uaclura pomifera) was very extensively 

 planted years ago as a hedge to mark the boundaries of 

 fields. As these tre^s were removed, tliey -./ere cut up 

 for fenoeposts ajid are proving extremely durable. They 

 are said to outlost the average farmer. One of the early 

 nurseries in lov/a is reported to have sold nothing but 

 Osage Orange trees. 



