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■/^ple Purchase Program An announcement was received in the FliiA office 

 in .-^herst, February 6, to the effect that the USDA will purchase fresh 

 apples for the School Lunch Program and for v/elfare use. Purchase will 

 be made on the basis of an offer and acceptance from growers, associa- 

 tions of growers, grov/er's agents aiad licdnsed dealers. There will be 

 no set price. The purchase annouji cement , blai:iks on which to make the 

 offer, and information on grades and varieties may be obtained through 

 County ACP offices. 



Summary of Fruit Plant Patents The total number of Plant Patents issued in the 

 United Sta;tes up to Deceraber 31, 1947 is 773. Of this number, fruit plant patents 

 as follows are included: Peach, 47; Apple, 27j Strav/berry, 11; Plum, 10; Cherry, 9; 

 Nectarine, 8; Apricot, 8; Grape, 6; Pear, 6; Blackberry, 3; Raspberry, 3; 

 Avocado, 10; Orange, 7; Pecan, 3; and 1 each of Grapefruit, Lemon, Lime, Pomegranate 

 and Y/alnut. (Rose variety parents lead th'3 list, with a total of 320.) 



An Observation on Bumblebees A report from the Cranberry 

 Station in East Vf'areham contains this interesting comment: 

 "a very remarkable and possibly very instructive incident 

 relative to bee abundance v.as observed. The winter flowage 

 was removed from a bog of 2^ acres in East Carver on June 20, 

 Bumblebee v/orkers and males came to this bog in astonishing 

 numbers. It vfas estimated that a third of a million of 

 these bees were there m.uch of the tL.'ie. V/atching them at 

 v/ork as they rose from the cranberry vines and went back to 

 them, gave one the strange feeling that he was looking on 

 a bumblebee sea. Honeybees seem.ed to be entirely absent." 

 (If similar breeding grounds for bumblebees v/ere to 

 surround an orchard ajid if the trees bloomed as late as 

 cranberries, pollination v;ould be less of a problem). 



National Advertising The apple industry's first cooperative national ad 

 appears in the February 21st issue of a popular v;eekly magazine. It is a 

 full pagei four color affair, featuring leading varieties, including 

 Mcintosh, vifith combined health and general use appeal, 



IS ^ TB.IE FOR A CHANGE IK THE PRESENT APPLE GRADING LAY/ ? 



Last April the Massachusetts Agricultural Program Board recommended that the 

 MeF.G.A. appoint a committee - "To develop a program of education in grading, 

 packing, and handling apples," In accordance with this request. President Cheney 

 appointed the following committee: H, F, Bartlett, P, H. Couhig, J. B. Farrar, 

 0. C. Roberts, and IV, H, Thies, 



In studying the problem to v/hich it had been assigned this Committee discovered 

 a general disregard of the Grading Law and only a feeble attempt to enforce it. 

 Under these conditions the Committee concluded that any attempt to develop an 

 educational program to aid in the improvement of grading and handling practices 

 would be futile. Therefore, the Con-unittee proceeded to find out the attitude of 

 growers with respect to the apple grading lav/ by sending questionnaires to 112 

 producers representing all classes from those v/ith small orchards to those with 

 the largest orchards in the State, Sixty percent of these questionnaires were 

 returned which is considered exceedingly high for this type of survey. The questions 

 asked with the number and percent of replies to each question are shovi.n on the. 

 acGOmpanying chart. 



