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COUKTY AGENT'S CCItflSR 



(Some observations in w'orcester County by Homer kills) 



The Family Touch in Scab Control . Cnce a year when the spray season arrives, 

 fruit grovrers are concerned with scab control in their orchards. Scab infection 

 is closely related to the prevailing vreather conditions. The man on the fruit 

 farm must not only be a good orchardist but he also must be a weather man in his 

 ovm right, A Leominster fruit grov/er, better known as "Fitzie" among fruit men, 

 watches vreather developments in his orchard very carefully. As a matter of fact, 

 he has his entire family, Mrs, Fitzgerald and his two boys, weather conscious. 

 They all v^atch the weather, jot dovm when rainy periods start, check the 

 thermometer, keep accurate records; and upon these observations and records 

 Fitzie runs his scab control program. 



S omethin g New Along the Equipmen t Line . A considerable amount of war surplus 

 equipment has found its^way onto Newlngland farms. Among the more popular is the 

 huinble jeep. Perhaps few of us ever thought that the heavy and cumbersome army 

 half-track would find a place on the farm, Yot Paul Vifashbum who operates 



one of our larger fruit farms here in Vforcester County obtained an army half- 

 track and has mounted his speed sprayer on the back of it. This half-track was 

 far cheaper than euiy tractor he could have bought. Furthermore it is especially 

 ade.pt for getting in and out of wet places in the early spring. Perhaps this 

 piece of equipment has a future on our fruit farms, 



3.C.3. On the Fruit Farm. The Soil Conservation Districts have been doing 

 a considerable amount of work on V'/orcester County fruit farms. Just recently 

 they completed a drainage ditch out at the farm of Commissioner John Chandler 

 in Sterling, This drainage ditch will help to take off excess water from an 

 orchard block about 25 acres in size. Removing this excess water will give the 

 trees a hotter chance to develop and will also enable the Chandlers to get in 

 that orchard early in the spring without danger of bogging down. 



Many fruit grovrers here in ITorcester County are clearing land in preparation 

 for setting nevT fruit blocks, Jim Hyland over in Fiskdale has just had a 15-acre 

 plot cleared by a district contractor, and Fred Heidtmann is using them down in 

 Millbury to clear up an 8-acre woodlot where he plans to set out a few trees 

 this year. This work had previously been provided for in their complete 

 Conservation plan. Fruit growers realize the importance of setting out new 

 fruit blocks so that they will have young trees coming along to take the place of 

 old ones. This is certainly a healthy sign indicative of a progressive frviit 

 industry. This cooperative activity between orchardists and Conservation Dis- 

 tricts, leading to the drainage of wet land, waterhole construction, stone v;all 

 removal and land clearing, is a concrete contribution to the productivity and 

 efficiency of orchard promotion, 



Your Ovm Fire Department . Mr, Howard Gilmore's orchard is quite a distance 

 from the local fire department, Vfe know that in a short length of time a fire 

 can do quite a bit of damage, especially if there is a high wind blov/ing, 

 Mr, Gilmore realizes that in his orchard sprayer he has an excellent piece of firt 



