-8- 



Tale of Two Plum Trees . In the writer's yard are two plum trees, a Bradshaw 

 and an Imperial Epineuse, about 1^ years old. They bloomed heavily last spring and, 

 thanks to cross pollination, set an unusually he^i^^rop. Two thorough sprays 

 containing methoxychlor were made in late Ilay ard/June. Nothing has been applied 

 since. At the height of the curculio season, it appeared that control was almost 

 perfect. Some late appearing beetles, however, were able to feed and lay egcs, and 

 at the present time a considerable number of infested plums, almost full grovm, 

 are changing color and dropping from the trees. Neai'ly a bushel was gathered up 

 recently and there is still a heavy crop of undamaged plums left. The two points 

 to be noted are (l) that the curculio season this year was a long drawn out affair, 

 requiring applications over a period of several weeks, and (2) the very heavy set on 

 both trees illustrates the importance of cross pollination. There are no other plum 

 trees vxithin several hundred yards. 



USDA Year Book in Lincoln's Day . We have just browsed through with much intere,- 

 a copy of the USDA Yearbook for iBbl, belonging to County Agricultural Agent Charles 

 Turner. At that time the annual publication was known as the Report of the 

 Commissioner of Agriculture, Among the interesting items are a section on 

 "Popular Varieties of Hardy Fruits." Among the apples discussed and illustrated are 

 Red Canada and Westfield Seek-no-Further. Other fruits include the Orange quince, 

 Early Richncrri cherry, Imperial Gage plum and Cravtford's Early peach. Roger's Hybrid 

 grapes are also discussed. A section on gathering, ripening and keeping fruit 

 contains advice by an authority of that day, Dr. Y/arder. 



Plums and Prunes . To some people a;."prune" suggests a black, wrinkled object, 

 edible and acceptable only when fresh fruits are not available. But in its 

 original form it is also a prune. In fact, a large proportion of the plums grown 

 today are so-called prune plums. Yes, all prunes are plums, but not all plums are 

 prunes. In its simplest terms, a prune is a type of plum of such a chemical and 

 physical make-up that it may be dried without decay. Sugar content is involved. 

 Ihe difference between a prune plum and other kinds of plums is v/ell illustrated by- 

 such varieties as Lombard which decays very rapidly, and German Prune which is easily 

 dried . 



The Impossible Takes a Little Longer . The age of niracles is still at hand, if 

 Ijy the term "miracle" we mean the accomplishment of something beyond our understand- . 

 ing. A generation ago such things as concentrate sprays, a : one-man spray outfit, | 

 holding of apples on the tree at harvest time and chemical thinning would have seemec 

 miraculous. In the Sikorsky helicopter plant there appears a sign bearing this 

 statement, - "According to recognized aerotechnical tests, tlie bumble bee cannot 

 fly because of the shape and vreight of his body in relation to the total wing area. 

 The bumble bee doesn't know this, so he goes ahead and flies anyvfay," 



Marketing Pre-Packaged Apples . Pre-packaged apples outsold bulk offerings of 

 apples v;henever the former got comparable display space, according to a study in 

 Ohio. Cost of pre-packaging ran from 30 to 75 cents per bushel, the largest single 

 cost item being the bag. Consumers generally liked the type of package in which 

 all apples covild be seen and considered the k- and 5-pound packages not too large. 



Report of Mass. Apple Purchase Program . The total number of bushels of apples 

 bought through the Pi,'IA Program in Massachusetts between October 5, 1951 and February 

 23, 1952 was 118,171 (Mcintosh, 99,119; Cortland, l8,952j Delicious, 100). Ihe l63 

 cars were distributed as follows: Hassachusetts, 77; Alabama, 21; North Carolina, It 

 Tennessee, lUj South Carolina, 13; Georgia, 10; 111* and Rhode Island, 3 each; 

 Minnesota and Vlashington, D, C, 2 each. The total expenditure was ^213,196.80. 



