4 - 



and new varieties bred from the original varieties are presented 

 by most of the authors. It is unfortunate that such tables are 

 not prepared for Delicious and Golden Delicious, as well. 



The chapter on rootstocks by R.F. Carlson is a \/ery important 

 part of the book, since the performance of a scion variety is 

 strongly affected by the rootstock to which it is grafted. What is 

 more, one can hardly deny that clonal rootstocks are themselves var- 

 ieties in every way. The mechanisms by which rootstocks control 

 size, and cause flowering and fruiting effects in the scion variety 

 are discussed. The important clonal rootstocks are described, and 

 their strengths and weaknesses pointed out. 



"North American Apples" is concluded very appropriately and 

 effectively with a chapter entitled "Apple Orchards of Tomorrow", 

 by H.A. Rollins. He sees the commercial apple orchard of the future 

 as more deliberately planned for a specific harvesting technique; 

 as largely either on size-controlling rootstocks, or spur-types on 

 seedling rootstocks; more intensely trained trees; and more gener- 

 ally irrigated and protected from frost than they are now. 



'k'kic'k'k'k'k'k'k'k'k'k'k-k-k 



APPLE STORAGE HOLDINGS IN MASSACHUSETTS SINCE 1933 



William J. Lord 

 Department of Plant and Soil Sciences 



The data in Table 1 for apple storage holdings on November 

 of the years 1933 to 1970 are of interest since they reveal pro- 

 duction fluctuations and storage trends in Massachusetts. 



The first million bushel cold storage year on record was 1933 

 From 1933 to 1939, 2 light crops were stored, but according to 

 records of the late J.K. Shaw of the Pomology Department of the 

 University of Massachusetts, crop reduction was not due to frost. 

 Winter injury and cool weather during bloom reduced crop size in 

 1934, and in 1938 the blossoming period was prolonged and fruit 

 set on Mcintosh was poor in spite of several days of bee activity. 



During the next decade, storage holdings varied from a low of 

 250,000 in 1945, to a high of 2,048,000 in 1949. In 1945, the 

 bloom period was the earliest and most prolonged of any in the 

 past 70 or more years and fully 3 weeks ahead of normal. Records 

 show that flower buds on Mcintosh trees in Amherst were in the 

 Pink stage on April 12. Then came cool weather on April 15, and 

 according to J.K. Shaw, trees that had not blossomed were delayed 

 by cool days and did not bloom much earlier than normal. As a re- 

 sult of these unusual conditions, storage holdings of Mcintosh in 

 1945 were only 97,000 boxes in comparison to a million boxes the 

 previous year. 



