ANNUAL REPORT, 1934 65 



improve the size of this tomato. Samples of seed are available at the Field Station. 

 The seed is being merchandized by the local market gardeners association. 



Some progress is being made in improving the color of the Wyman Crosby beet. 

 In trials at the Field Station it compared very favorably with commercial strains 

 as regards uniformity, shape, size, and top growth. Work will be continued for 

 improvement in color before the seed is offered for trial. 



Cucumber seed of the Belleville variety has been increased from seed produced 

 by one of our leading cucumber growers. Samples are available. 



Pascal Celery Storage. (Robert E. Young, Waltham.) Preliminary work was 

 conducted last year to determine the effect of temperature on the keeping of 

 Pascal or Boston Market celery. This experiment was not fully under way until 

 late in the season due to the fact that the storage plant was not completed until 

 late in December. As was expected, the celery held at low temperature kept 

 longer than celery maintained at a temperature of 40° to 45°F. Celery was taken 

 from storage in marketable condition two weeks after most of the local produce 

 had disappeared from the Boston Market. 



DEPARTMENT OF POMOLOGY 

 F. C. Sears in Charge 



The outstanding characteristic of the past year was the unusually severe winter 

 and the resulting damage to orchards and fruit crops. There were two periods 

 of severe cold, one the last week in December and the other in the first half of 

 February. Full records of the winter temperatures are shown in the monthly 

 meteorological bulletins of this station. 



The peach crop was a complete failure and many trees over ten years old were 

 killed or very badly injured; trees under five years old suffered somewhat but not 

 severely. Pear trees showed severe browning of the pith and xylem especially 

 in the spurs, and some trees were killed or badly injured. Considering this severe 

 browning, pear trees generally recovered better than was expected and the total 

 permanent injury is believed to be small. The sweet cherry orchard planted in 

 1927 showed injury to some varieties such as Napoleon and Lambert, while 

 Windsor, Seneca, Schmidt, Stark Gold, and Gov. Wood suffered little injury 

 and bore fair to good crops. Sour cherries showed little injury. The injury to 

 cherry trees was confined to crotches, trunk, larger limbs, and fruit buds. 



Because of the size of the industry apple orchards suffered the greatest damage. 

 Many trees of the more tender varieties were killed or badly injured. Injury was 

 worst in Franklin and Plymouth and least in Hampden counties. Four different 

 types of injury could be distinguished: (1) killing of the pitch and xylem, weaken- 

 ing or killing certain branches or the whole tree, (2) loosening and splitting of the 

 bark on the trunk, (3) injury to the spurs and weakening or death of the flowers, 

 (4) killing of patches of bark generally on the larger branches but without loosen- 

 ing from the wood. 



The first type was common on the Baldwin and caused the greatest damage. 

 It was most severe on older trees weakened from any cause, frequently the tem- 

 porary weakness from a heavy crop in 1933. Leaf area was severely reduced, 

 both in size and number of leaves. Usually low branches suffered more than 

 those in the upper part of the tree but this was not always the case. Some trees 

 or branches thus injured recovered more or less during the summer, but others 

 died. 



