8 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 339 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING 

 C. I. Gunness in Charge 



Low-lift Pumps for Cranberry Bogs. (C. I. Gunness.) Tests have been 

 conducted on a low-lift pump built by a Massachusetts manufacturer to meet 

 the needs of cranberry growers. The pump gave a maximum efficiency of 80 

 percent, which is well above the performance of most pumps now used on cran- 

 berry bogs. 



Milk Cooling. (C. I. Gunness and W. H. Tague.) Tests have been con- 

 ducted on a tank with cooling coils concentrated within a duct through which the 

 water is drawn by a circulating pump. The water is sprayed on to the milk cans 

 in order to give proper cooling at times when the cooling water is below the neck 

 of the cans. This arrangement of coils permits a very low temperature difference 

 between refrigerant and tank water, and the spray cools the milk to 50° within 

 one hour, even when the water is 3 inches below the neck of the can. On the 

 strength of these results, one manufacturer has incorporated these improve- 

 ments in his milk cooling tanks and the equipment is now on the market. 



Cranberry Storage. (C. I. Gunness in cooperation with the Cranberry 

 Station and the Department of Horticultural Manufactures.) A study of 

 cranberry storage was started on samples collected from the 1936 crop. Some 

 of these berries are still in storage, but results to date indicate economic possi- 

 bilities for the storage of berries at temperatures ranging from 35° to 50°. 



Brooding. (C. I. Gunness in cooperation with the Department of Poultry 

 Husbandry.) A project was started in the spring of 1936 to determine the 

 optimum temperature, humidity, and rate of air circulation for brooders. A 

 large brooder, electrically heated, is used in the experiments, affording ample 

 space and a wide range of air conditions for the chicks. No results can be re- 

 ported from this investigation until the end of the present brooding season. 



Investigation of Apple Storages. (C. I. Gunness in cooperation with 

 the Department of Pomology.) The work on apple storages has been continued. 

 The results from this study were reported quite fully in the 1936 report. Addi- 

 tional data have been collected during the past year and a bulletin on apple 

 storages is now being prepared. 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRONOMY 

 Walter S. Eisenmenger in Charge 



Tobacco Projects. (Walter S. Eisenmenger and Karol J. Kucinski.) 

 Cropping Systems. Tobacco grown in rotation with other crops is frequently 

 infected with a disease called brown root-rot. Studies have shown that the 

 chances for serious infection following certain crops are much less than when 

 tobacco follows certain other crops. It would seem, therefore, that the most 

 satisfactory control for the disease on tobacco grown in rotation is to precede 

 tobacco with a crop which will reduce the chances of serious infection to a 

 minimum. For the past two years, results have indicated that satisfactory 

 tobacco can be expected following potatoes and red top. The basis for compari- 

 son included quality, yield, and appearance of roots. 



The following represent the yields from different treatments: 



