ANNUAL REPORT, 1936 81 



There was a scattered crop in 1936. 



Role of Lime and Potash in Fruit Tree Nutrition. (J. K. Shaw.) No 

 work has been carried on during the past two years. A considerable amount 

 of data await study and possible publication. 



Effect of Potash and Lime on Apple Trees. (J. K. Shaw.) This has 

 continued as in past years. The practice of cutting up the sod in the spring 

 seems to have been a good one, but some of the trees especially those on the 

 plots without nitrogen have suffered from the recent cold winters. The trees 

 fertilized with potash and phosphoric acid in addition to nitrogen continue to 

 produce the best while those without nitrogen show inferior yields. 



Study of Varieties of Fruits. (J. K. Shaw and staff.) Observations were 

 continued on several hundred varieties of different deciduous fruits. Most of 

 these are new or little known; among them may be a few that will prove of 

 value to Massachusetts fruit growers. We are trying to single out these few. 



Apples. The so-called red bud sports continue to excite interest and some 

 are gaining in popularity. In the group of Delicious-like apples, Richared seems 

 to stand out as the most attractive in appearance and to be equal in other ways 

 to Delicious, Starking, Medina, and Orleans. The Red Gravenstein is reported 

 to be favored in the market and seems equal in every way to Gravenstein; it 

 seems to keep longer which may or may not be desirable. Golden Delicious 

 continues to be promising as a winter apple for dessert use. As with all new 

 varieties, the grower must learn how to grow it. It is inclined to russet in our 

 humid climate and so is less attractive than when grown in dryer climates of 

 the west. 



Kendall has not fruited with us yet but we have seen fruit grown elsewhere 

 and its resemblance to Mcintosh is striking. The dots of the skin are more 

 conspicuous, the flesh greener and it will doubtless keep longer. In quality it 

 may not be quite equal to Mcintosh but is very good. The tree characters are 

 very good. It seems to be more promising as a commercial variety than 

 Macoun. 



Among the several early red varieties from the United States Department of 

 Agriculture mentioned in our report for 1933 Nos. 34 and 312 seem most prom- 

 ising; the first being a little earlier than Yellow Transparent and the second 

 possibly a little later. Both are of good size, attractive, and of good quality. 

 They ripened from July 23 to August 7 in .1936. No. 57 ripens with 34 and is 

 promising but present knowledge indicates it to be a little inferior for our con- 

 ditions. None of these varieties are available in the market but are under test 

 in several places and have been propagated in our nurseries. 



Pears. Gorham continues to be promising and we have several other varieties 

 propagated at the New York Station some of which may prove of value but 

 require further study. 



Plums. Mention has been made of Wrights Early in past reports. The one 

 tree we have suffered from winter cold and the plums borne this year were small. 

 But it is hardier than Beauty and Red June, competing varieties of the same 

 season. 



Peaches. While the peach variety orchard produced a crop after two years 

 of complete failure, many of the trees have been injured or killed. Golden 

 Jubilee is becoming a standard variety and Halehaven promises to replace 

 South Haven and other varieties of its season. Oriole is very productive and 

 gains in favor. Pioneer is a good white peach. 



Raspberry. We have 26 numbered seedlings from the New York Experiment 



