100 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 228 



Spraying 



Tlie number of sprays varies widely. The calyx spray is almost universal. 

 Either the dormant or delayed dormant spray is used by 80 per cent of the 

 growers, the pink by 60 per cent, and the pre-pink by only 32 per cent. 

 Nearly one-fourth of the growers reported the use of sprays in addition to 

 those mentioned. The number varied from one to six, used principally for 

 Mcintosh. Dusting is not popular, only thirty growers now using it, and 

 several of them expressed the intention of abandoning it in favor of liquid 

 sprays. 



Thinninfi 



Twenty-five per cent of the growers do some thinning, but with many it is 

 not a regular practice. Mcintosh is the variety usually thinned, but all of 

 the early varieties are thinned to some extent. Only a few growers reported 

 thinning all varieties. The distance varies with the grower, but one apple to 

 a spur and keeping the fruit from touching are the usual practices. A few 

 growers thin to the recommended distance of six to eight inches. The prac- 

 tice is spreading and many growers are convinced of its value, although 

 unable to do very much thinning on account of lack of time or experienced 

 help. 



Production 



A total production of 1,712,000 bushels was reported, and of this amount 

 88 per cent was sold as marketable fruit. The farm consumption is relatively 

 high, due to the large number of small orchards. A small amount of salable 

 fruit is manufactured on the farms, principally for jellies, apple butter and 

 similar products. 



Over 12 per cent of the total production reported was culls or cider apples. 

 In Franklin County 20 per cent of the production was culls, ciders or waste, 

 partly due to poor quality and partly because of the sale of wild apples for 

 cider. In the better commercial sections, the defective and cull fruit aver- 

 ages from 8 to 10 per cent of the total. Two-thirds of the culls are sold for 

 cider, and 13 per cent are made into cider or other apple products on the 

 farm. A few are fed to livestock and apparently about 3 per cent are 

 wasted, most of the waste occurring in the poor fruit sections. 



Marketing 

 Grades 



Grading in some form is practiced by two-thirds of the growers. Most of 

 the grading is done by hand, only 80 graders being reported. The favorite 

 graders are the Pease and Cutler with a few machines of each of a half-dozen 

 other makes. The number of grades varies with the grower, the amount and 

 the quality of the crop, the varieties grown, and the custom of the section. 

 Many growers do not distinguish between sorting and grading, and much of 

 the grading reported means nothing more than the removal of small and 

 defective fruit. Three-fourths of the growers sell only one or two grades 

 of apples. Growers reporting one grade do not sell their defective fruit, 

 using it on the farm; when two grades are sold, one of them is usually culls. 



