ANNUAL REPORT, 1931 237 



sport of Rome, but we have been unable to distinguish between trees of these 

 two varieties. Gallia Beauty seems like Rome in fruit and superior in color to 

 both Rome and Red Rome. We now believe that there may be two "strains" of 

 Mcintosh, one of which shows striping while the other does not. l^sually one is 

 nearly, or quite, as well colored as the other. Red Spy is more red than Northern 

 Spy, but it is not much more attractive in appearance than well-colored speci- 

 mens of Northern Spy. Red Duchess is but little better in color than Oldenburg. 



Golden Delicious is too much inclined to be russeted and to wilt in storage 

 to be desirable for planting here. It bears at an early age, produces well and is 

 of high quality. It may be worth planting for a special market. Macoun con- 

 tinues to give promise and is well worth extended trial. 



The New Jersey peach varieties continue to promise well and will in time re- 

 place most of our present early and mid-season varieties. 



Portland is a promising early white grape. Among new raspberries, Lloyd 

 George produces large berries of good quality, a few being produced in the fall. 

 Thus far it has been resistant to mosaic. Newburgh continues promising; its 

 greatest fault is that it is very thorny, making picking somewhat unpleasant. 



The Howard 25 strawberry which we have tested for several years has been 

 introduced to the trade as Howard Supreme and is now available to strawberry 

 growers. It has been very productive, exceeding Howard 17 (Premier) during 

 the past five years as follows: 28, 50, 15, 98, and 58 per cent. It should be re- 

 membered that these figures represent small plots in the vicinity of its place of 

 origin. It remains to be seen whether it will maintain this high productiveness 

 under extensive commercial tests. It is an imperfect or pistillate variety. 



Fruit Bud Formation in the Strawberry. (R. A. Van Meter). This 

 project was started in the spring of 1928 to study the effect of the supply of 

 soil nitrates on fruit-bud formation and fruit production. Nine fertilizer treat- 

 ments are involved, each replicated five times on plots of thirty plants each. 

 Runner plants were removed. 



There were applied to each plot two pounds of a mixture of 200 pounds of 

 superphosphate and 50 pounds of muriate of potash. This was worked into the 

 soil after the plants were set. 



Differential treatments to the 1931 plots were as follows: 



1— No nitrogen. 



2 — August 17, nitrate of soda. 



3 — August 17, sulfate of ammonia. 



4 — August 17, calurea. 



5- — September 15, nitrate of soda. 



6 — September 15, sulfate of ammonia. 



7 — September 15, calurea. 



8 — October 19, sulfate of anmionia. 



9- — To be applied in spring, sulfate of ammonia. 

 The treatments have made no apparent differences in plant growth during the 

 first summer. 



Bud Mutations. (W. H. Thies). The selections from bud sport limbs have 

 made good growth, but it will be several years before they all reach fruiting age. 



Light Pruning of Young Grapevines. (B. D. Drain). This project was 

 discontinued, following the resignation of Prof. Drain. The work indicated 

 possibilities of greater leaf area and heavier production on vines lightly pruned 



