ANNUAL REPORT, 1932 65 



be added to the spray without danger of greatly decreasing the efficiency of the mixture for 

 combating the plum curcuHo. 



286 Types of Intensity in Rhode Island Reds. F. A. Mays and Ruby Sanborn. 

 11pp. June, 1932. 



Intensity or rate of laying is one of the very important inherited characters affecting 

 annual egg production in poultry. Various methods have been used for measuring intensity, 

 and there is an increasing need for more information concerning the relative merits of the 

 different measures as well as for definite data concerning the relation of intensity to other 

 traits affecting fecundity. Interrelations between the rate of laying in three different 

 seasons and the relative values of six short-time measures of intensity are considered in this 

 report. It was found that the most significant short -time measure of intensity is spring 

 clutch size, but no short-time measure of intensity is as accurate as the mean clutch size for 

 the entire year. 



287 Frozen Fruits and Their Utilization in Frozen Dairy Products. M. J. 

 Mack and C. R. Fellers. 28 pp. illus. July, 1932. 



The frozen-pack method is used annually to preserve large quantities of fruit, much of 

 which is later used for flavoring ice cream. Fruits used for this purpose have a very pro- 

 nounced influence on the quality of the final product, but very little is known regarding the 

 most satisfactory ways of processing fruit for utilization in frozen dairy products. The 

 plan of the investigation was to prepare experimental packs of the fruits in one-gallon cans, 

 freeze these under known conditions, store for approximately one year, thaw, examine 

 carefully, and finally use the fruit in the manufacture of fruit ice creams, sherbets, and ices. 

 The greater part of the study was with strawberries, but raspberries, peaches, cherries, and 

 a few other varieties of minor importance were included. 



288 The Relation of Feather Pigmentation to Intensity of Laying in Rhode 

 Island Reds. F. A. Hays. 8 pp. October, 1932. 



Deep rich plumage color and high winter laying intensity in Rhode Island Reds are de- 

 sirable characters which can be influenced by breeding. This investigation was undertaken 

 to determine to what extent both of these characters can be developed simultaneously by the 

 breeder. It would seem to be a laborious process to establish uniform deep pigmentation 

 and high intensity in a flock, but a medium shade of red should be maintained without diffi- 

 culty. 



289 Hereditary and Environmental Factors Affecting Variability in Egg Pro- 

 duction. F. A. Hays. 12 pp. illus. December, 1932. 



It is a well-known fact that both hereditary and environmental factors affect the number 

 of eggs laid by a hen. Evidence is not conclusive on many points, however, and experi- 

 mental data have not been reported to furnish information concerning the quantitative 

 variation of specific fecundity traits from generation to generation. There is at present 

 an outstanding need of a clear-cut distinction between the effects on fecundity of heritage 

 and environment. Such a problem offers many difficulties, the most outstanding of which 

 is the lack of any measure of fecundity in males. This report concerns itself with results 

 obtained in carrying three lines of birds through four generations. Consideration is given 

 to variability in five inherited fecundity characters: sexual maturity, intensity, winter pause 

 duration, total days broody, and persistency. Variability in winter and annual egg records 

 is also recorded. Such environmental influences as hatching date, increase or decrease in 

 body weight, and daily house temperature are considered in relation to egg production and 

 the relative importance of each is discussed. 



290 The Story of Field A of the Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station : 

 A Review of Experiments with Nitrogen Fertilizers. Fred W. Morse. 23 

 pp. illus. November, 1932. 



The year 1932 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the formal organization of agricultural 

 research at Massachusetts State College. It was in November, 1882, that the Experiment 

 Station was established, and field plot experiments begun the next year represent some of 

 the first activities. It seems fitting, therefore, after this fifty-year period, that results from 

 this work be compiled and recorded in permanent form. Field A was laid out in 1883 on 

 "run out" hay land and included eleven plots of one-tenth acre each. Seven successive 

 crops of corn were grown from 1883 to 1889, to study the effects of different forms and kinds 

 of plant food. The earlier harvests showed potash to be the most needed fertilizer; the 

 later ones indicated that a complete fertilizer had become necessary. Four standard types 

 of nitrogen fertilizers — nitrate of soda, sulfate of ammonia, dried blood or fish or cyanamid, 

 and stable manure — were compared in 1889, and the comparison was continued with minor 



