42 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 305 



Varietal and Cultural Observations on China Asters. (Harold E. White, 

 Waltham.) Some 60 strains of asters were grown in the field for observation of 

 the behavior of wilt-resistant strains under New England conditions. Plantings 

 were made in soil where two years before aster wilt was quite prevalent but even 

 though non-resistant strains were included, wilt was practically nil in the 1933 

 plantings. Aster yellows was unusually severe — equally so on all strains with 

 the exception of Queen of the Market which, although showing decided symptoms 

 of yellows, was less severely affected by the disease than the late varieties. One 

 explanation, other than by a resistance factor, might be on the basis that this 

 variety carries far less foliage than the other strains, thus offering less feeding 

 area for leafhoppers. One plant was found which showed probably inherited 

 resistance. Selections were made for further study on j^ellows resistance. 



The standard aster cloth, 22 x 22 threads per square inch, used for commercial 

 culture of china asters would appear to be better than heavier grades. Three 

 tents were used with the following results: 



Light Relative 



Transmitted Production 



(Per Cent) of Flowers 



62 100 



74 118 



81 200 



Chrysanthemums came into bloom 10 days earlier under cloth than under 

 glass. 



This experiment was made possible through the courtesy of the Lewis Man- 

 ufacturing Compan>-, Walpole, which supplied the cloth. 



DEPARTMENT OF HOME ECONOMICS 



Bernice Wait in Charge 



The Comparative Value of Milk and Tomato for Supplementary Feeding in 

 Elementary Schools. (B. Wait and M. V. Cowing.) For the preceding three 

 years the children in a small consolidated rural school were given a supplemen- 

 tary mid-morning feeding, at first of either milk or tomato and later of a com- 

 bination of evaporated milk and tomato juice. This study has been continued 

 for a fourth year by feeding the children of a control school to ascertain whether 

 any results of the feeding which seemed apparent could be duplicated in this 

 latter group. Insofar as it has been completed, the analysis of the data tends 

 to confirm the observation that there was some, although not marked improvement 

 in the general well-being of a majority of the children as a result of the feeding in 

 both schools, whether of milk or tomato or both. 



The Value of Evaporated Milk for School Food Service. (B. Wait and O. A. 

 Merriam.) This project is similar in purpose and in method to the above. 

 Throughout two school years the children of the first four grades of the school in 

 a small mill village were given a mid-morning feeding of eight ounces of recon- 

 stituted evaporated milk daily. The general condition of these children at the 

 beginning and the end of the school year was determined by medical and dental 

 examinations, and their growth, school progress, school attendance, and incidence 

 of colds during the school year were observed. These same observations were 



