14 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 450 



Temperature and the Size of Massachusetts Cranberries 



Franklin^' has shown that high temperatures in March favor the development 

 of large berries in the following crop. 



Table 9 presents a month-by-month analysis of the relation of temperature 

 to the size of berries for the twenty-one months directly preceding the crop. 



Table 9. — Temperature and the Size of Massachusetts Cranberries.* 



(Correlation coefficient and probable error for each month.) 



Year Before Year of Crop Year of Crop 



January +.3362 +.1306 January .+.0554 + .1467 



February -.2722 +.1363 February... -.0065 ±.1471 



March - .2302 ± .1394 March +.5633 ± .1005 



April- +.1582 ±.1435 April ... + .4599 ±.1 161 



May +.0126 ±.1469 May ..-.2364 ±.1389 



June -.4353±.1193 June +.1401 ±.1443 



July -.1808 ±.1423 July -.1194 ±.1262 



August 1853 ±1421 August.. -.1154±.1452 



September -.0261 ±.1471 September + .0701 ±.1465 



October +.0210±.1471 March and April +.6037±.0936 



November +.2677 ±.1366 June**(-), March, and .V"il +-6902 ±.0770 



December + .1 222 ± .1450 



*Mean temperature at Middleborn. Mas.s. See Bulletin 43,^, p. 29. 

 **Year before year of crop. 



Six monthly coefficients in Table 9 are at least twice their probable errors. 

 Of the six, those of January, February, and November of the jear before the 

 year of the crop indicate a weak and dubious relation between temperature and 

 size of berries. However, the coefficients of June of the year before the year of 

 the crop and of March and April in the year of the crop are strong enough to 

 require further consideration. 



June 



Low temperatures in June of the year before the year of the crop appear to 

 favor large berries. A similar negative relation between June sunshine the year 

 before the year of the crop and the size of berries appears in Table 7. The reasons 

 for these apparent relations are obscure. 



March 



As noted above, Franklin has already discussed the importance of high tem- 

 peratures in March to the development of large berries in the following crop. 



A pril 



It is clear from Table 9 that the influence of high temperatures in March on the 

 size of berries is continued and supported by that of high temperatures in April. 

 It seems that an early start in the growing season is favorable to the development 

 of large berries. 



21 Mass. .A.gr. Expt. Sta. Bui. 402, pp. 85-88, 1943. 



