22 



MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 149. 



The trees on which our observations have been made are eighteen years 

 old, and all are in a healthy, thrifty condition. All have been given the 

 usual orchard care as to pruning and spraying; all were cared for under 

 the cultivation and cover-crop system until August, 1911, when the 

 Baldwin plot was seeded to grass and clover. The trees are similar in 

 size and vigor, though there is some correlation between size and produc- 

 tiveness in the Ben Davis. Tree No. 8 wliich has produced the most 

 apples is somewhat larger than any of the other trees. The yields of the 

 trees for the period imder observation are as follows : — 



The differences in yield between the several trees are not as gi-eat as 

 those reported by Macoun, especially in the Ben Davis, which is one 

 of the most regular and abundant bearers. There is little indication 

 of the biennial bearing habit in the Ben Davis, while the Baldwins show 

 it clearly in later years, though they all bore a crop in both 1909 and 1910. 

 No satisfactory reason for these annual fluctuations in crop can be as- 

 signed, but it presumably lies largely in weather conditions at the blossom- 

 ing season, various conditions influencing the number of fruit buds formed 

 during the previous season, and possibly in some degree to insects and 

 disease. The Ben Davis has blossomed freely each year, while the Bald- 

 wins have in off years failed to blossom. 



Considering for a moment the yields from the different parts of the 

 trees, divided as has been already explained, we find some slight variations 

 of interest. The numbers of apples have been as follows : — 



