46 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 150. 



On section 25 the treatment was continued for eleven hours and was 

 applied after tweh^e and one-half hours of complete flooding without 

 treatment. 



On section 27 the duration of the treatment was about eleven hours 

 and as Avith section 25 followed twelve and one-half hours of complete 

 flooding without treatment. 



When the fii'st treatment was applied to these sections the blossom 

 buds were well developed and prominent, and when the second treatment 

 was applied they were approaching near to blooming, there being here 

 and there a blossom already opened. The treatment did not appear to 

 affect the buds on sections 25 and 27 injuriously in any way. Some of 

 those on section 23, however, were spotted slightly, showing that the 

 solution used had probably been fully as strong as was desirable. 



The strength of the solution used on section 23 was recommended to 

 me by Dr. Shear, as the result of laboratory experiments which he had 

 conducted. Unfortunately, spanworms worked seriously on section 23 

 and reduced the crop to such an extent as to destroy the results of the 

 experiment so far as the amount of the fruit might give an}' evidence 

 concerning the effect of the treatment. 



At picking time sections 25 and 27 yielded fruit at approximately the 

 same rate as the untreated flooding sections immediately adjacent, while 

 section 23 showed a marked faUing off. These sections were picked on 

 September 2. 



The berries from all the flooding sections were tested for keeping quality, 

 the period of storage extending from October 29 to December 17. The 

 treated sections 25 and 27 showed little if any improvement over the 

 untreated sections. The berries from section 23 seemed to keep better 

 than those from the other flooding sections, but the difference was not 

 sufficiently marked to justify the conclusion that the copper sulphate 

 treatment had been decidedlj^ beneficial. 



4. VARIETIES. 



Investigations looking toward the possible development of more desir- 

 able and more proUfic varieties were continued, especially prolific vines 

 of the late Howe and Vose's Bell varieties being marked for observation 

 next season. Some interesting and apparently valuable sports of the 

 Late Howe variety were also found and were marked. Unfortunately, 

 the majoritj^ of the uprights, marked in previous years on account of their 

 prolificness, did not bear well in 1913, though there were a few exceptions. 



Samples of the berries of most of the different varieties growai on the 

 Cape were collected in October. Samples of vines were also collected 

 where it was possible to get them without too much trouble. Later these 

 samples were studied more or less carefully, and the varieties which ap- 

 peared to be mix-tures of two or more distinct varieties were separated in 

 a general way into their component parts. From these collected samples 

 smaller samples, numbering in all 180, were taken and bottled in alcohol 



