334 The Principles of Fruit-growing. 



to seriously reduce the crop of fruit. The most 

 disastnms storms are probably those milder ones of 

 long duration, and which are accompanied by a low 

 temperature. Not only may such weather tend to 

 prevent the discharge of pollen, but it prohibits the 

 work of insects. 



It must be admitted that the above remarks are 

 inferences. We have almost no exact knowledge 

 as to the effect of rain storms upon the setting of 

 fruit. A few small studies have so far been made 

 in this country, and these are now quoted. 



Beach and Fairchild* report experiments in ap- 

 plying continuous sprays to pears and grapes. "On 

 May 16 two Mount Vernon pear trees, apparently 

 of equal vigor, standing within one hundred feet 

 of each other, were selected. Into one was thrust 

 the Vermorel nozzle, with its broad, fine spray. 

 The tree was about twenty -five feet high, and the 

 spray from the nozzle did not entirely cover it ; in 

 fact, the original design, soon abandoned, was to wet 

 only one -half of the tree, and leave the other half 

 dry. At the inauguration of the experiment, only a 

 few blossoms had opened upon either tree, and, as 

 no insects had been busy about the fruit trees, owing 

 to the cold weather immediately preceding, no risk 

 from previous pollination was run. The water was 

 turned on at noon of May 16, and kept running 

 (except from 10 A. M. of the 21st, to 10 A. M. of 

 the 23d, during ai almost constant rain-storm, pre- 



* Eleventh Ann. Rep. N. Y. State Exp Sta. for 1892, 607. 



