Jan., 19241 PROGRESS OF AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENTS 21 



Through an unfortunate misunderstanding with Mr. Robert Gould, owner 

 of this orchard, the fruit was harvested and barreled without having been 

 weighed and counted to determine the yield and average size fruit on each 

 plot. The only record available on this part of the experiment is that given 

 by Mr. Gould, who states that the 116 trees which were disbudded yielded 80 

 barrels of apples, of which 65 were A grade and 15 were B grade, while 130 

 trees in the orchard wliich was not damaged by partridges yielded 165 barrels, 

 133 A grade and 32 B grade. It is attested by Mr. Gould and several of his 

 workmen that the size of the apples was better on the non-disbudded trees. 

 This agrees with observations made by the Experiment Station staff in the 

 orchards before the fruit was picked. The fruit on the budded trees was 

 nearly all on tips of branches and there was a larger number of spurs which 

 carried two apples per spur. This has a tendency to decrease the size of the 

 fruit. Data on fruit bud formation, set, and crop, will be obtained in these 

 orchards for at least one more season. 



It now appears that for exact experimentation in this field the best plan 

 would be to use an orchard so situated that it would never be budded by birds. 

 Spurs could be cut from different plots in a manner similar to the way they 

 are removed by the birds in feeding. By this means more accurate comparison 

 of budded and non-disbudded trees under exactly the same conditions could 

 be made. Also, the effect of budding for one season or for one or more seasons 

 could be accurately compared. While there is some advantage in working 

 with trees which have been actually disbudded by birds themselves, the grouse 

 cannot be relied upon to furnish the proper experimental conditions regularly 

 each season. However, to carry on such an experiment would involve very 

 severe damage to any orchard in which the work was done, and the expense 

 in remuneration to the owner would be greater than the Experiment Station 

 can afford. 



Variety Tests of Fruit. 



Twenty trees of the Cortland variety were planted in the spring of 1923. 

 In addition a few trees of the Nodhead variety which had been propagated in 

 the college nm-series were also set. All made tkrifty growth. Red Delicious 

 fruited for the third successive season on the trees in the Thompson Orchard. 

 The fruit harvested this season was larger and more uniform in size than that 

 obtained in previous crops. This coincides with the observation in other 

 orchards that the size of the fruit of this variety is smaller than normal when 

 the tree first comes into bearing. The fruit was of good color, and of excellent 

 qualitj'. Golden Delicious produced fruit on top grafts in the orchards at the 

 Horticultural Farm. The grafts were very productive, but the size was not 

 large and appearance not very attractive. Under our conditions the variety 

 has a tendency to produce a bronze-red blush instead of an attractive clear 

 yellow. The quality of the apple is excellent. 



There is no question but that the production of winter varieties of high 

 dessert quality comparable to the fall Mcintosh would be an advantage in this 

 section. The two Delicious varieties appear worthy of test for this purpose. 

 A plantation was made in the spring of 1923 containing fifty trees of each 



