Feb., 1925] PEOGRESS OF AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENTS 13 



Five hundred roots were divided into three sections, the top and bottom section 

 being subjected to freezing and the middle section preserved for chemical 

 sampling. The results of the freezing test indicated that with certain individ- 

 uals both top and bottom of the root had been entirely uninjured. It would 

 undoubtedly have been true that if the middle section had been included in the 

 test it would not have been injured. A sample of such sections as these is to be 

 compared with a sample in which both the top and the bottom of the root were 

 completely killed and samples in which both top and bottom showed a medium 

 amount of injury. It is hoped that chemical analysis of these roots which in 

 appearance are exactly similar may indicate what substances are responsible 

 for the variation in individual hardiness. 



Fruit Bud Formation Project. 



The usual records of yield and growth have been made in the Woodman 

 Orchard by G. F. Potter and S. W. Wentworth (Horticulture). 



The yield of this orchard, as noted in previous reports, has been seriously 

 altered because fruit buds were eaten from the trees by ruffed grouse. Thus, 

 the commercial yield of the orchard, which would ordinarily be about 300 to 

 500 barrels per year, was reduced during the seasons of 1922 and 1923 to an 

 average of about 100 barrels. Owing to the inroad on the spurs made by the 

 grouse and the fact that this disbuddin^g was thought to be similar to a heavy 

 pruning in reduction of the foliage of the tree, no pruning was done in the spring 

 of 1923. A considerable amount of foliage developed upon water sprouts, the 

 buds of which are not attacked by the birds, and the trees appear to have made 

 as good a recovery as might be expected. The commercial yield of the orchard 

 in 1924 averaged about one and one-half barrels per tree. 



The number of trees remaining in the sod plots at the present time is rela- 

 tively small, so that comparisons between sod culture and cultivated culture, 

 cannot be drawn with accuracy. The results appear quite definite, however, in 

 that those plots which receive fertilization in addition to cultivation and cover 

 crop are making greater growth than those which do not receive artificial fertiliz- 

 ers. This greater growth during the past 15 years has resulted in a larger and 

 better equipped tree which is now yielding increased crops. It has been 

 noticed in the commercial operations of the orchard that the increased growth 

 of the fertilized trees has made orchard operations, including cultivation, prun- 

 ing, spraying and harvesting, more difficult and more expensive. 



During the present season (1924) records were made of the proportion of 

 fancy, A grade and B grade fruit from each plot, the separations being made on 

 a commercial grading machine and being wholly on a commercial basis. Since 

 there are no differences in the amount of fungous disease or insect injury in the 

 various plots, the variations in the percentage of the different grades received 

 reflect in large measure the amount of color. There is no question whatever 

 that the color is reduced by all fertilizer applications. 



Relation of Light to Fruit Bud Formation. 



Composition of Fruiting and Non-Fruiting Apple Spurs. During the past 

 year the analytical data in this part of the fruit bud project have been tabu- 

 lated, and a report of the work will be ready for publication at an early date. 



