February, 1930] agricultural experiments 1929 9 



pensive if the cost of horse labor is included. Not only does spraying cost 

 more than pruning, but a greater degree of skill is required and the opera- 

 tion must be performed within very definite time limits. Pruning 

 requires the greatest amount of man labor, which is especially true if 

 disposal of brush is included in the cost of the operation. 



During the three years of the study most of the trees were under sod 

 mulch culture. Part of the time some were tilled. Propping of the trees 

 in years of heavy crops is practiced in some orchards more than in others. 

 Thinning is done to some extent, but it is evident that the average or- 

 chardist considers thinning of value only for certain varieties, such as the 

 Wealthy. 



The average cost of production up to harvesting, not including overhead 

 expenses, for the three-year period was 36.13 cents a box. Operating 

 costs for 1,000 mature trees were $2,380, which were distributed as fol- 

 lows: Total labor, $1,120.80; use of trucks, $10.31; cost of spray material, 

 $436.40; cost of fertihzer, $499.42; maintenance of sprayers and dusters, 

 $91.00; and charge for land, $222.22. In computing these costs only the 

 time actually spent by the hired help in the orchard was charged against 

 apple production; overhead expenses are not yet known. 



Practices in harvesting, packing and marketing differed much more than 

 cultural practices. Some of the men sold ''tree run" to buyers who fur- 

 nished and delivered the boxes, and carried them away when filled. Such 

 harvest operations are simple and inexpensive. Other growers graded 

 their fruit into four different qualities, separated the first and second 

 qualities into eight different sizes, wrapped them in oiled paper and packed 

 them in a box by hand. After this work is done it is customary for the 

 grower to incur transportation and commission charges. Careful esti- 

 mates of the costs of harvesting were made and deducted from the gross 

 return. It was found that for three years the apples were worth an aver- 

 age of $.79 a box to the growers before harvesting commenced. From 20 

 to 25 per cent of the trees in these orchards are Mcintosh. {Purnell 

 Fund.) 



POULTRY TIME STUDIES ARE BEGUN 



Weekly visits are being made to 25 representative poultry farms in 

 Strafford, Rockingham and Hillsborough counties by F. D. Reed to gather 

 data on the labor income, production and feed consumption, egg sizes and 

 grades, and management details on poultry farms. Labor studies will be 

 made from the data collected. 



The farms contain 32,900 laying birds, and the size of the flocks varies 

 from 500 to 3,200 pullets. Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks, and White 

 Leghorns are the breeds represented on the farms. {Purnell Fund.) 



WHITE PINE WEEVIL STUDIED 



The life history of the white pine weevil. and methods of control, both 

 direct and indirect, were studied by C. C. Plummer and A. E. Pillsbury 

 and pubhshed during the year as Bulletin 247. In brief, the life history of 

 this most destructive of insect enemies of the white pine is as follows: 



The adults leave hibernation about the last of April or the first of May 

 and make their way to the leaders of white pine. Here they feed in the 



