

10 N. H. Agr. Experiment Station [Bulletin 256 



Results suggest that some orehardists are putting much more time 

 on each operation than others. One group may be said to be intensive 

 orehardists, forcing production to the limit with extra labor, while the 

 other group are extensive orehardists, using proportionately less labor 

 per operation. The latter may get less production per tree or per dol- 

 lar invested, but their returns per man hour are greater. 



Two of the 12 orehardists may not be doing enough work to main- 

 tain their orchards in a healthy bearing state, while three others seem 

 to be putting intensive labor on certain operations beyond the point of 

 diminishing returns. In these cases and to some extent on the other 

 farms, the men need to give consideration to the amount of work done 

 and to the best methods of doing it. 



Spraying, including labor, material, and the use of sprayer, represents 

 36 per cent of the current operating costs prior to harvest. Need for 

 more of it in the future seems certain. It will, therefore, become of more 

 relative importance as to cost. 



An interesting comparison of cultivated and uncultivated orchards 

 was revealed in the investigations. About 15 per cent of the total acre- 

 age was cultivated, at an estimated cost of $16.36. The cost of mow- 

 ing and mulching in uncultivated orchards was $3.30 per acre. 



H. C. Woodworth and G. F. Potter have had charge of this research. 

 (Purnell Fund) 



Tomato Crosses Studied 



Larger yields of tomatoes are indicated from crosses of standard 

 stocks as compared with pure parent strains, according to experiments 

 conducted by J. R. Hepler. A series of trials involving 70 plants of 

 each parent and cross was made in the greenhouse with five varieties, 

 viz. Bonny Best, Earliana, Ponderosa, Dwarf Champion and Sunrise. 



Sunrise, a very small but vigorous-growing and free-setting English 

 greenhouse tomato, was the only variety which tended to yield as well 

 as its crosses. The Ponderosa crosses showed up the best. It is ex- 

 pected that data on this and other tomato breeding experiments will be 

 published shortly. {Hatch Fund) 



The Force Behind Fruit Buds 



What happens in that mysterious growing area at the tip of a fruit 

 spur when a bud which might have produced a leaf decides to produce 

 a flower instead — and so probably an apple? 



This question has been the subject of one of the Station's most ex- 

 tensive investigations; and the study was materially advanced last year 

 by the publication of two new technical bulletins. 



The first of these, by Messrs. G. F. Potter, H. R. Kraybill, S. W. 

 Wentworth, J. T. Sullivan and P. T. Blood, showed that a fruiting spur 

 materially affects its neighbor spurs. Chemical composition and fruit 

 bud formation is altered by its presence; and many deductions made 

 previously by some authorities must accordingly be thrown out of court. 



This work was followed up by G. F. Potter and T. G. Phillips in a 

 comprehensive series of experiments which avoided spurs of complex 

 relationship. Isolating non-bearing spurs, they studied fruit bud origin 



