INTERNAL BROWNING OF YELLOW NEWTOWN APPLE. 13 



live tendency to internal browning of apples from various parts 

 of the district, the effect of thoroughness of orchard tillage and of 

 various commercial fertilizers and barnyard manure on this tend- 

 ency, a study of individual trees to determine whether the pro- 

 duction of apples which brown in storage is a tree characteristic, and 

 finally a detailed study of tree characteristics, such as quantity 

 and condition of foliage, size of crop, and the size of individual 

 apples on the trees. These have been augmented by chemical and 

 physiological studies of fruits remaining sound as compared to 

 those becoming browned in storage. 



The Pajaro Valley is almost surrounded by mountains or hills 

 which are very low toward the sea, some 4 to 8 miles distant from 

 the apple plantings, and rise to considerable heights on all other 

 sides of the valley. Most of the orchards are on the floor of the 

 main valley, though a number extend up some distance on the sur- 

 rounding hills and into smaller valleys which are cut off from the 

 ocean by ranges of hills much higher than those bordering the Pajaro 

 Valley proper. 



As in California generally, the year is divided into two seasons, 

 the rainy and the dry. The rainy season extends from October to 

 April, inclusive, and during that time there is an average precipita- 

 tion of about 25 inches. Throughout the remainder of the year 

 showers are rare and of practically no importance. The winter 

 weather is mild, and comparatively little frost occurs. 



In the summer and early fall the valley is subject to low-velocity 

 trade winds from the ocean. They begin to blow between 10 o'clock 

 and noon and continue until late afternoon. As a result, the evenings 

 are cool or even chilly. Frequently the winds bring in fogs, which 

 begin to cover the valley about 4 o'clock in the afternoon and remain 

 until 9 or 10 o'clock the following morning. These fogs are of two 

 types, high and low. The high fogs are at an elevation of several 

 hundred feet, while the low fogs lie close to the ground, enveloping 

 the trees, and sometimes drenching the foliage during the night and 

 early morning. The points to be noted in thig connection are the 

 cutting off of the direct sunshine and the consequent lowered tem- 

 perature and increased humidity during the growing period. This 

 foggy weather is interspersed with clear periods of 2 to 10 days. 

 The daily fluctuation of temperatures is between 50° and 65° F. 

 during the foggy weather and between 65° and 80° F. during the 

 clear period. Temperatures above 90° F. are rare, occurring not 

 oftener than once or twice during the summer and early fall. These 

 fogs are relatively much more prevalent over the floor of the valley 

 proper, which is open to the sea, than over the higher foothill re- 

 gions or over the more protected interior-valley orchards. These 



