REPORT OF THE CRANBERRY SUBSTATION. Ill 



vines, the fungus mainly responsible being found bj^ Dr. Shear to be that 

 of bitter-rot, Glomerella cingulata vaccinii Shear. The Howes berries on 

 the same part of the bog also showed much more rot than usual when 

 picked, and they looked as though they were affected by the same fungus, 

 but this was not definitely determined. The bitter-rot had affected the 

 Early Black variety on tliis bog considerably in previous years, but its 

 sudden severe infection of the later varieties is remarkable. 



The holding of winter flowage until midsummer, thus sacrificing one 

 season's crop, is practiced often in New Jersey, and occasionally on the 

 Cape, as a means of reducing pests. ^ The New Jersey growers who have 

 had most experience with this treatment claim that the year after its 

 application a large crop of berries of unusual size and excellent keeping 

 quality is obtained. "The benefits, both in the reduction of field rot and 

 in the improvement of keeping quality, are frequently said to persist for 

 several years." ^ One grower of large experience told the writer he had 

 failed to improve the keeping quality of Howes berries from New Jersey 

 bogs so treated the year before by spraying with Bordeaux mixture. 



Two valuable papers on cranberry diseases have been published recently, 

 — one by Dr. C. L. Shear on "end-rot" {Fusicoccum putrefaciens Shear),* 

 and the other by Dr. N. E. Stevens on the relation of regional temperatures 

 to the growth of cranberry fungi,* both being quite technical. 



Storage Tests. 



The descriptions of these experiments are arranged in numbered groups 

 below. Nos. 1, 2, 5, 7, 10 and 12 were planned by Drs. Shear and Stevens,, 

 and conducted by the latter. Nos. 4, 6, 8 and 9 were planned and carried 

 out by the writer. Nos. 3 and 11 were planned and conducted by Dr.. 

 Stevens and the writer. All these experiments were carried out in 1917. 

 A large crop so filled the station screenhouse in 1918 that it was impossible 

 to do much storage work. 



The fruit in the tests of groups 3, 4, 6, 8 and 9 was examined by cup 

 samples by the screeners employed at the station during the fall under 

 the writer's supervision, the inspectors' cup of the New England Cran- 

 berry Sales Company being used for sampling. The Sales Company's 

 hand grader was used to facilitate the work. 



The "seven-sample" method (described elsewhere in this report, page 

 106) was used in examining all the fruit spoken of as being stored in crates. 



All the tests but those of groups 1, 10, 11 and 12 were conducted in 

 the basement of the station screenhouse, this providing fairly even 

 temperatures. 



The groups of storage experiments conducted are as follows : — 



' Bui. No. 168, Mass. Agr. Expt. Sta., 1916, p. 46. 



2 Bui. No. 714, U. S. Dept. Agr., 1918, p. 7. 



3 Shear, C. L.: End-rot of cranberries. In Journal of Agricultural Research, Vol. 11, No. 2, 

 pp. 35-42, PI. A, 1917. 



* Stevens, Neil E.: Temperatures of the cranberry regions of the United States in relation to 

 the growth of certain fungi. In Journal of Agricultural Research, Vol. 11, No. 10, pp. 521-529, 

 1917. 



