MASSACHUSETTS 



1345 



ment as to spraying, etc., I believe it is 

 worth experimenting with. 



(16) Yellow Transparent 



This is the third Russian in the list 

 and is included principally because of 

 its very early season, ripening in July, 

 when every one is apple-hungry. The 

 tree is very hardy and healthy and comes 

 into bearing very young indeed. Grafts 

 often bear the second year, and some- 

 times even the year they are set, the 

 trees usually bearing a reasonable crop 

 the third and fourth years. It is a good, 

 reliable cropper, but ripens so unevenly 

 that it requires two or three pickings to 

 secure the fruit in the best condition. The 

 fruit is a very handsome clear yellow, 

 but both the flesh and skin are tender 

 and it therefore bruises easily and shows 

 the marks of careless handling. It is a 

 fine cooking apple and good specimens 

 are not by any means bad eating. Where 

 early fruit commands a good price and 



for nearby markets it will prove a profit- 

 able variety. 



(17) Bine Pearmain 



This is a fine old variety, but is not 

 very generally grown, and it is not rec- 

 ommended here except for the family or- 

 chard or in a limited way in commercial 

 plantings. To one who knows and likes 

 the good old-fashioned sorts the Blue 

 Pearmain is always very acceptable. The 

 tree is a good, strong grower and long- 

 lived. The fruit is mild in flavor but 

 aromatic and fine with a rich appearance 

 in well-grown specimens which is attrac- 

 tive. The skin is a little rough and 

 rather thick. The color is deep orange- 

 yellow, splashed and striped and shaded 

 with very dark red, and the heavy white 

 bloom over this gives a bluish appear- 

 ance. The flesh is firm, yellowish, mod- 

 erately juicy and aromatic. 



F. C. Seaes, 



Professor of Pomology, Massacliusetts Agricul- 

 tural College. 



Prodnction of Fraits in lUCassaclinsetts 



Small fruits: 1909 and 1899. The following table shows data with regard to 

 small fruits on farms: 



CROP 



Small Fruits, total 



Strawberries 



Blackberries and dewberries. 

 Raspberries and loganberries . 



Currants 



Gooseberries 



Cranberries 



Other berries 



Number 



of farms 



reporting 



1909 



4,654 

 1,368 

 1,506 

 1,536 

 330 

 1,350 

 61 



Acres 



1909 



9,552 



2,016 



287 



388 



243 



42 



6,577 



1899 



8,346 



2,027 



365 



413 



190 



30 



5,128 



193 



Quantity 



(quarts) 



1909 



29,260,143 



5,518,867 



307,987 



376,136 



213,810 



o7,oai 



22,714,496 



71,020 



Value 

 1909 



$1,676,790 



495,438 



31,454 



65,757 



19,904 



6,007 



1.062,205 



7,025 



Cranberries are by all odds the most 

 important of the small fruits grown in 

 Massachusetts, with strawberries ranking 

 next. The total acreage of small fruits 

 in 1909 was 9,552 and in 1899, 8,346, an 

 increase of 14.5 per cent. The production 

 in 1909 was 29,260,000 quarts, as com- 

 pared with 25,882,000 quarts in 1899, and 

 the value $1,677,000, as compared with 

 $1,494,000. The quantity and value of 

 products thus increased somewhat less, 

 relatively, than the acreage. 



Orchard fruits, grapes, and nuts: 1909 



and 1899. The following table presents 

 data with regard to orchard fruits, 

 grapes, and nuts. The acreage devoted 

 to these products was not ascertained. In 

 comparing one year with the other the 

 number of trees or vines of bearing age 

 is, on the whole, a better index of the 

 general changes or tendencies than the 

 quantity of product, but the data for the 

 censuses of 1910 and 1900 are not closely 

 comparable and the product is therefore 

 compared, although variations may be 

 due largely to temporarily favorable or 

 unfavorable climatic conditions. 



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