71 



A. — Member, i to 25. 



Member. I would like to have Professor Whetzel answer 

 Number 5. 



Chairman. What is the cause and remedy for the irregular 

 hard spots in apples, causing them to be irregular in outline, and 

 often rendering the fruit worthless ? 



Prof. Whetzel. This injury is supposed to be caused by a 

 small, red, sucking, insect, which Prof. Slingerland called the "Red 

 Bug." Prof. Slingerland was engaged in investigating the Red 

 Bug just before his death; in fact, he died before he concluded his 

 work. The Red Bug punctures the fruit when it is quite small. In 

 some sections the damage it has done has been considerable, es- 

 pecially to Greenings. Many of the knotty apples, according to 

 Prof. Slingerland, are caused by this insect. The small red bug, as it 

 grows larger, becomes very lively. We have not had very good suc- 

 cess in controlling it. 



Mr. C. J. Tyson. Does that cause a discoloration of the skin 

 on the outside ? 



Prof. Whetzel. It simply depresses it; if you cut the apple, 

 you will find it miore or less woody down under the flesh. 



Member. The skin is comparatively perfect on the outside? 



Prof. Whetzel. Except for the small puncture. 



Member. Has the skin a similar color to the rest of the apple ? 



Prof. Whetzel. I do not know. 



Member. Do you find it on the Ben Davis ? 



Prof. Whetzel. Yes. 



Member. Smith Cider has the trouble this year. 



Member. Is the damage caused early in the season? 



Prof. Whetzel. Yes ; when the apples are quite small. 



Member. Did Prof. Slingerland work out any remedy? 



Prof. Whetzel. No; he had only completed — not quite com- 

 pleted the life history at the time of his death. The insect must be 

 killed by contact spray. Even when quite small they will jump off 

 of the tree to the ground, and come back after spraying is over; 

 when they get older they fly. We have not been very successful in 

 controlling this bug. 



C. J. Tyson. There is another trouble — we have a great deal 

 of it here, especially have we had it during the past two or three 

 years. It occurs like a bruise or welt, rather a depression than a 

 welt, the skin of the apple not being broken, and it having a red 

 color, redder than the rest of the apple, and the flesh underneath is 

 a dry corky rot. 



, Prof. Whetzel. Yes ; it is a disease, commonly called the 

 Baldwin Spot; it occurs commonly in New York. It attacks also 

 other fruits than the apple. It looks like a dent in the apple. The 

 flesh is dry and spongy. 



C. J. Tyson. Now, I do not believe that is the trouble I am re- 

 ferring to. The one I referred to affects the whole side of the apple ; 

 and so far as I have seen it, the apple never gets dark on the outside, 

 like the Baldwin Spot. 



Prof. Whetzel. I am not familiar with it. 



C. J. Tyson. It looks like a limb bruise. 



Prof. Whetzel. No, I am not familiar with that at all. 



