BUD VARIATION IN THE EUREKA LEMON. 
73 
would tend to increase the yield recorded for December. In those 
same two seasons the time between the December and January pick- 
ings was less than the normal period, resulting in a small recorded 
crop in January. Table XIV shows that a 2-^-inch ring was used in 
picking the fruit in December, 1914, and for several months previous, 
but in January, 1915, a change was made to a 2-J-J-inch ring. This 
in itself would decrease the picking for that month more than half 
what it would normally be if a ring of the same size as in the preced- 
ing month had been used. The variations in the intervals between 
the picking period in succeeding months and the changes in the size of 
the ring used tend to make the data of monthly production within 
the strains somewhat 
variable, but these 
variations do not 
affect the compara- 
tive studies between 
the various strains. 
It was the custom in 
the orchard where 
this plat was located 
to ' ' clean up ' ' all fruit 
of the Tree-Ripe 
grade on the trees in 
December and May, 
and the same practice 
was followed on the 
study plat, as is 
shown by the data for 
those months. 
It will be seen that 
there is considerable 
variation between 
the trees of some of the different strains in the period of their heaviest 
production. The trees of the Eureka, Dense-Productive, and Small- 
Open strains bear the largest proportions of their Green-grade fruit 
from February to May, inclusive, while the trees of the Pear-Shape, 
Shade-Tree, and Dense-Unproductive strains have their Green-grade 
fruit more evenly distributed throughout the year, with their maxi- 
mum production from August to December, inclusive. If the fruit 
produced by the trees of the latter group of strains was desirable in 
texture and quality, their increase in production in August and Sep- 
tember would tend to increase their value. As a matter of fact, this 
fruit is not only undesirable but the total production of the trees of 
Fig. 14.— Diagram showing the percentages of the total annual crop 
of fruits of the Green grade produced each month by the trees of 
the Eureka and Shade-Tree strains of lemons in the investigational 
performance-record plat during the 3-year period from July, 1914, to 
June, 1917, inclusive. 
