Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1906-08-29
GOOD COLOR IN APPLES.

of the New Brunswick fruit growers
association at Fredericton. n. B., i'm
pressed itself on many nf those who
saw the exhibit. and the question MAJ.
urally arises how the fruit of the St
John valley comes to be So highly
colored. There are, no doubt, several
important factors governing this
question, says a writer in the Coun.
try Gentleman. 1t was the writer's
privilege to visit the st. Louis exhibi-
ton when the show of apples was at
its best. Apples were SHOWN from al.
most every state and from many parts
of Canada. The highest colored fruit
was from Iowa, Minnesota and wis.
consin, and the colder parts of Can
ada, and from the irrigated districts
of Colorado and Oregon; and although
British Columbia fruit from the irri-
gated districts was not observed. it
would no doubt have compared favor,
ably with that from Colorado and Ore
gon. Is it possible to harmonic the
two facts that the most highly colored
fruit is found in cold districts and
also in irrigated districts? What con
ditions have these in common to
bring about the same results?
Immature apples are not highly col
ored; hence, in order to get good
color, the fruit must be mature. In
ordar IN oct v,e4uro Fr,,St H. $500
must ripen their wood early, and the
more rapidly the wood is ripened the
higher the color of the fruit will be-
In irrigated districts the length of the
growing season of the trees is largely
governed by the quantity of water ar
tificially supplied to the trees and the
time Of Withholding the same. Hence
from this cause, and heat and sun.
shine, the trees are made to ripen
their wood rapidly and early, and this
means we'll matured, hence weIl-col-
ored fruit.
The high color of winter apples
from irrigated districts IS especially
noticeable, as the fruit is much more
mature when picked than elsewhere,
and has been grown N trees which
ripeEed their wood rapidly. In cold
hardy trees ripen their wood
rapidly and early, and hence the fruit
natures early. Late-keeping apples
and less hardy varieties do not color
as well in the cold districts as hey DO
where the climate is not so severe and
the growing season is not long enough
in cold districts for the fruit to ma
ture sufficiently. Apples which ma
ture quickly are more highly colorad
than those having a longer season.
This is proved in hot, dry seasons.
when apples ripen early and are higher
colored than when there is a wet sea
son, causing late growth and late ma
turing of the fruit If a branch of an
apple tree heavily loaded with fruit is
broken and not sufficient sap c-rcu
lates afterward to permit the fruit to
develop well, it will not be well col
ored; but if there is sufficient sap, the
fruit on that branch will be more
highly colored than anywhere else on
the tree, because the flow of sap is
checked and the ripening of the God
is more rapid than on that part Of the
tree which is injured.
In order to have good color. the
fruit must Of course get sunshine; but
there are other factors as well which
induce high co,or. 1t is a well-known
fact that trees in sod produce more
highly-colored fruit than those which
have been cultivated, the reason
being that cultivated trees grow later,
and hence the fruit is not so mature
at picking time. The advantages of
cultivation in conserving moisture In
the soil, and thus causing the fruit to
grow larger with sufficient color, off
set, however, the advantages of high
color which is produced at the ex-
pense of size in fruit when trees are
in sod.
Apples succeed admirably in soil
which is naturally well drained, and
where there is a limestone
subsoil, but the high color found on
apples grown under such conditions is
probably due much more to the fact
that with such good drainage, con IL
tions are favorable to early and rapid
of the trees than to the lime
stone itself. do not know of any re-
liable experiments proving that the ap.
plication of certain fer Ill ;zers will pro-
duce more highly-colored fruit than
others, although it is sometimes
claimed that they do. One could un-
derstand, however, that an application
Of some heterogeneous fertilizer would
induce the trees to make later growth
at the expense of color in the fruit.
There are districts where, although
the season is comparatively short, GER
tain varieties Of apples are not 50
as in others where the
season is about the same length, but
where the temperature is much higher
and the ripening Of the wood more
rapid The fine shipping quality Of
the Annapolis valley winter apples is,
l think, largely due to the fact that
the fruit when picked has not reached
the state of maturity it has in. say.
certain parts of Ontario, and hence is
frmer and will keep longer and ship
better.
Raising early Tomatoes.
The fret ranuicfta in RAISING tonsa.