444 Agricultural Experiment Station, Ithaca, N. Y. 



I do not know when this delightful bush first came to this 

 counti^v. William Falconer wrote in 1893 {Gardening, i. 275) that 

 "although it has long been cultivated in gardens, it is only within 

 the last few years that its merits have been generally appreciated, 

 and it has become in much demand." It could not have been a 

 very old resident of American gardens. It seems to have been 

 first brought prominently to notice in England in 1873, by an 

 illustration and description in Gardener's Chronicle, by Maxwell 

 T. Masters. The species was described by Asa Gray in 1859. 

 Maximowicz (Bull. Acad. Imper. Sci. St. Petersburg, vii. 560, 

 1870) divides the species into four varieties, two of which bear 

 edible fruit. The form which is grown in this country is the 

 variety hortensis, characterized by spineless branches, elliptical 

 leaves, very long fruit-stems, and large edible fruit. In nurseries, 

 the plant is sometimes called Elwagnus edulis. 



The goumi grows readily from, seeds. These should be sown 

 or stratified in summer, before they become dry, and allowed to 

 freeze the following winter. The next spring, they should germ- 

 inate freely. Cuttings of the half-ripened wood strike readily 

 in June or July, if handled in frames. As soon as'attention is 

 given to cultivation and selection, we may expect the goumi to 

 become prized for the edible qualities of its fruit. 



VII. THE WINTER INJURIES. 



The past winter was unprecedentedly severe upon vegetation 

 throughout the state. In most parts, all stone fruits were much 

 injured. Only sour cherries seem to have escaped the havoc, and 

 even they are not a heavy crop. Pears were also seriously hurt. 



The University premises are not ideal lands for the tenderer 

 fruits. The location is too high and bleak, and it is too far re- 

 moved from the influence of Cayuga lake. The condition of the 

 stone fruits, particularly of peaches, in the Cornell plantations is 

 not an accurate guide to the conditions in the more favored fruit 

 sections; yet a brief discussion of the winter injuries to fruits at 

 this place may haye some points of usefulness. 



