366 



also brief descriptive notes for the season of 1890 on 44 varieties grown 

 at Pulaski, New York, and on 11 varieties grown at Rochester, 'Sew 

 York. 



New York State Station, Bulletin No. 25 (New Series), November, 1890 (pp. 39). 



The New York State fertilizer control and fertilizer 

 ANALYSES. — " This is the first of a series of bulletins treating of fer- 

 tilizers, to be issued by the station for the benefit of the farmers of 

 New York State." This number, which " is intended mainly as an in- 

 troduction to the series," contains a statement of the plan of proposed 

 fertilizer bulletins, the text and object of the New York fertilizer law, 

 information regarding the organization of the work, method of sampling 

 and laboratory methods, and analyses of 29 samples of commercial 

 fertilizers collected by agents of the station during the fall of 1890. 



New York Cornell Station, Bulletin No. 21, October, 1890 (pp. 12). 



Notes on tomatoes, L. H. Bailey, M. S., and W. M. Munson, B. 

 S. (pp. 75-86, illustrated). — This includes brief reports on experiments 

 with reference to the effects of breeding, heavy fertilizing, early and 

 late setting, seeds vs. cuttings, trimming, and double flowers as produc- 

 ing irregular fruits, together with notes on the yield of tomatoes in 

 1890 and on varieties tested at the station. 



Effects of breeding. — The value of careful and systematic selection of 

 stock has been clearly shown in the experiments with tomatoes con- 

 ducted for five years at the station. "Unusual care was exercised in 

 the selection of stock seed in 1889, and in the case of the Ignotum care- 

 ful breeding has been practiced for several seasons. Our whole trial 

 ground may be said to have been planted with pedigree seed this year, 

 for the stock was obtained from our own selections of 1889, from special 

 stock contributed by the introducers of standard varieties and from 

 the originators of the new and untried sorts. As a result our plantation 

 was the most uniform which we have ever seen, with remarkably regu- 

 lar and handsome fruits." 



In making selections greater value has invariably been attached to 

 the character of the stock plant than to individual fruits. For example, 

 two lots of Volunteer tomatoes were grown this year under like condi- 

 tions. One lot was from commercial seeds and the other from seeds of 

 a small and inferior fruit taken from a plant having mostly large fruits. 

 The first lot yielded 6.7 pounds per plant, with an average weight 

 per fruit of 5.3 ounces; the second lot yielded 8.8 pounds per plant, 

 with an average weight per fruit of 7.3 ounces. Similar results were 

 obtained with the Mikado. 



Effect of heavy fertilizing. — The experiments of last year, reported in 

 Bulletin No. 10 of the station (See Experiment Station Record, Yol. I, 

 p. 276), "show that the common notion that heavy manuring les- 



