HORTICULTURE. 748 



Altliough urchiircl beating systems are by no means perfected, it is concluded 

 tbat under tbe conditions experienced In tbe spring of 1911, tbere is absolutely 

 uo doubt but that a crop can be saved by orchard heating. The rows that 

 were heated in the apple orchard have a crop and the farther away the trees 

 were from the heated area, the less fruit was saved. The results with pears 

 were less conclusive, d'Anjou pears showing a slight injury from a late frost. 

 Winter Nells pears did not set a good crop, although this appears to have been 

 due to general unseasonable weather conditions rather than to the effect of frost 

 or smudging. 



Although the temperature as recorded at Corvallis in the Willamette Valley 

 dropped below 29° on several nights and as low as 25° at one time and was 

 below 28° for more than 2 hours, a fair crop of fruit is left, indicating that uo 

 arbitrary table of temperatures for frost injury has been worked out for all 

 conditions. 



Orchard heating, A. H. Tiiiessen (Mo. Weather Rev., 39 (1911), No. 5, pp. 

 761, 762). — A short descriptive account of methods of frost fighting as carried 

 on in the Grand Valley, Colo. 



Protection against frost — frost candles, A. G. McAdie (Mo. Weather Rev., 

 39 (1911), No. J, pp. 769, 770). — A description is given of an inexpensive frost 

 candle which has been devised recently at the San Francisco Weather Bureau 

 office. 



The frost candle, or cartridge, as it has been called, consists of a cardboard 

 or stiff paper tube of suitable dimensions, filled with some combustible material, 

 such as cotton waste and crude oil. A stoi)i>er is provided for the lower end 

 and the projecting end of the cotton waste serves as a ready means of lighting. 

 When used in an orchard the candle is susi>ended directly in the tree and about 

 6 in. beneath a metallic cover, which serves both to radiate the heat and to 

 hold the soot particles that rise in the smoke. Cartridges have been made 

 which burned for about 3 hours. 



Winter vetch for a cover crop in Michigan orchards, H. J. Eustace (Michi- 

 gan .S7tt. Circ. 13, PI). '/, figs. 5).— This circular contains a popular discussion 

 of the value of a cover crop in an orchard or vineyard, and gives brief direc- 

 tions for the cultui'e of winter vetch, which plant the Michigan Station found 

 to be especially valualile for the purix)se. 



Strawberry culture in Idaho, C. C. Vincent (Idaho Sta. Bui. 70, pp. 50, figs. 

 28). — This bulletin contains a report on varieties of strawberries tested at the 

 station for the past 3 years, considers the possibilities of strawberry culture 

 in Idaho, discusses in detail the cultural methods employed by the leading 

 growers of the State, and gives suggestions relative to systems of planting and 

 subsequent treatment both in irrigated and nonirrigated regions. 



Peach experiments 1906-1910, F. GarcIa and J. E. Mundell (New Mexico 

 Sta. Bill. 76, pp. .'{2, figs. 10). — To gain more reliable data on peach growing in 

 New Mexico, the station started an experimental orchard in 1906. This bulletin 

 embodies the results secured through the season of 1910, the second year of 

 fruiting. The orchard site is described and a detailed account is given of the 

 preparation of the land, planting oi^erations, cultivation, irrigation, pruning, 

 varieties planted, thinning, picking, packing, and yields. 



The trees were planted 20 ft. apart each way and headed at about 12 in. 

 from the ground. Low heading has been an advantage in thinning and picking 

 the fruit and it ap])ears also to have helped in retarding sun scald on the trunk 

 and larger limbs of the tree. The flooding system of irrigation was practiced 

 and the trees were irrigated duiMng the winter also without as yet producing 

 any noticeable injury. An examination of the root systems of the trees made 

 during the fall of 1910 showed a large root development, practically all of 



