644 EXPERIMENT STATION EECORD, 



Kau, and Koua districts on tlie island of Hawaii, in tlie Kula, Makawao, and 

 Kolau districts on Maui, and in similar areas on the islands of Lanai, Molokai, 

 Oahu, and Kauai. 



Improvement of Virginia lire-cured tobacco, G. T. McNess, E. H. Mathew- 

 soN and B. G. Anderson ( U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Soils Bui. JfG, pp. 40, pis. 6, 

 figs. 2). — The subject-matter of this bulletin has been abstracted from another 

 source (E. S, R., 19, p. 335). 



HORTICULTURE. 



Report of the horticulturist, G. F. Warren and Jennie A. Voorhees {New 

 Jersey mas. Rpt. 1906, pp. 189-223, 237-2Ji2, 2Ji8-265, pis. 7).— In addition to 

 the continuous investigations conducted on the permanent i)lats with orchard 

 and small fruits and asparagus, the work for IDOG included spraying and fumi- 

 gation experiments, which are elsewhere noted, work in as])aragus breeding, 

 vegetable forcing investigations, and other special studies. The data secured 

 in these various lines of work, together with meteorological data for the year 

 are given in this report. 



Records have been kept at the station since 1S96 to determine the amoimt of 

 plant food used by apples, pears, cherries, plums, peaches, quinces, and aspara- 

 gus. Two trees each of the plum and the pear and one each of the other fruits 

 are included in the test. The leaves, prunings, and fruit have been weighed 

 and analyzed each year. The work with the peach tree was completed in the 

 fall of 11)0,5 by removing the tree and weighing and .-inalyzing the roots, and the 

 comj)lete tabulated results covering a jieriod of 10 years, a simmiary of which 

 has been previously pulilished ( E. S. R., IS, p. 442), are given and discussed 

 in this rei)ort. Tables are also given showing the 10 year average composition 

 of leaves and prunings and of their ash of the other kinds of fruits studied. 



In the work with asparagus 2 varieties were used, viz. Palmetto, grown on 4 

 differently fertilized plats, and Columbian Mammoth White, grown on an iiTi- 

 gated and an unirrigated plat. The plats contained 1/216 acre each. The soil 

 was a stony loam of medium fertility. Tables are given showing the yield and 

 composition of the asparagus tops and the plant food removed by them during 

 a period of 8 years, the composition of and plant food removed by the edible 

 portion in 1!»01, and the estimated plant food removed annually per acre by the 

 4 plats of Palmetto. 



The edible portion of the asparagus was found to be relatively rich in phos- 

 phoric acid, removing over twice as much for each pound of nitrogen or potash 

 removed as the tops, whereas the latter removed over four times as much nitro- 

 gen and potash and about twice as much i)hosphoric acid as the edible portion. 

 From the data secured it is suggested that more phosphoric acid and potash 

 may be applied in asparagus fertilizers than is needed, especially where the 

 tops are burned on the bed. No striking effects of the different fertilizers are 

 shown by the analyses excei)t with the plat fertilized with yard manure, where 

 the potash percentage is considerably higher. Larger applications of potash 

 and nitrogen appear to have slightly increased these substances in the tops. 

 The average composition of both varieties was practically the same. Heavy 

 rainfall during the growing season appeared to lower the percentage of nitrogen 

 in the tops and increase that of potash. The same effect was noted in the irri- 

 gated plat. 



With the view of securing a suijerior rust-resistant strain of asparagus, seed 

 was secured from 36 different sources and selections were also made from rust 



