HORTICULTURE. 843 



Other publications of the Ontario agricnltnral department were also used in 

 preparing the work. The text conchules with various si)raying formulas and a 

 spraying ca lenda r. 



An experiment on the preservation of cider apples with formalin, G. War- 

 collier (liiil. /SV>c. yai. Afjr. Fniiicc, 67 (1007), No. 7, i^it. 58t-58'i).—\\\ the 

 present experiment the author attempted to verify the results secured at the 

 Jodrell laboratory at Kew (E. S. R., IS, p. 1130). 



Five varieties of cider apples were included in the experiment, from each of 

 which 112 apples apparently free from disease were selected. Fifty-six fruits 

 of each variety were so placed on the wooden tloor of a storage room as not 

 to touch in order that disease might not be spread by contact. The remain- 

 ing 50 fruits of each variety were immersed for a period of 10 minutes in 

 a 4 per cent solution of formalin, then allowed to drain, and stored in the 

 same way as the untreated apples on a floor which had been previously washed 

 with a 1 per cent solution of formalin. An examination was made of the 

 treated and untreated fruits at the end of 2 months' time and the results are 

 presented in tabular form. 



Contrary to the results at Kew no favorable action was noted from the use 

 of formalin. According to the author, generally speaking the untreated apples 

 appearal to be better preserved than the treated apples. Both the treated 

 apples and the floor upon which they were placed are said to have been per- 

 fectly dry the second day after treatment. Both groups of apples appeared 

 healthy at the end of the first luonth. The author is of the opinion that the real 

 value of this method will not be fully established until it has been submitted 

 to commercial experiments on a large scale. 



Japanese persimmons, F. H. Burnette {Louisiana Stas. Bid. 99, pp. 23, figs. 

 14). — A numlier of varieties of Japanese persimmons have been grown at the 

 station for the past 18 years, most of which have fruited. This bulletin con- 

 tains brief suggestions as to the methods of propagating and growing persim- 

 mons, together with horticultural descriptions and illustrations of varieties 

 which have been fruited at the station, and notes on the fruit and its treatment, 

 enemies and diseases, marketing, and uses. 



It is concluded that Jai)anese persimmons may be grown with the greatest 

 success throughout Louisiana. They are easily grown and marketed, stand 

 transportation well, and command a ready market. It is believed that an 

 economical method will soon be evolved for the treatment of astringent va- 

 rieties. A number of the varieties are not astringent and may be eaten while 

 still hard. 



The best wine grapes for California. Pruning young vines. Pruning 

 the Sultanina, F. T. Bioletti (California Sta. Bui. 193, pp. I.',l-l(i0, fif/s. It). — 

 In the first part of this bulletin the author discusses the importiince of selecting 

 varieties suited to each cultural region as well as to the kind of wine which it 

 is desired to produce. Lists are given of varieties for planting for the produc- 

 tion of sweet and dry wine in the interior valleys, and for the production of dry 

 wine in the different sections of the coast country. 



The second portion of the bulletin is devoted to practical suggestions regard- 

 ing the pruning and ti-aining of grai)evines during the first three years of their 

 growth. Illustrations are given showing the systems of i)runing and training 

 advised. 



Relative to i\n\ Sultanina (Thomit.son Seedless) grape, there appears to be a 

 j^eneral variation in the croj) of different years and from the different vines in 

 the same vineyard and in adjacent vineyards in the same district. The cause 

 of this variation is believed to Ije defective pruning. The Sultanina bears well 

 only on long canes, and the croi» is usually good as long as the canes which are 



