HORTICULTURE. 



695 



vicinity of this station neglected orcliards and vineyards snff'ered 

 severely the following- season. At tlie station the orcliaid and vine- 

 yard were carried throngli the season in good condition by thorough 

 and constant cultivation. 



An experiment was conducted with mulches in the vineyard and 

 peach orchard, 5 plats of about one-tenth acre each being treated. 

 The first i)lat in the vineyard was mulched with fresh stable manure to 

 a depth of 3 in., the second with a mulch of cultivated earth 5 in. deep, 

 and the third with a mulch of rotten straw G in. deep. The plats in the 

 peach orchard were mulched with 3 in. of fresh stable manure and by 

 cultivation to a depth of 5 in. The results obtained in these experi- 

 ments are tabulated. The conclusions of the author, drawn from this 

 table, show that the mulch of fresh stable manure which was api)lied 

 early in the season served better for obtaining moisture than the mulch 

 of cultivated earth. Late showers, although very light, may have 

 influenced this to some extent. 



Influence of north and south slopes on the temperature of the 

 trunks of fruit trees, F. H. King ( Wisconsin iSta. Rpt. 1895, pp. 268- 

 273, Jiff. 1, dgm. 1). — In order to observe the changes in temperature 

 in the trunks of trees three observation stations were selected, one 

 upon the summit of a hill 108 ft. above and 1,000 ft. distant from Lake 

 Mendota, another on the south slope 32 ft. below the summit, and the 

 third on the north side 34 ft. below. At each of these stations there 

 was set in the ground a section of a second-growth black oak tree, 8 in. 

 in diameter and projecting 30 in. above the surface. In the top of 

 each post vertical flve-eighths-inch holes 16 in. deep were bored 1 in. 

 inside the bark on the north and south sides, and chemical thermome- 

 ters were lowered to the bottom of the holes. These could be drawn 

 up by strings for reading. The top of each tree trunk was covered 

 with a narrow board, to which was secured a tight galvanized-iron 

 shelter containing a self-recording air thermometer. 



Tlie temperatures of the tree trunks were read daily at 7 a. m. and 

 1 p. m. during December, 1891, January, February, and March, 1895. 



The following table shows the monthly meau temi:)eratures : 



Mean temperatures in the north and nouth .sides of tree trunks. 



From this table it ai)pears that the mean diurnal change in the south 

 side of the tree trunks was 21.81:° F. on the south slope, and 13.82° on 



