HORTICULTURE. 783 



Comparisons were made on 7 varieties of plants raised in hotbeds 

 and transplanted, and plants from seed sown in the open fiekl, the dates 

 of vsowing beinji' the same. The field-sown seed .uave tlie largest i)rod- 

 uet with 5 varieties, the same amonnt of merchantable onions, but 

 smaller amonnt of scnllions with 1 variety, and a decidedly inferior 

 yiekl with 1 variety. The bnlbs prodnced by the transi)]aiitod ])hints 

 were larger than those grown in the held, due, perhai)s, to insufhcient 

 care in thinning the held sown plants. 



One-half of a large plat of gronnd was plowed and prepared in the 

 fall and the other half in the si)ring a few days prior to sowing the 

 seed. It was found that the seed on the fall-plowed section germinated 

 2 days earlier than that on the spring-plowed section, and that the work 

 of weeding was considerably less on the fall-idowed land. At harvest 

 the yields were : For fall-plowed section, 309.59 bu. merchantable onions 

 and 8.56 bn. of scullions; for spring-plowed section, 303.G1 bu. mer- 

 chantable and 10.24 bu. scullions. 



Spinach, L. F. Kinney {Rhode Island Sta. Bui. 41^ pp. 99-131, Jigs. 

 14). — Notes are given on spinach culture in Ehode Island, with a clas- 

 sification of the various varieties, dividing them into G groups, as 

 follows: Norfolk or liloomsdale spinach, round-leaved si)inaeh, thick-, 

 leaved spinach, prickly-seeded spinach, New Zealand spinach, and 

 mountain spinach or garden orache. The difiei-ent varieties of each 

 are described. 



The author investigated the use of water in connection with the cul- 

 tivation of spinach by subirrigation and surface irrigation. In the 

 case of the subirrigation but little, if any, benefit was observed, while 

 the use of water on the surface conspicuously hindered the growth of 

 the plants during the few days that followed the application. 



Brief notes are given on the leaf miner and mildew of spinach, and 

 the author thinks there are indications that the germs of the mildew 

 are carried to the field upon the seed when sown. 



A historical sketch of the cultivation and use of s])inacli is given, 

 with directions for proper cooking. 



Notes on sweet corn, H. P. Gould {Maine Sta. Rpt. 1895, pp. 

 79-Sl).— Tests of 25 varieties of corn are reported, and attention is 

 called to the tact that the Cory variety for several years has excelled 

 in earliness, but its quality is far from perfection. In the tests here 

 reported several varieties are shown to have the same growing season 

 as reported for the Cory, namely, 70 days from the date of planting. 

 Early Sunrise, the most prolific and one of the earliest varieties grown, 

 compared favorably in (juality with the later varieties. 



Tomatoes, L. C. Corijett {South Dakota Sta. Bui. 47, pp. 4-32, 45, 

 40), — A table is given showing dates of first bloom and first ripe fruit, 

 average numbers of fruits per plant, average weight of fruits, and 

 average yield per acre of 102 varieties of tomatoes grown at the station 

 under similar conditions. Of the varieties tested 19 produced at the 



