558 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Iii other trials hollow building tiles 12 in. square by 4 in. thick were 

 used. The water was readily transmitted to the soil by this arrange- 

 ment. As regards growth of plants, there was little difference between 

 tile and brick set edgewise, but with cuttings there was considerable 

 difference in the formation of callus and roots. The authors say, "In 

 several trials made with both herbaceous and woody cuttings, it was 

 observed in nearly every instance that the development of callus was 

 least over the tiles, intermediate over the brick, and most in the ordi- 

 nary surface-watered bed, while the root development was in inverse 

 order, viz, greatest over the tile and least in the surface-watered bed." 



In another test the building tiles were arranged so that the hollow 

 spaces in them formed continuous flues through which the air passed 

 after being heated by the steam pipes beneath the bench. The circu- 

 lation of air through the flues was excellent, but the average tempera- 

 ture of the soil was no higher than in case of the other beds. In 

 another test the tiles were arranged to form flues as above and the 

 interior surface of the walls of the flues was heavily coated with asphalt 

 to prevent evaporation from the moist tiles. Again little or no dif- 

 ference in the temperature of the beds was noticed. 



Pots of coleus, geraniums, and petunias were placed in sand in beds 

 arranged one with tiles and one with bricks for subwatering and another 

 in the ordinary way for surface watering. In about a month the plants 

 were shifted from 24_ in. pots to 4 in. ones. The plants in the tile and 

 brick beds were badly wilted for several days after being repotted, but 

 at the end of the test, some 10 weeks later, they had a considerably 

 greater development of top and root than plants in the surface- watered 

 bed. The plants in the subwatered beds rooted through the pots more 

 than in the other bed. In regard to root development the authors say, 

 " In the ordinary bed the roots Avere curled about the bottom of the pot 

 and in a less degree half way to the top. In the tile and brick beds 

 the roots covered the entire exterior of the root-ball evenly to the top." 

 The Golden Bedder coleus was deeper yellow and the geraniums were 

 deeper green in the surface-watered bed than in the other beds. 



The extra cost of adding the arrangement for subwatering was about 

 equal to the tirst cost of an ordinary bench. The authors believe that, 

 "Taking into account the superior growth of plants on the subwatered 

 bench, the greatly reduced cost of attendance, and the presumed greater 

 durability of the bench, the extra first cost will soon be made up." 



The improvement of our native fruits, L. II. Bailey ( U. S. Dept. 

 Agr. Yearbook 1896, pp. 2H7-304). — It is the belief of the author that, 

 in the improvement of fruits, the things most needed rather than those 

 intrinsically best deserve most attention. In reviewing what has been 

 done in the way of improving our native fruits, the author states that 

 in "nearly every case the amelioration has come from the force of cir- 

 cumstances and not from the choice or design of men." To illustrate 

 this the history of the improvement of native grapes, plums, raspber- 



