560 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



A test of alcoholic vapor as a preservative of fresh strawberries is 

 reported. Six quarts of fresh Waffield strawberries were kept in a 

 refrigerator for 3 days, half of them being kept under a bell jar with a 

 small open bottle of 98 per cent alcohol. The berries not covered with 

 the bell jar molded considerably in the center of the boxes but the 

 least molded ones retained their normal flavor. The berries exposed 

 to alcoholic vapor under the bell jar retained their fresh appearance 

 and showed no trace of mold, but lost their normal flavor and acquired 

 that of weak vinegar. In a second trial 5 boxes of berries were placed 

 on glass plates in a refrigerator and covered with bell jars. Under the 

 first bell jar was placed a dish of water, and under the second, third, 

 fourth, and fifth belL jars dishes of 6^, 12£, 25, and 50 per cent alcohol, 

 respectively. In 2 days the berries exposed to the vapor of the 0^ per 

 cent alcohol were considerably molded and their flavor was destroyed 

 the same as those with the stronger alcohol. 



Descriptive notes are given on the Siberian pea tree (Oaragana). 

 The plant is recommended as a good flowering shrub for severe climates, 

 having endured both the cold winters and hot, dry summers and pro- 

 duced abundant blossoms each spring. 



The use of Deudrolene on the trunks of apple trees as a remedy for 

 borers resulted in killing 57 trees out of ISO treated and severely injur- 

 ing a large part of the, remainder. The material was applied the last of 

 May and the first of June, the trunks of the trees being coated about 

 J in. thick from the first limbs to a couple of inches below the surface 

 of the soil. The leaves of many of the trees began to die in a few days 

 after the application was made. In a few months many of the trees 

 were dead, in others the cambium layer was dead entirely around the 

 trunk, and the trunks of trees whose tops were still fresh were notice- 

 ably larger above the Dendrolene than where it was applied. Newly 

 planted trees were affected sooner than trees that were set 1, 2, and 3 

 years before. 



Notes are given on studies of the "tip burn" of potatoes. Everett 

 Heavy Weight, Rural New Yorker No. 2, Green Mountain, and Everett 

 Colossal have proved resistant to tip burn, while some older varieties 

 have been badly affected. The author suggests that this difference 

 may be due to a reduction in vigor of the old varieties. 



New forcing house, W. E. Britton (Connecticut State Sta. Bpt. 1896, pp. 229-231, 

 pi, 1). — Brief descriptive notes on the stiition forcing house, with ground plans. 



Lath shading for glass houses, E. S. Goff and F. Ckaxkiield {Wisconsin Sta. 

 1,'pt. 1896, pp. 252-255, figs. ..'). — A method of shading greenhouses with lath screens 

 is described and illustrated. 



New vegetables, W. W. Tracy (Gard. and Forest, 10 (1897). No. 512, p. 495).— 

 1 (escriptive notes on Gregory Surprise pea, Gradus pea, and Golden Hubbard squash. 



Mushroom culture on an extensive scale, E. Windisch {Die Champignonknltur 

 in ihrem ganzen Umfange. Neudamm: J. Neumann, 1897, pp. 153, figs. 94). 



Edible and poisonous mushrooms, P. Voglino (Funghi velenosi e mangerecei 

 italiani. Turin: G. B. Pararia, 1897, colored I j>h. .'). 



