HORTICULTURE. 647 



Notes on the plum orchard, W. B. Alwood ( Virginia Sla. Bui. 67, 

 pp. 93-97). — Tabular data iu regard to dates of blossoming- of 37 varie- 

 ties of plums for the years 1893-'97 are given, together with notes on 

 growth, frnitfulness, etc. The Japanese varieties have proved some- 

 what erratic, as to time of blossoming, being stimulated into unseason- 

 able bloom by a few warm days. As a preventive of brown rot, the 

 author recommends removing all decayed fruit from the tree as soon 

 as the leaves have fallen, and spraying in the spring before the buds 

 start with a solution of concentrated lye, 8 cans to 50 gal. water, or with 

 a solution of copper sulphate, 2 lbs. to 50 gal. water, the lye solution 

 being preferred, and spraying twice with a weak Bordeaux mixture 

 just before the flower buds open and again when the blossoms have 

 fallen. 



Japanese plums, F. S. Earle {Alabama College Sta. Bui. 85, pp. 

 423- 448, Jigs. 5). — The bulletin is a popular discussion of the culture of 

 the Japanese plums, including notes on soil, fertilizers, propagation, 

 planting, cultivation, pruning, thinning, marketing, insect enemies, 

 diseases, and varieties. The author believes that the Japanese plums 

 are destined to supersede the native plums in Alabama. Tendency to 

 overbear is considered their greatest fault, the fruits often setting so 

 thick as to hide the limb from view. Thinning the fruit is therefore 

 strongly recommended. It increases the size of the fruit, lessens the- 

 injury from rot, and prevents the loss of vitality of the tree. An 

 illustration is given of two. twigs of Burbank plum, showing the 

 increased size of fruit due to thinning. 



The most reliable remedy for the plum curculio is jarring the tree. 

 Descriptions are given of two modifications of the '• curculio catcher" 

 for low-headed trees. Trapping the beetles under pieces of bark placed 

 around the trees, destroying all fallen, wormy fruit, and spraying the 

 trees with Paris green are also recommended. 



Plum rot is the most troublesome disease of plums. The remedies 

 recommended are planting resistant varieties, selection of high, well- 

 drained soil of moderate fertility, use of only such fertilizers as will 

 not induce a rapid, succulent growth of wood, training the trees with 

 open heads to allow free circulation of air, thinning the fruit, burning 

 dead twigs and mummified fruits in winter, and spraying with Bordeaux 

 mixture in spring and with copper acetate after the fruit is formed. 



Strawberry culture, S. Powers {Florida Sta. Bui. 39, pp. 465- 

 504). — This is a popular bulletin giving directions for growing and 

 marketing strawberries. A good quality of flat- woods soil, overlying a 

 clay subsoil and having a gradual slope to the south, is recommended. 

 Light sandy soils are to be avoided except where an abundance of 

 water is available. The plants grow practically all winter, and should 

 therefore be allowed to rest during midsummer, no cultivation being 

 given them. 



The author believes that the deterioration of strawberries in Florida 

 is due to careless methods of propagation and cultivation more than to 



