HORTICULTURE. 759 



had been caught. The results obtained indicate that the wind does aid in poUina- 

 tion though not to any great extent in the case of apples. .Sometimes slides at con- 

 siderable distances would be found to have caught moi-e pollen grains than those 

 nearer the tree. This was thought to be due to the fact tliat the pollen grains of the 

 apple hold together to a certain extent and the farther they are )>lown from the tree 

 the more likely the}' are to become sej^arated ))y the wind. 



A table is given showing the results of pollination obtained with a large number 

 of varieties. 



Tlie need of a more systematic and natural classification of varieties than is offered 

 by Thomas, Downing, or Warder is pointed out. The author found in studying the 

 forms of blooms and the size and shape of the organs of tlie flowers that each variety 

 possesses definite characteristics that might be used to distinguish it from other 

 varieties. Modification of the pistil to insure pollination or prevent self-fertilization 

 is a frequent characteristic. Thus the pistils of Grimes Golden were found to recurve 

 outward to such an extent in some cases as to make self-pollination absolutely 

 imijossible. Ben Davis has a very straight, upright pistil, and Smokehouse a very 

 large, knobbed pistil. "These modifications of i)istils, the hal)its of the anthers in 

 dehiscing, the sliape, size, and color of the flower, the fruits and the definite char- 

 acters of the lately introduced Russian varieties all offer a basis of scientific classifi- 

 cation of the apple." 



Self-sterility of orcliard fruits, Ewert {Proakauer Ohdbau-Zt;/., 7 {1902), No. 

 11, pp. 161-166). ^The author's experiments showed that the apple Golden Pear- 

 main is practically self-sterile, only one well-formed apple l)eing obtained out of 48 

 jiollinations made using pollen from the same tree. Ten good fruits were obtained 

 from 27 pollinations when pollen from trees of other varieties were used. Notwith- 

 standing these results, the author found that long lines of Golden Pearmain trees 

 along highways from 300 to 350 meters from any other apple trees regularly produced 

 good crops. His advice is that under German conditions, where villages are close 

 together and many kinds of fruits are grown, mixing varieties in plantings is not 

 necessary. 



The sweating- of apples, R. Otto {Proskauer OlMbau-Ztg., 7 {1902), No. 10, pp. 

 156-159). — The chemical changes that occur in apples during the sweating period 

 were investigated by the authoi-. In the first instance the apples were placed in a 

 heap under a glass bell jar and examined from time to time thereafter. Under these 

 conditions the sweating of the apples caused a loss in the water content and a (corre- 

 sponding increase in the dry matter. With somewhat immature ajiples the starch 

 content decreased 4 per cent within 10 days and after 23 days had entirely disap- 

 peared. The sugar content increased, at the same time, from 9.98 to 11.51 per cent 

 at the end of 23 days. With another lot of apples, somewhat riper, the starch con- 

 tent decreased 3.81 per cent after 17 days, while the sugar content rose from 10.10 to 

 11.53 per cent in the same time. With still riper fruit the starch content decreased 

 1.6 per cent in 14 days, while the total sugar content increased during the same 

 period from 12.86 to 13.26 per cent. The acid content of the apples in all cases dur- 

 ing the sweating period decreased from 10.26 per cent, in the first case mentioned 

 above, to 8.27 per cent after 23 days, from 9.41 to 8.17 per cent after 17 days in the 

 second case, and from 8.5 to 8.4 per cent in the third case after 14 days. The 

 extract content also increased during the sweating period in all of the above cases. 



In another experiment, where the apples were allowed to sweat in piles out of 

 doors, as is usual in cider making, practically the same results were obtained. The 

 results taken as a whole are therefore believed to show that the sweating of apples 

 is advantageous in the manufacture of cider, since by this process the extract and 

 sugar content of the api)les can be increased within a comparatively short time. It 

 is esi)ecially desirable with apples not yet fully ripe, since these contain comparatively 

 large amoinits of starch, which needs to be converted into sugar for the manufacture 



