1066 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



In a test of 17 varietiea of tomatoes Beauty was the most satisfactory for canning' 

 purposes. It is an early variet)', of good appearance and quality, and one of tlie most 

 productive varieties grown. It also stands shipping well. Acme is a somewhat 

 earlier variety and may be prefei'red for early shipment. Fordhook First is also 

 considered a good early variety. 



Fertilizers for market-g'arden crops, B. Dyer {Jour. Bd, Agr. [London], 9 

 {190S), No. 4, 1>P- 461-4S1). — This work has been noted from another source 

 (PI S. R., 11, p. 961). 



Experiments in orchard culture, R. A. Emerson {Nebrnshi Sta. Bui. 79, ]>p. 

 33, figs. 12). — This bulletin reports the results of (1) tests of various methods of 

 orchard culture to determine the effects of each method on soil moisture and the 

 growth of young orchard trees, (2) tests of cover crops to determine their effects on 

 fall developnient and winter injury of young peach trees, and (3) tests of soil covers 

 and of various amounts of soil moisture on the root killing of apple and cherry 

 stocks. 



In the first instance a young orchard set in the spring of 1901 was diviiled into 8 

 plats, each plat containing 30 apple, 12 cherry, 10 peach, 10 pear, and 14 plum trees. 

 One plat was croj^ped with watermelons and kept cultivated throughout the season, 

 another with pole beans, and one with corn. One plat was given clean cultivation 

 throughout the two seasons of 1901 and 1902. Another was cropped with oats both 

 seasons. Three plats were given clean cultivation during the early part of both 

 seasons and then seeded, one to millet, one to oats, and weeds allowed to grow on 

 the third. In addition to the above plats, a ninth smaller plat on which no trees 

 were grown was seeded to rye to note the effect on soil moisture. During the season 

 for the -1 months from May to August, inclusive, only a little over 7 in. of rain fell 

 in 1901, while during the same period in 1902 28 in. fell. 



In these ex2:)eriments rye, during the first season, dried the ground most of all the 

 different methods of cultivation. This plat became dry earlier and remained dry 

 nearly a month longer than any other plat. Next to rye the oat crop dried the 

 ground most seriously, though not to a much greater degree than did corn and cover 

 crops. The oat plat became dry, however, about 2 weeks earlier in the season and 

 the drought lasted much longer than on the corn plat. The soil in the cover-crop 

 plats did not become dry for a week or two after the corn ground did. Clean culti- 

 vation dried the soil the least of any of the different methods of culture, while vege- 

 tables dried the soil but little more than clean cultivation. There was from two to 

 tliree times as much moisture available to plants during the dry season in the clean 

 cultivated plat as in the oat plat. Both the oat and cover-crop plats absorbed more 

 moisture during heavy rains than the clean cultivated plat, but this was counterbal- 

 anced by the more rapid loss during periods of dry weather. 



The effect of drought on the young orchard was especially noticeable on the oat 

 jilat, where more than 50 per cent of the trees died. On the other plats the loss 

 varied from 2 trees on the clean cultivated plat to 5 where vegetables were grov/n, 7 

 on the corn plat, and 9 where cover crops were used, out of a total in each case of 76 

 trees set. Tables are given showing the average height and breadth of the top and 

 diameter of the trunks of trees on the different plats. 



In summarizing the results of these tables the author states that all things consid- 

 ered — drought killing, height of tree, breadth of top, and diameter of trunk — "the 

 vegetable and clean cult,ivation plats rank first, the former being slightly ahead of 

 the latter. The next in rank are the cover crop and corn plats, the former being 

 very slightly ahead of the latter. The oats plat naturally ranks lowest, much lower 

 than the corn and cover crop plats. ' ' 



The serious drying effect of rye is noted in one other case where rye was seeded 

 in a bearing orchard. During the summer of the drought only a few trees died, but 

 the following season the spring was very dry, and although abundant rains came in 



