NOTES. 729 



of flax and hemp, $1,256,650; protection of vineyards againsl phylloxera, $45,600; 

 prevention of fraud in butter and margarine, $28,600; veterinary schools, $216,300; 

 diseases of animals, compensation, etc., $206,600; State horse-breeding establish- 

 ments, $1,531,150; irrigation, drainage, embankment, etc., $614,500; management of 

 state forests, $2,680,100; total, $8,509,800. 



The appropriation for the management of state forests includes an item of $34,000 

 for the forest schools at Nancy and Barres. There are certain receipts from the edu- 

 cational institutions, such as fees, sale of products, etc., which amounted in 1902 to 

 $148,216, while the receipts from the breeding establishment amounted to $315,000 

 and the forest revenues to $6,821,000. 



Society for Horticultural Science. — The annual meeting of the society was held in 

 Philadelphia December 27, the sessions being presided over by L. H. Bailey, who 

 delivered the presidential address upon the subject, What is Horticulture? (E. S. R., 

 16, p. 425). 



In a paper on The Importance in Seed Growing of Adherence to Distinct and 

 Clearly Defined Varietal Forms, by W. W. Tracy, sr., .attention was called to the 

 variable conceptions which different seed growers have in regard to the ideal type 

 of the same variety of vegetable, the >i~rd of which they may severally offer for sale. 

 One grower may select for quality, another for yield, another for forcing, another 

 for uniformity of product, etc. The result is that the same variety offered by 

 different seedsmen lacks greatly in uniformity of product, and these variations 

 increase the longer the variety is in cultivation. As a remedy for the multiplicity 

 of variations now found grouped under a varietal name, the author urged the devel- 

 opment of a public sentiment which should demand of the introducers of new varie- 

 ties of vegetables under a distinct name that they "publish a full and complete 

 description of precisely what in every particular the ideal of that variety should be; 

 and that this ideal should be rigidly adhered to in the growing of seed to be sold 

 under that name." If this were done, it is believed that the number of listed varie- 

 ties would gradually decrease, while the distinctive characteristics of the remaining 

 sorts would be developed to a higher degree. The paper was rich in illustrative 

 material bearing on the different phases discussed and drawn from the author's many 

 years of experience as a seedsman. 



L. C. Corbett read a paper on The Value of Coordinated Variety Tests and How 

 They May Be Secured. In making such tests it was held desirable that the seeds used 

 should have a common origin and have been grown in the place long enough to have 

 become adapted to the local conditions. At the time of introduction to the trade, 

 the variety should be carefully described and type specimens preserved for future 

 comparison. One of the chief obstacles in the way of careful studies of plant varia- 

 tion at the present time is the lack of accurate descriptions. The use of a compre- 

 hensive descriptive outline was suggested. Such an outline in the form of a note 

 blank has been devised for each of the fruits and vegetables and used satisfactorily 

 during the past two years. The features of this note blank consist of a printed 

 enumeration of all the attributes and possible variations liable to occur in plants, a 

 series of simple checks and signs being used to indicate comparative degree of the 

 descriptive adjectives used, so that the matter of note taking can be done rapidly and 

 accurately. On the back of the note blank spaced cross lines are printed to aid in 

 drawing the various parts of the plants to a scale. A uniform method of descrip- 

 tive note taking, it is believed, would enable seedsmen at once to determine whether 

 a so-called novelty was really new or not. It would aid florists and plant breeders 

 to identify varieties, to detect variations, and determine the results of different cul- 

 tural practices; and it would often facilitate in determining the duration and modifi- 

 cations which take place in varieties. 



Carrying out the idea expressed in these two papers, a committee of the society 

 was appointed to consider the question of standardizing descriptive olericultural 



