354 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



results of a number of experimental shipments of fresh fruits to England. The experi- 

 ence of the season indicates that with proper methods of cold storage on shipboard 

 pears, summer apples, and even peaches may be shipped to England in perfect con- 

 dition. The market for grapes will, in a large measure, need to be created, since at 

 present there seems to l)e no marked demand for these fruits. 



CofFee culture in Queensland, H. Newport {Queensland Agr. Jour., S {1901), 

 No. 6, pp. 4,37-440, pi. 1) . — This article, the ninth of a series of articles on this sub- 

 ject, discusses the treatment of young plants in the field. 



Cacao shade {Trinidad Bot. Dept. Bui. Misc. Inform., 1901, No. 27, i>P- 330-333).— 

 An analysis of the flowers of the leguminous coffee shade tree known as Bois 

 Immortel {Erythrina umbrosa) showed the high nitrogen content of 6 per cent, and 

 therefore considerable manurial value. Some data are given which go to show that 

 250 cacao trees give a yield of about 500 lbs. of cured cacao per acre, containing 2\ 

 per cent of nitrogen, and will therefore remove 12| lbs. of nitrogen from the soil 

 annually. Fifty Immortel trees, on the other hand, furnish 500 lbs. of dry flowers, 

 which, at the low estimate of a nitrogen content of 4 per cent, return to the soil 20 

 lbs. of nitrogen per acre, or 1h lbs. more than the crop of cacao removed. The 

 flowers, however, lose their nitrogen rapidly. The analysis showed that while fresh 

 flowers contain 6.32 per cent of nitrogen, those 2 days old contain but 5.16 per cent 

 and those 5 days old but 4.14 per cent. The flowers bloom only in the dry season, 

 and therefore, unless showers come opportunely to wash the nitrogen into the 

 ground, much will be lost. The Immortel is a West India tree, reaching sometimes 

 60 ft. in height. 



Oswego strawberries. An account of experiment with fertilizers, and 

 records of strawberry growing, in the Oswego district, L. H. Bailey {New 

 York Cornell Sta. Bui. 189, pp. 119-140, figs. 4)- — Fertilizer experiments have been 

 carried on in Oswego for a period of 3 years in cooperation with the strawberry 

 growers, and the results obtained are here reported and commented upon. The 

 methods of strawberry culture followed by Oswego growers are briefly outlined and 

 a short history given of the development of the industry in Oswego, together with 

 some statistics of shipments to the larger markets in different years. 



The fertilizers used have been the sulphate and muriate of potash, dissolved rock, 

 ashes, and nitrate of soda. These have been used singly and combined, and in 

 smaller and larger amounts. "The fertilizers were applied to young plantations in 

 spring after the first tillage and before the plants bloomed, a year in advance of the 

 recorded crop. The materials were scattered alongside the row, within a few inches 

 of the plants, and were cultivated in." The soils upon which the tests were 

 conducted have varied from gravelly loam through meadow land to black muck. 



Some contradictory data were secured on the different farms and plats, but on the 

 whole there was considerable uniformity of results. The fertilized plats yielded on 

 an average 5,197 qts. per acre, or about 2,000 qts. above the average. The potash 

 and phosphatic fertilizers were much more effective than nitrogenous fertilizers, 

 especially on lands well supplied with humus, like muck soils. The fruits -^frown 

 with these fertilizers were better colored, better flavored, and firmer. The nitrogenous 

 fertilizers, including heavy applications of barnyard manure, gave too much growth 

 of vine, and the fruit was softer and of inferior quality. It is suggested that in these 

 experiments the good tillage given probably supplied sufficient nitrogen in most 

 instances. 



"As to methods of planting, it may be said that the old method has been discarded — 

 planting in rows 3 to 85 ft. apart and the plants from 12 to 15 in. apart in rov/s, keep- 

 ing off the runners until late in July and then allowing the runners to grow and root 

 at will, making a matted row. In this old system many plants are almost on top of 

 others, the roots barely in the ground, and they suffer in a season of drought. The 

 rows are so wide that to pick fruit in the center it is almost necessary to crush fruits 



