HORTICULTURE. 559 



Victorian vineyards on American vines is pointed out, and tlio use of various me- 

 chanical applianci'S for this purpose noted. The work is compiled and translated 

 from various sources for the benefit of Victorian vineyardists. ('hapters are given 

 on the use of horsejiins, steam winding drums, and portable wind motors as applied 

 to trenching and subsoiling, and these implements are described and illustrated. 



Observations on some new direct producers, Grandclement {Prog. Afjr. el 

 Vit. (Ed. L'Est), 22 {1901), No. 17, pp. 5 16-525) .—The value of a number of new- 

 hybrid vines as direct producers, and their characteristics as regards resistance to 

 Phylloxera, fungus diseases, etc., are noted. 



Artificial pollination of grapes, V. Pacottet {Rev. Vit., 15 {1001), No. 391, pp. 

 658-660). — For collecting and distrilwting pollen in the greenhouse culture of some 

 varieties of grapes the following method is outlined: A smooth paper is spread in 

 the warm sunny part of the day vmder a variety which produces a large amount of 

 pollen, and the vines shaken. Pollen mixed with debris falls on the paper. The 

 pollen is then separated out by sifting through a silk sieve. The pollen thus 

 obtained may be preserved dry for several months. It is applied to flowers which 

 require artificial pollination 2 or 8 days in succession, or until all the flowers on the 

 bunch are opened, l)y means of a small specially arranged bellows. 



Preserving grapes in bottles ( Queensland Agr. Jour., 8 {1901), No. 5, pp. 365,366, 

 fig. 1). — The method here outlined is to take the bunches when perfectly ripe, allow- 

 ing 3 to 6 in. of stem to each shoot below the bunch; remove all diseased berries, 

 and put the shoot in a bottle of water, set or hung at such an angle that the berries 

 will not touch the bottle. The storing room should be dry and have a constant tem- 

 ■ perature of 40 to 45° F. Darkness, while not essential, is considered very desirable. 

 If the grapes are to be kept long a teaspoonful of not too finely powdered charcoal 

 in each bottle will be advantageous. The bunches should be examined every week 

 and all decaying lierries removed. About the second or third day after the bunches 

 are put in the bottles it will be found necessary to refill the bottles with water, since 

 the shoots will have absorbed a considerable amount. No further refilling will be 

 required. It is claimed that grapes have been thus preserved fresh for exhibition 

 purposes for 8 months. 



Top-working pecans, H. H. Hume {Florida Sta. Bui. 57, pp. 360-373, jjIs. 3, 

 figs. 7). — The author suggests top- working as the most satisfactory means'of improv- 

 ing the many pecan groves now in Florida, which produce small and inferior nuts. 

 Directions for toji-working pecan trees are given, accompanied by illustrations of 

 methods of work, and of the appearance of successfully top-worked trees. The jirac- 

 tice of taking scions or buds from young trees which have never borne fi>uit is 

 strongly condemned. These should be secured only from thrifty, vigorous, and 

 prolific bearing trees. Grafts should be selected from well-matured 1-year-old stock 

 W'hile it is in a dormant condition. They are usually cut 5 to 6 in. long, with a 

 thickness of i to | in. From the middle of February until the middle of March is 

 considered the best time for grafting pecans in northern and western Florida. If the 

 trees are small, grafts may be made on the trunk of the tree; if of medium size, on 

 the main branches a little way from the trunk; and if large, on the main branches 

 still further up from the trunk. Only a few branches should be worked each year, 

 as any sudden shock to the tree, such as the removal of all its branches, is liable to 

 kill it. Whip grafting is suitable for limbs less than an inch in diameter, but for the 

 larger branches cleft grafting, or a modification called cleft-sap grafting, may be 

 employed. By the latter method the cleft for the insertion of the sciqn is made on 

 one side of the center. It is preferred for working very large stocks. The author 

 deems it inadvisable to graft stocks over 2\ in. in diameter, since an exposure of so 

 large a surface of wood is apt to form a starting place for rot and decay. 



August and September is considered the most suitable time for budding the i)ecan 

 in the Gulf States, and a modification of the annular method of budding known as 

 Veneer shield-budding is thought preferable. The new grafts in top-worked trees 



