HORTICULTURE. 47 



noil pear trees were experimented with to ascertain tbe truth oftlie belief 

 common among fruit-growers that excessive rainfall at blooming time 

 is disastrous to the " setting" of fruit. One of each was constantly 

 sprayed during the blossoming period, by means of a Vermorel nozzle 

 thrust up among the leaves and connected by garden hose with the 

 hydrant. The others were left untouched for checks. The pear tree 

 was kept wet for days and 3 hours, with the etfect of retarding the 

 development of the flowers, many of which opened and shed abundant 

 and apparently normal pollen after the spraying, though the flowers on 

 the check tree had withered some days previously. The leaves became 

 covered with red-bordered gray spots, persisting all summer. But one 

 pear was borne, bearing 3 seeds, while the check tree produced a fair 

 crop. 



The spraying of the grapevine lasted 12 days, retarding the blossoms 

 4 days, but was discontinued before the blooming was over on either 

 vine. The sprayed vine bore fruit, which ripened at the same time as 

 that of the check vine, but 60 per cent of the berries were abortive, as 

 against 21 j)er cent from the check. 



The experiments are to be continued. 



The pollination of pear flowers, M. B. Waite ( U. S. Dept. Agr., 

 Division of Vegetahle Pathohxjy Bui. 5, pp. 110^ pis. 12, Jigs. 5). — This bul- 

 letin is the outgrowth of observations made while investigating the fire, 

 or twig, blight of the pear. The experiments conducted on the preven- 

 tion of blight by excluding insect visits from the flowers gave results 

 that seem to indicate that many of the well-known varieties of pears are 

 incapable of self-fertilization, and consequently fail to set fruit. In a 

 measure this serves to explain the unfruitfulness of many orchards. 



Experiments were conducted on 144 trees, rei^resenting 30 varieties, 

 at Brockport, Rochester, and Geneva, N. Y., and Chestnut Farm, near 

 Scotland, Va. From the experiments, the details of which are given, 

 it was found that 22 varieties are either wholly or in part incapable of 

 setting fruit from self-fertilization and require pollen from some other 

 variety to render them fertile, while 14 varieties are self-fertile. The 

 list is as follows: Self-sterile varieties — Anjou, Bartlett, Boussock, 

 Clairgeau, Olapp Favorite, Columbia, De la Cliene, Doyenne Sieulle, 

 Easter, Gansels Bergamotte, Gray Doyenne, Howell, Jones, Lawrence, 

 Louise Bonne de Jersey, Mount Vernon, Pound, Sheldon, Souvenir du 

 Cougres, Superfin, Wilder (Colonel), and Winter Nelis. Self-fertile 

 varieties — Angouleme, Bosc, Brockworth, Buflum, Diel, Doyenne 

 d'Alen9on, Flemish Beauty, Heathcote, Kietter, Le Conte, Mannings 

 Elizabeth, Seckel, Tyson, and White Doyenne. 



The author studied the eftect of pollen on the fruit in order to ascer- 

 tain (1) what, if any, was the difference between self-pollinated and 

 cross-pollinated fruit, and (2) the difference between different kinds 

 of crosses. A great contrast Avas noticed between the self- pollinated 

 and cross-pollinated fruit. The tendency of self-iiollinated fruit is to 



