192 



standpoint. It is well-printed on a heav>' glazed paper that brings 

 out to advantage the half-tone plates. The plates are the leading 

 feature of the book, and in general are large size and satisfactorv^ 

 in finish. Facing each plate are brief descriptive and cultural 

 notes. One wishes that these notes were more detailed and com- 

 plete, especially as regards methods of propagation. In this par- 

 ticular phase of tropical pomolog>- Mr. Wilder's unusually wide 

 and varied experience might have been more generously shared 

 with a public that knows ver)- little of the technique of plant 

 propagation. The following genera are treated with special ful- 

 ness : Tambc>sa. Eugenia. Citrus. Artocarpus, Anona, Psidium, 

 Passitiora. Persea, Ficus. Chr^soplyphum, Carica. Mangifera, So- 

 lanum. In all about seventy- genera are discussed. In many of 

 the plates structural details of the flowers and fruits are shown. 

 Notwithstanding the brevity- of the text, this book is a wel- 

 come addition to the scant literature pertaining to Hawaii's horti- 

 culture. 



The Influence oi Molasses on Soil Fertilitv. in Agricultural News. 

 Barbados. Vol. 9. 1910. No. 222. and Vol. 10. 1911. Xo. 238. 

 These articles briefly summarize the results of experiments in 

 Mauritius. Antigua, and Hawaii, with molasses as fertilizer for 

 sugar cane, indicating '"that the application of molasses to fallow 

 land, or to land in which sugar cane is to be planted after several 

 weeks have elapsed, may have a beneficial effect in stimulating 

 the action of the nitrogen -fixing organisms and thus adding to the 

 store of nitrogen for the crop that will be growing after such a 

 time has elapsed as will have allowed this stimulus to have had its 

 proper effect.' In the Antigua experiments the application of 400 

 gallons of molasses per acre increased the j-ield of cane 1.2 tons 

 per acre. 



Experimental Tappings With Rubber, by T. B. McClelland, Re- 

 port of the Porto Rico Agric. Expt. Station for 1910, pp. 39, 

 40; 1 plate. 

 This reports results of experimental tappings of 7- and 8->'ear- 

 old Castilla trees, on station grounds, using herring-bone system. 

 Since the cuts heal over ver\- slowly, the herring-bone system is 

 not considered suitable for Castilla. The relative amounts of dry 

 rubber bore no relation to the quantity of late.x per tree. 

 .-In Important Banana Disease, by S. K. Basu. in Quarterly Jour- 

 nal of Bengal Dept. Agricul't.. Vol. 4, 1911. No. 4. 

 This fungui disease is said to be increasing to an alarming ex- 

 tent in certain parts of India. The main symptoms are: 1, the 

 yellowing of the older leaves : 2. the formation of one or more 

 much reduced leaves at the crown : 3, the gradual withering of 

 the younger leaves, the final breaking down and death of the 

 plant, which often occurs within 10 or 15 days from the first ap- 

 pearance of the disease. The fungus has not been determined. 

 Clean culture methods are recommended. 



