HORTICULTURE. 735 



of 2 normal berries and several inferior seedless berries developed. Out of 

 144 branches covered and later treated with pollen from male vines, 91 bore 

 well developed fruit, many of the branches being heavily loaded. 



In the germination tests none of the pollen from any of the cultivated 

 varieties or fruiting wild varieties germinated, although various solutions were 

 used. Pollen from the male or staminate vines germinated vigorously in from 

 3 to 4 hours, a 30 per cent sugar solution giving the best results. 



A microscopical study of the dry pollen of the various fruiting varieties 

 showed that the grains were quite irregular and varied a great deal in shape, 

 appearing like mere shells. On the other hand the male pollen grains were 

 uniformly oblong in shape and plump in appearance. 



The stamens of the male vines were very long, upright, and contained a large 

 amount of pollen whereas the stamens of the cultivated and with one exception 

 of the wild fruiting forms were short, recurved or refiexed, and contained much 

 less pollen than those of the male flowers. The exceptional wild fruiting form, 

 the stamens of which resembled the male stamens, was only recently observed 

 and no conclusions have been drawn thus far as to its sterility. 



It was found that only a small proportion of the flowers of the cultivated 

 varieties of this species develop into berries. On 1 branch containing 120 flower 

 clusters with from 10 to 50 flowers in a cluster, only 25 clusters developed ber- 

 ries. The number of berries to the cluster varied from 1 to 9. Although as 

 many as 60 flowers have been observed in a cluster of the Scuppernong grape, a 

 careful search of the best vines showed that the largest single cluster found con- 

 tained only 27 berries. The largest authentically reported yield of this variety 

 is given as 870 bu. per acre. 



From observations made, the beneficial influence exerted by male vines located 

 in the vicinity of fruiting vines appears to be thoroughly demonstrated. 



The general conclusion drawn from the investigation is that the leading 

 varieties of cultivated Muscadine grapes, as well as practically all of the perfect 

 flowered wild Muscadine grapes are self-sterile. Three of T. V. Munson's 

 hybrids of this species which bloomed at the station proved also to be self- 

 sterile. 



The authors point out that since the cultivated varieties of this species are 

 self-sterile, provision should be made for cross-pollinating them. A planting 

 method for the introduction of male vines in fruiting vineyards is suggested and 

 figured. Male vines should be selected which mature their pollen in the bloom- 

 ing period of the fruiting vines. Attention is also called to the importance of 

 bees in carrying pollen as well as the need of suitable soils and proper pruning 

 and thinning. 



It is conmionly known that Scuppernong seedlings produce dark grapes, 

 whereas the Scui)pernong itself is a light colored grape. Both dark and light 

 types of male vines occur, but the light vine is quite i-are. During 2 seasons 

 the Scuppernong was fertilized with pollen from a light male vine. The result- 

 ing seedlings are light in color, in most cases have pistillate or fruiting flowers, 

 and it is believed that they will produce light colored fruit. The general infer- 

 ence is drawn that Scuppernong seedlings usually produce dark fiuit because the 

 dark male vines are much more numerous than the light male vines. 



On the preservation of fresh pineapples for shipment from West Africa, 

 D. Bernegau (TroiK'Hitflnnzvr, l.'i (1910), No. S, pj). Jfll-JiU)). — Some trial shiiv 

 ments of pineapples packed in peat dust were made from Kamerun. West >\frica, 

 to Hamburg, Germany, with the result that the fruit arrived in a fair condition 

 of preservation. The author is of the opinion that the packing of pineapi)les in 

 peat dust may enable shippers to forward fruit on vessels which are not 

 specially provided with cold storage facilities. 



