612 



HORTICULTURE 



November 9, 1907 



SEED TRADE. 



{Coniintted from page bio) 



cepting California estimates of damage. 

 With tlie recent exaggerated estimates 

 of damage to ttie onion seed crop fresh 

 in mind, people in the east must have 

 proofs of all damage reports emanat- 

 ing from California. While admitting 

 that damage may have followed the 

 rain the extent of it is not known at 

 present. 



Canner's peas continue to advance in 

 price, a sale of several hundred bush- 

 els of Alaskas being reported within 

 a few days at $5.5U per bushel. Ad- 

 vancers and Horstords are being offered 

 by a few dealers in a moderate way at 

 $5.50. Few Admirals are being offered, 

 and still fewer Surprise. 



Some information concerning beans 

 is coming to hand and confirms earlier 

 reports of damage by frost and wet 

 weather. Hand picking will prove a 

 costly job, many growers estimating It 

 from 40 to GO cents per bushel, while 

 the shrinkage will range from 30 to 

 40 per cent. Were it not that a large 

 surplus was carried from last season 

 beans would now be in the class with 

 peas and corn, but while they will be 

 materially higher than last year prices 

 on standard varieties will not be ex- 

 travagantly high. 



Conflicting reports of the Maine po- 

 tato crop continue to circulate but 

 there is little doubt that it is much 

 more than half of last year's and of 

 very poor quality. 



It is certain that New York and 

 other states will be heavily drawn on 

 for seed stock this coming season. 



Few seedsmen have either time or 

 inclination to enter the field of politics, 

 but H. W. Gordinier, the genial Troy 

 dealer who has been treasurer of his 

 bailiwick for the past two years, is a 

 candidate for reelection and his many 

 friends will wish him success and an 

 Increased plurality. 



A large number of cases of lily bulbs 

 are reported short-shipped on S. S. 

 Empress of China. This will make 

 Oiganteura and Speciosum (quite a 

 <iuantity) about two weeks later than 

 usual. However, as Easter comes later 

 next year, we do not anticipate any 

 trouble in the forcing. The short- 

 shipped bulbs left on S. S. lyo Maru 

 and are now en route from Ssa,ttle to 

 New York. Giganteum prices have 

 advanced 20 per cent, according to 

 latest cables from Japan. 



Lily of the valley coming on S. 3. 

 America, due in New York on the 9th, 

 will be, we believe, the first arrival or 

 nearly so — at any rate none has ar- 

 rived yet, so far as we can find out. 

 Two weeks' delay is caused by very 

 bad weather in Germany. 



New York Importers now have to 

 stand in line and get t)ie real yellow 

 billp from their banks for duty. It's 

 tough, because banks will not pay out 

 the cash every day. 



NEW VEGETABLES. 



Among the interesting tests of new 

 and foreign varieties of vegetables re- 

 ported by the Long Island Agronomist 

 from the Wading River Experimental 



Station, are the Sakurajima radish 

 from .Tapan and the Venetian squash. 

 The former in its native country, it is 

 said, grows to weigh 20 to 30 pounds. 

 This radish, while so perfectly enor- 

 mous, is said to be most delicate and 

 delicious; peeled and sliced thin it can- 

 not be surpassed by the most dainty 

 spring radish. It grows best during 

 the summer and may be kept until late 

 in the fall if buried in sand in a cool 

 cellar. 



The Venetian squash resembles in 

 shape a huge acorn in its cup. The 

 color is dark green with occasional 

 white stripes, weighs 17 pounds; the 

 flesh a rich golden yellow. The seed 

 cavity is small and the flesh thick; 

 flavor particularly rich and creamy. 



PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED. 



Bulletin No. 288 of the New York 

 Experiment Station at Geneva gives 

 attention to "Ringing," which is a 

 practice sometimes employed to appar- 

 rent advantage in vineyards, as by it 

 the bunches of grapes are in some 

 cases made larger and earlier. It 

 seemed feasible to apply the same prac- 

 tice to herbaceous plants, but tests 

 made upon tomatoes and chrysanthe- 

 mums at the Station at Geneva proved 

 the theory fallacious. With neither 

 class of plants was there any gain in 

 yield, increase in size or hastening of 

 maturity; but in nearly every case the 

 ringing was detrimental. So marked 

 was the Injurious effect in many in- 

 stances, especially upon the root sys- 

 tems of the plants, that the authors 

 are led to doubt whether the practice 

 is not more injurious than useful, even 

 upon grape vines where the apparent 

 advantage is most evident. These 

 tests are recorded in Bulletin 288 of 

 the Station, which will be sent free to 

 applicants. 



Bulletin No. 289 gives some 

 interesting fertilizer tests. Many 

 old orchards are undoubtedly in need 

 of good applications of fertilizers; but 

 not all orchards need potash and phos- 

 phoric acid. The old apple orchard .it 

 the New York Agricultural Experiment 

 Station at Geneva is typical of many 

 orchards in Western New York, and in 

 this orchard liberal applications of 

 wood ashes and acid phosphate, ex- 

 tending over 12 years, did not give 

 profitable increases in yields. Neither 

 did these applications improve the 

 color of the fruit uniformly or profit- 

 ably. The orchard did respond to the 

 use of leguminous green manuring 

 crops, and showed marked benefit from 

 a system of clean cultivation. Full de- 

 tails of these rests are given in Bulle- 

 tin No. 289 of the Station, which can 

 be secured on application, without 

 charge. 



Bulletin No. 290 says: Careful po- 

 tato growers can no longer doubt the 

 advantages of spraying in "blight" 

 but some doubt whether the practice is 

 profitable year after year. Tests along 

 this line have been continued for five 

 years by the Experiment Station at 

 Geneva; and the evidence presented in 

 Bulletin No. 290, giving details of the 

 fifth year's test and summaries of pre- 

 ceding ones, seems conclusive in favor 

 of the practice. The gain each year 

 has been profitable: and there is al- 

 ready much more than enough excess 

 of gain over cost to pay for spraying 

 five years more. Similar gains, though 



not quite so great, were obtained by 

 farmers under tests carefully checked 

 by the Station and by much larger 

 numbers of farmers who sprayed in- 

 dependently. If you grow potatoes, it 

 will pay you to get this bulletin from 

 the Station — it costs you nothing, not 

 even postage — and study it carefully 

 before your crop management is 

 planned for next year. 



Water Lilies and How to Grow 

 Them, by H. S. Conard and Henri Hus. 

 Published by Doubleday, Page & Co., 

 New York. The more cultural chap- 

 ters have been supplied chiefly by Mr. 

 Hus, with the co-operation of the 

 veteran cultivator, Mr. James Gurney, 

 of St. Louis. The remaining chapters 

 dealing with the relative merits of the 

 different varieties of nymphaes, also 

 the lists for special purposes, are main- 

 ly by Profesor Conard who has de- 

 voted much time to the study of this 

 family. 



With this book, we think anyone 

 who has not before had any critical 

 understanding of the family will be 

 able to make selections of such varie- 

 ties as will best suit his special needs 

 and to make this selection intelligent- 

 ly. Further than this, cultural meth- 

 ods, raising from seed, planting out 

 and wintering, are explained in detail. 

 The making of artificial ponds and the 

 conversion of natural water courses 

 tor water-lily gardens are also 

 handled. The discussions of site and 

 the treatment of the pond or pool In 

 relation to its surroundings should 

 also be helpful to many. 



The tabular analyses at the ends of 

 Chapters VII, VllI and IX will enable 

 anyone to quickly identify any water- 

 lily now in the trade, and form, we 

 think, one of the most interesting fea- 

 tures of the book. 



"Water Lilies" is number five in the 

 Garden Library series and is sold at 

 the same price as its predecessors — 

 $1.21 post paid. We can supply it at 

 publisher's price. 



Bulletin No. 53, Bureau of Statistics, 

 TI. S. Dept. of Agriculture, compiled by 

 George K. Holmes, Chief of Division 

 of Foreign Markets, gives complete ta- 

 bles of the domestic exports of farm 

 and forest products for the years 1904- 

 190r.-1906. with the countries to which 

 product was consigned and the value 

 nf same. There is a vast amount of 

 interesting information in this 6S-page 

 pamphlet relative to our export trade 

 with foreign markets. 



Proceedings of the Alabama State 

 Horticultural Society, Fourth Annual 

 Meeting. — A very interesting volume, 

 its contents indicating that ornamental 

 horticulture and forestry are receiving 

 a due proportion of the society's atten- 

 tion, which is not the case with all 

 State Horticultural Societies. A num- 

 mer of half-tones illustrate how the 

 subject of horticulture is presented to 

 the students at the Alabama Polytech- 

 nic Institute. 



Fire in the building occupied by the 

 seed distribution division of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, Washington, 

 caused damage amounting to $75,000, 

 November 6. The loss included destruc- 

 tion of seeds, which will delay for sev- 

 eral weeks fhe distribution of flower 

 and vegetable seeds through Govern- 

 ment sources. 



