19-'0] HORTICULTURE. 337 



Tlie most effective method for tlie control of tlie cutworm was spraying: tlie 

 plants before transplanting with a selection of 1.5 oz. of dry arsenate of lead 

 per gallon of water. I'lowing tobacco land after September 20 also reduced cut- 

 worm injury to a minimum. The horn worm was combated effectively by spray- 

 ing witli a solution of G lbs. of powdered arsenate of lead in 100 gal. of water, 

 and after the plants are half-grown by dusting with powdered arsenate of lead 

 mixed with an e(iual quantity of dry sifted wood ashes or air slaked lime. 



Jlarvesling by the split stalk method was found to save labor, to expedite 

 curing, and to produce a lighter colored leaf than when the crop was spudded or 

 needled for comparison. The split stalk method consists in splitting the pl*iut 

 from the top to within 2 in. of the ground, cutting it oft" close to the ground, 

 and allowing it to lie where it falls until it has wilted sufficiently to handle 

 without breaking, when it is placed on laths and hauled to the barn. Scaffold- 

 ing Burley tobacco in the field for about three days in fair weather favored a 

 quicker and better cure, and saved time and barn space as compared with imme- 

 diate liauling to the barn. 



The Colorado pure seed law, ^\'. ^^'. Koiuiixs {Colorado Sta., ^ecd J.ab. Bid., 

 1 (191!)), No. .',, pp. 3-16, figs. 2).— The text of the act of 1917 regulating the 

 sale and importation of tield and garden seeds is given, and 48 questions relat- 

 ing to the operation and enforcement of the law are answered. 



Commercial agricultural seeds, 1919, C. D. Woods {21ainc Sta. Off. Insp. 

 94 {1919), pp. 90-100). — The text of the Maine law regulating the sale of agri- 

 cltural secMis is give^i, and the results of the examination of samples of seeds 

 in 1919 are re]X)rted. The weed seeds found in the seed samples examined are 

 listed. 



HORTICULTURE. 



[Report on horticultural investigations], L. Greene {Indiana Sta. Rpt. 

 1!H9. pp. Jf5-61). — The work for the year was continued along lines previously 

 noted (H S. R., 40, p. 738). 



The trees in the orchard management plats suffered from the low tempera- 

 tures of 1917-18. The Stayman apple sustained the greatest injury, while 

 Jonathan and Grimes suffered very little. In the tillage and cover-crop plats, 

 17 per cent of the trees were severely injured. TJie next serious damage was 

 in the straw nuilch plat, while the sod plat and the plat on which grass nmlch 

 was sui)plemented with straw suffered least. 



Summarizing the results upon the different plats for the tenth year of 

 growth, tillage and straw nmlch continue to take tlie lead in the matter of 

 growth. One plat which was tilled for the first 5 years and then seeded to 

 gi'ass, has shown a decided " set-back," since it was seeded. Another plat 

 which was in grass mulch for the first 5 years, and has since then received 

 additional mulches of straw, has shown a decided improvement in tree growth. 

 The work as a whole shows the desirability of adapting a method of orchard 

 nuinagement that will conserve the soil moisture. 



The tillage and straw mulch plats produced more than double the amount of 

 fruit produced by any other plat. The tillage plat produced practically 10 

 times the amount of fruit produced under sod. In the spring of 1919, the 

 tillage and straw mulch plats showed very much heavier bloom than the other 

 plats, thereby confirming previous records as to the correlation between bearing 

 habit and gi-owth habit. Other studies made of leaf weights, of transpiration, 

 and some other growth phenomena show the same general ranking of the 

 different plats. 



Complete fertilizer applied in excessive amounts up to the time the orchards 

 reached bearing age did not show beneficial results. During the summer 



