648 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. IVol. 41 



Army gardens in France, Belgium, and occupied German territory, G. 

 Truffaut and H. Colt (Versailles: Pepinieres Natl, du Touring-Club de 

 France, ID 19, pp. 64, i)ls. 10, figs. 3). — This handbook on vegetable gardening 

 was written with a view to facilitating the starting and management of the 

 army gai'dens of the Allies and the United States in France. The subject mat- 

 ter is based upon the lines of work determined by the senior author for the 

 Fiench Army gardens in 1917-18. 



[Work with vegetables and fruit at the Valentine, Nebr., substation], 

 J. Cowan (Nebraska tita. Bui. 171 (1919), pp. 6, 7). — Experiments conducted at 

 the Valentine substation indicate that garden vegetables may be grown success- 

 fully on the light sandy soil of the northern Nebraska sand-hill region by 

 mulching the ground between the plants with old hay, stable litter, etc., before 

 thT dry weather sets in. Under this system, small crops were grown of nearly 

 every kind of vegetable, where without mulching all attempts to grow such 

 vegetables were failures. Crops such as tomatoes were retarded and the ripen- 

 ing of the fruit delayed by mulching. In no case was the benefit derived so 

 noticeable as in the case of potato mulching. The report indicates that mulch- 

 ing must be accompanied by wetting with the hose in lieu of sufflcient rain. 



Orchard work on dry land at the substation has been an entire failure. No 

 attempt has been made to grow an orchard on bottom subirrigated land, but 

 observation of attempts made on such ground by farmers has failed to dis- 

 cover satisfactory results, although the work in some cases was carried out un- 

 der expert direction. 



[Progress report on horticultural investigations] (Missouri Sta. Bui. 163 

 (1919), pp. 53, 54, 55-62). — Concise statements of progress made with various 

 projects (E. S. R., 88, p. 639) during the year ended June 30, 1918, are given. 



Among the investigations in charge of J. C. Whitten, the work of breeding 

 apples for the late blooming habit was extended by making crosses between 

 some of the leading commercial varieties and a large-fruited wild crab which 

 blossoms later than any cultivated variety which has been found. Summing up 

 the total observations on the yield of apple trees grown from selected and non- 

 selected buds, no significant difference has been found between the total yield 

 of the trees of high-yielding parents and low-yielding parents. Examination 

 of buds in winter for foi'ecasting probable bloom shows that the proportion of 

 flower buds forced out in water in a sunny window corresponds very closely to the 

 percentage of buds which bloom on the trees the following spring. Peach breed- 

 ing work was interrupted through the heavy pruning of the trees following 

 severe winter injury. The results of fall v. spring planting tests covering about 

 ten years' work are to be presented in bulletin form. From the work as a 

 whole it Is again concluded that fall planting of hardy fruits is better than 

 spring planting, and that late fall planting just before the ground freezes is 

 supei-lor to early fall planting. An exception to this rule is the Ingram apple, 

 >vhich has done better when planted in the spring. 



The frost-resistant studies conducted at the station, C. G. Wiggans in charge, 

 indicate that the need of orchard heating may be reduced by maintaining maxi- 

 mum sap concentration and delaying the rest period in the fall by proper spray- 

 ing, pruning, and soil management. The more concentrated the sap in fruit 

 trees or other plants, the lower their freezing point and consequently the more 

 frost they will endure without injury. The later fruit trees go into their rest 

 period in the fall the later will they wake up from this rest period in spring, 

 and this prolonged dormancy oppo.ses injury from spring frosts. 



Further observations on fruit bud development as influenced by treatment 

 and previous crops were made by C. C. Wiggans. The evidence now seems con- 



