814 EXPERIMENT STATION^ RECORD. 



vinegar obtained contained an acetic acid content of about 3.8 per cent, which 

 is considerably below the legal standard. Occasionally it was possible to obtain 

 vinegar of approximately 4.5 per cent." Difficulty was experienced in obtain- 

 ing a good degree of alcoholic fermentation of the juice, as various other types 

 of fermentation took place simultaneusly with it. 



The price obtained for the finished product did not warrant further investi- 

 gation of this problem but it may be continued at some future date. 



Utilization of waste oranges, W. V. Cruess (Califomia Sta. Bid. 244 U9W, 

 pp. 157-170, figs. 2). — In addition to the material previously noted (E. S. R., 

 30, p. 316), this bulletin describes the preparation of orange vinegar and 

 orange wine from waste oranges, and reiwrts analyses thereof. 



In preparing orange vinegar it Is recommended that the juice before fer- 

 mentation be treated with potassium metabisulphite. After standing for 24 

 hours the clear juice is drawn off and fermented with pure cultures of yeast. 

 The finished juice is stored in well-filled, closed barrels or tanks until required 

 for converting into vinegar. 



" Strong vinegar equal in amount to about one-fourth the volume of the 

 fermented juice should be added to the orange wine to prevent the growth 

 of wine flowers and promote the development of the vinegar fermentation. 

 The vinegar fermentation must take place in containers that allow a good sur- 

 face of the vinegar to be exposed to the air. The vinegar may be cleared by 

 filtering." 



" Orange wine may be made by defecating the fresh juice after the addition 

 of moderate amounts of potassium metabisulphite to prevent fermentation for 

 a short time, fermenting the clear juice with pure yeast, and filtering the 

 finished wine to clear it. This cleared wine may be turned into sparkling 

 orange wine by the addition of a small amount of sugar and by subsequent 

 frementation in bottles." 



METEOROLOGY— WATER. 



The weather element in American climates, R. DeC. Ward (Ahs. in Science, 

 n. ser., 39 (1914), No. 1003, p. 429). — An abstract of a paper read at the tenth 

 annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers at Princeton, N. J. 

 Since American climates are chiefly made of cyclonic weather and the dis- 

 tribution of meteorological elements in a cyclone is different in different parts 

 of the country the author has undertaken to prepare regional cyclonic weather 

 tyi>es for the United States. 



The frostless period in Maryland and Delaware, O. L. Fassig (Ads. in 

 Science, n. ser., 39 {1914), ^o. 1003, p. 429). — This is an abstract of a paper 

 read at the tenth annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers 

 at Princeton, N. J., in which it is shown that "the number of days (average 

 of 20 years) between the last severe frost or freezing temperature in the spring 

 and the first in the fall ranges from 130 days in the west to over 200 days in the 

 immediate vicinity of Chesapeake Bay. For further study of plant growth 

 as related to climatic conditions, phenological observations of similar plants 

 in the same soil (transported) are to be undertaken at many points, each 

 gi'oup being visited every 10 or 15 days." 



Soil moisture and agricultural meteorolog'y, J. B. Geze {Jour. Agr. Prat., 

 n. ser., 27 {1914), ^"o. 9, pp. 272-274).— It is maintained in this article that it 

 is very important from the standpoint of agricultural meteorology to note 

 regularly the moisture conditions of the soil, and certain simple observations 

 having this object in view are described, such as the api)earance with ref- 

 erence to moisture of the surface soil, the flow of drains or shallow springs. 



