HOKTICULTUKE. 737 



mon use. The seedling-inarch method appears to be the only one which has 

 been successfully applied in the asexual propagation of the mangosteen. 



The seedling may be used either as a stock or as a scion, depending on the 

 plants employed or on the object to be attained. In the present work mango 

 and litchi seedlings were used as stocks only, being united to shoots of ap- 

 proved varieties and in the case of the litchi with seedlings of other species 

 of the same genus. The mangosteen, although hitherto propagated only by 

 seedlings, has generally shown a large percentage of loss among the seedlings 

 from a cause not as yet determined. In the present work, mangosteen seedlings 

 were used as scions, being inarched with other species of Garcinia and even 

 with species of different genera of the same family. The different stocks em- 

 ployed with the various plants are indicated. The results as a whole show 

 that the worked plants are healthier and that the operation is many times 

 cheaper than the older methods of propagation. 



The nurse-plant method of propagation is a specialized form of the seedling- 

 inarch method evolved after watching the behavior of certain seedling-inarched 

 mangosteens. These plants developed a strong aerial root from the base of 

 the scion about 18 mouths after the unions to other species of Garcinia were 

 considered perfect and long after the top of the stock and the root of the seed- 

 ling had been severed. These aerial roots elongated, pierced the ground, and 

 then roots and top developed rapidly. In one or two cases the stock roots 

 declined rapidly and in a few months' time the mangosteens were again on 

 their own roots looking strong and healthy. Where the stems of the seedlings 

 were inarched at a point 2 or 3 in. above the first pair of leaves on the stocks, 

 there has been no attempt on the part of the scions to produce roots. This 

 ability, under certain conditions, of inarched mangosteens to reestablish their 

 own root systems led to trial of inarches in which neither root system was 

 severed with the view of nursing mangosteen seedlings through the precarious 

 stage of their early life. Several of these mangosteens worked by the nurse- 

 plant method were sent to the Canal Zone and are reported as doing well. 

 Those remaining in the greenhouse continue to make good growth and the 

 stems of the mangosteens are showing more increase in diameter than the stems 

 of the stock plants. 



As to the future stages of growth of the mangosteens, the author issues the 

 caution that the work has not proceeded far enough to determine how the in- 

 arched plants will behave under external conditions and how raiiidly they will 

 continue to grow on the stocks used. The mangosteen is well known to be a 

 rebellious subject. 



The methods of propagation employed have been presented in order that 

 experimenters may test them further. The work of inarching is made clear 

 by a number of photographic illustrations. 



A study of bud selection with citrus fruits, A. D. Shamel {Cal. Cult., 36 

 (1911), No. 13, pp. 3.87, 3SS).— Under the direction of the Bureau of Plant In- 

 dustry of this Department, the author is conducting studies of bud variation 

 and selection with Washington navel oranges and graiiefruit. The object and 

 plan of this work is here outlined, together with some preliminary observa- 

 tions. The preliminary data secured from normal healthy trees show a great 

 variation in the yield and quality of fruit. 



Agricultural explorations in the fruit and nut orchards of China, F. N. 

 Meyer {U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Plant Indus. Bui. 20Ji, pp. 62, pJs. 6. figs. 15).— 

 This bulletin comprises notes on the distribution, character, and domestic uses 

 of various fruits, nuts, and edible seeds observed by the author during his 



94492°— No. 8—11 4 



