HORTICLTLTUKE. 153 



A nnnilicr of crosi-ie.s between 24 eoiiiiiiercial varietie.s of J'hlo.v draminondU have been 

 made and the different forms ilhiytrated. A paj)er summing up tlie results thus far 

 secured in the station breeding experiments (E. S. R., 13, j). 516) is included in the 

 rejiort. 



Orchard studies. V. Report on crab apples, W. B. Alwood and H. L. Price 

 ( Virginia Sta. Bui. 132, pp. 14, figs. 4)- — This bulletin describes 13 varieties of crab 

 apples and gives critical notes on their culture and quality, based on 14 years' work 

 with the fruits at the station. Crab apples will grow on poorer soil than apples, and 

 are of considerable value in making preserves, jelly, and marmalades. They are also 

 believed to deserve a place on the farm as ornamentals, since they bloom profusely 

 and the fruits are very attractive. 



Orchard studies. VI. Second report on the cherry orchard, W. B. Alwood 

 and H. L. Price {Virginia Sta. Bui. 133, pp. 19-^^8, figs. 4)- — Notes on the behavior 

 at the station of 20 varieties of cherries. The following varieties are recommended: 

 Coe, Early Purple, Mezel, Rockport, Schmidt, Windsor, Hortense, Olivet, Ostheim, 

 and Montmorency. 



The changing of the sex in plants ( Trap. Agr.,22 {1903), No. 11, pp. 789, 790). — 

 The possibility of changing the sex of the date palm and of the papaw is discussed. 

 About 80 per cent of seedlings of date palms are male. The method of the Arabs in 

 some of the oases in the southern part of Algeria in changing these male plants into 

 bearing trees is to tear off all the leaves from the foot stalks, at 2 or 3 j'ears of age, 

 so that the medial nerve is split in two from the center to the leaf sheaf. It is 

 believed that this tearing process brings about a concentration of the saj) movement 

 in the same way as is the case in annular incisions, resulting in an accumulation of 

 sap, ' ' which is more necessary for the vital functions of the female plant than for 

 those of the male." Th,^ writer states that it has been his experience that cutting 

 off the terminal buds of ' apaw trees {Carica papaga) as soon as the character of the 

 flower is apparent results in altering that character, inducing the tree to yield good 

 fruit in place of the ])oor sjiecimens borne by the so-called male trees. 



Small fruits in 1901, J. P. Pillsbury {FennHglvania Sta. Rpt. 1902, pp. 415- 

 443) . — The detailed records of variety tests with 62 kinds of strawberries, 31 of rasp- 

 berries, 25 of blackberries, 8 of currants, and 11 of gooseberries are given, together 

 with brief descriptions of the different varieties in some instances. During the sea- 

 son of 1901 the largest strawberries were produced in matted rows in case of 35 vari- 

 eties and in hill s in case of 22 varieties. The heaviest yields for a period of 5 years have 

 been obtained from the matted rows, and of the varieties tested Crawford, Warfield, 

 Henderson, and See No. 2 stand at the head. The heaviest yielding varieties grown 

 in hills are Warfield, Henderson, Crawford, and See No. 5, in the order named. On 

 an average the increase in yield from matted rows has been about 50 per cent greater 

 than from the hills. The average yield of the Loganberry for 5 years has been 2,976 

 gm. per 12 plants. The 4 varieties of blackberries averaging highest in jiroduction 

 are Eldorado, Snyder, Lovett Best, and Lawton. 



Report on cooperative experiments with small fruits, H. L. Hutt ( Ontario 

 Agr. and Expt. Union lipt. 1902, pp. 25-31). — ^Each year the Experimental Union 

 sends out a large number of plants to farmers in different parts of Ontario to be 

 tested. This report contains an account of some of the results obtained up to the 

 present time. The heaviest yielding strawberry in 1902 was Clyde; V^an Deman was 

 the earliest and Saunders the latest. Among raspberries, Shaffer has proved the 

 heaviest yielder, while of the black sorts, Hilborn has been the most i)roductive. 

 Blackberries are reported much less hardy than raspberries. Snyder has proved one 

 of the hardiest and, on the whole, given the best results. Victoria has given the 

 best yields of currants tested, and Pearl and Downing lead in productiveness among 

 the gooseberries. 



Cranberry culture, L. C. Corbett ( V. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers^ Bui. 176, pp. 20, figs. 

 12). — A i)opular bulletin on the <letails of cranberry culture in the United States. 



