HOETICDLTURE. 681 



on the Isthinns of Tehuantepec in which a number of typical rubl^er ijlantations were 

 visited and tlie methods followed in Castilloa riib])er i)roductiou olwerved. Consid- 

 eralile other information on the nature of the country, labor jjroblems, etc., is 

 ini'Iuded. 



Para rubber seed {Agr. Xeirs [Barbados], 2 {1903), No. 4-3, p. 392).— A. letter by 

 F. J. Ilolloway is reprinted from the Agricultural Bulletin of the Straits and Feder- 

 ated jMalay States, in which it is stated that an investigation was made as to whether 

 the Tapping of a Para rubber tree caused the seed to be of less value for i:)lanting than 

 the seed obtained from trees which had not been tapped. After testing the matter 

 with seeds from both tapped and untapped trees, his experience leads him to con- 

 clude that there is not the slightest difference in the resulting trees grown side by 

 side for the past 4 years. 



Para rubber extraction {Jour. Jamaica Agr. Soc, 7 {1903), No. 10, pp. 401- 

 404). — Experiments l)y A. D. Machado are reported, in which it was found jjossible 

 to tap Para rubber trees every second day for 6 months in every year without in the 

 least hurting or impairing the growth of the tree and at the same time secure the 

 greatest possible amount of latex. 



Instead of the "herring-bone" gash, which is commonly used in tapping these 

 trees, Mr. Machado found that the best results were obtained from a series of inci- 

 sions not more than 1 J in. long and \ in. wide. The flow of the latex has been found 

 more copious on the morning of a day following a heavy shower of rain than on a 

 dry day. In fact, in very dry weather it may be advisable to cease tapping alto- 

 gether. Tapping is usually begun at 6 o'clock and continues for a half hour. At 7 

 o'clock the cups are gathered in and the latex passed through a sieve to insure clean- 

 liness, after which a small amount of acetic acid \s added to hasten coagulation and 

 the latex then poured into enamel soup plates. Coagulation is usually complete 

 within a half hour. 



The English, -walnut in southern California, Elizabeth A. Ward {Amer. Mo. 

 Rev. of Reviews, 29 {1904), No. 168, pp. 64-67, figs. 4)- — This is a popular account of 

 methods of growing English walnuts in southern California, and of harvesting, 

 bleaching, and marketing the crop. It is stated that 1,500 lbs. of nuts per acre, or 

 about 75 lbs. per tree, is a good average yield. 



Walnut culture and -walnut blight {Pacific Fruit World, 17 {1904), No. I4, p. 

 12). — The writer has found the greatest profit in walnut growing when the trees 

 were set 40 ft. apart each way. The cost of producing nuts with trees this distance 

 apart was at the rate of $2.77 per cwt., with trees 44 ft. apart $3, and with trees 50 

 ft. apart $3.58 per cwt. An instance is cited in which the addition of lime at the 

 rate of 20 tons of air-slaked lime from a sugar-beet factory greatly increased the yield 

 of nuts. 



In 1902 two sprayings with Bordeaux mixture, once just before the leaves came 

 out and once after the nuts were well set, resulted in 50 per cent less of infected nuts 

 than where trees were left unsprayed. In 1903 the same orchard sprayed l)ut once, 

 just before the trees leaved out, produced 34 per cent less of infected nuts than 

 unsprayed trees. The cost of spraying a 12-year-old walnut orchard was 21 cts. per 

 tree for the first spraying and 39 cts. per tree for the second. The cost of applying 

 the spray, using a pow-er sprayer, 6 men and 4 horses, was about \ ct. per gal. for 

 material and labor. 



Walnut and filbert gro-wing-, J. B. Pilkington {Northwest Uort., 17 {1904), No. 

 1, p. 9). — This is a paper read by the author before the Northwest Fruit Growers' 

 Association, in which the growing of walnuts and filberts in Oregon is discussed. 

 The author states that the culture of walnuts has spread from northern California 

 into southern Oregon, and that this northward extension of walnut growing is based 

 upon the use of the best French varieties, since these varieties are hardier in resist- 

 ance to frost and to leaf burn from summer heat. 



