1078 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



The seedless apple ( Fiult>nan\s duidc, 17 {If'O-}), ^'o. 4JS, p. 1). — Thin is a letter 

 by Jijlm F. SiK'nccr <U'sciil)iiig tlie cIiaracteristicH of a new seedless apple which he 

 has originated. Relative to the nature of the fruit ^Ir. Spencer states that there are 

 stamen and pollen as usual, but no Howers or blossoms. The fruit resembles a small 

 berry in shape. " It retains this appearance until half <rrown, and then assumes the 

 shape and form of the fruit. The fniit loses none of its flavor because it is seedless 

 and c'oreless. There is nothing but meat to the apple, save the .small navel end, 

 which has every appearance of the navel in the orange." Mr. Spencer states that he 

 has been working to produce this seedless apple for the past 7 years. lie considers 

 it a rev(jlutionary accjuisition to the apple industry. 



Commercial orchards of south Missouri, F. Hokspwi.l (MiMourl Fruit >Sta. Bnl. 

 S, pp. 12, riutp 1). — Lists are given of the counnercial orchards in (5 counties of south- 

 ern I\Iis.souri showing the acreage of apples, peaches, pears, plums, grapes, straw- 

 berries, and blackberries i)lanted. The territory reported upon lies between 

 Springfield and Thayer, along the line of the Frisco railroad. A sectional map is 

 given showing the location of the different orchards visited. The most of these are 

 within 4 miles of the railroad. 



In the 6 counties noted 348 orchards were visitetl. In these orchards there were 

 1,107 acres of apples of bearing age and 1,613 acres not yet come to bearing. Of the 

 land devoted to peaches 5,491 acres were in bearing, and 1,232 acres not yet of bear- 

 ing age. About 60 per cent of all the apples planted are of the Ben Davis variety, 

 7 i)er cent of the Jonathan variety, 4 per cent of the Gano, and small quantities of 

 Ingram, Winesap, ^Missouri Pippin, etc. The Elberta made up 95 per cent of the 

 peach trees planted. 



Notes are given on the soils of the region and on the cultural methods generally 

 observed by orchardists. The most common method of planting appears to be to 

 crop the land in corn while the orchard is young and to sow it to grass or to let 

 weeds or sprouts take it when it is old. Poor results are obtained in this way. In 

 the best paying orchards the land is cropped with a rotation of corn, cowjjeas, and 

 rye as long as possible and then given clean, shallow culture. This is the method 

 practiced at the station. Notes are also given on orchard insect pests and plant 

 diseases most commonly found. 



The date palm and its utilization in the Southwestern States, W. T. Swin- 

 gle ( U. S. Dcpt. Agr., Bureau of Plant Industry Bui. 53, pp. 155, ph. 23). — This l)ul- 

 letin is the first of a series in which it is proposed to present complete life-history 

 studies of crop plants, "treating the crop from every possible standpoint and bring- 

 ing together all useful information." Such a treatment is here presented on the 

 date palm. A considerable portion of the matter contained in the bulletin has 

 already ajopeared in one of the Yearbooks of this Department (E. S. R., 13, p. 248), 



In addition to such cultural details as the propagation of date palms, cultivation, 

 pollination, harvesting, packing, etc., special attention has been paid to the heat 

 re(juirements of this palm, its resistance to alkali in soil and in irrigation water, and 

 to the suitability of the soil and climate of certain portions of the Southwest for date- 

 palm culture. This matter, together with many original analyses of date-palm soils 

 which were secured by the author in different portions of the Sahara Desert, is 

 presented in great detail, accompanied by many comparisons of similar analyses 

 made by other authors. The successful culture of the date palm for fruit appears to 

 depend upon a high temperature and dry climate. "The date palm can endure any 

 flegree of heat and any amount of dryness in the air, and is even favored by hot 

 winds and by a rainless summer. The best sorts can mature only in regions having 

 a very lojig and very hot growing season." 



A study of the alkali resistance of the date palm in the Sahara Desert shows "that 

 although this plant can grow in soils containing from 3 to 4 per cent of their weight 

 of alkali, it does not produce fruit unless its roots reach a stratum of soil where the 

 alkali content is below 1 per cent, and does not yield regular and abundant crops 



