lOSO EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



newrr varieties of straw 1 jerries and tabulary matter on the ripenin?; period and 

 relative vif^or, i)rodu('tivenes9, size, form, (juality, etc., of 27 varieties of raspberries 

 and 14 varieties of Itlackberries. 



Among the older varieties of strawberries Brunette is recomme/ided for ])eople with 

 impaired digestion. Clyde is especially recommended where one has only a small 

 piece of ground. Gaudy is considered one of the best late varieties. Wartield is 

 excellent for canning. The experience of the station during the pa.st 8 years has 

 been in favor of subsoiling for raspberries and blackberries. The author is con- 

 vinced that subsoiling 15 inches deep will pay well where the subsoil is hard and 

 compact. 



Tlie development of the seedless currant berry, A. J. Perkins (Jour. Agr. 

 and hid. Soidh Australia, 7 {1004), ^o. 8, ]>p. 431-439, Jigs. 9). — A record is given of 

 some experimental work done to determine whether or not the seedless Zante currant 

 forms fruit without pollination. Preliminary work showed that the pollen from 

 Zante currants, as well as from a number of other varieties of grapes, germinated in 

 sugar solutions. A number of illustrations are given showing the pollen grains and 

 the different forms they assumed in germination. The size of the pollen grains was 

 found to be not more than 3 or 4 times the size of ordinary yeast cells. The indi- 

 vidual grains are invisible to the naked eye and can not be discerned even with the 

 ordinary magnifying glass such as can be used out of doors. 



In emasculating the Zante currants it was found that, notwithstanding the great 

 care taken and the fact that the emasculation took place indoors instead of in the 

 field, a few pollen grains regularly ailhered to the stigma; and germination experi- 

 ments sh(jwed that these pollen grains were sufficiently ripe to germinate and thus 

 cause fertilization of the ovules. In normal fertilization of the currant it was found 

 that the fertilized ovules increased in size for about 10 days and then finally aborted. 

 A table is given showing the length and breadth of ovules of the Zante currant and 

 of several other varieties of grapes at various stages of development. 



From the results of the work the author concludes that the pollen of the seedless 

 Zante germinates as freely as that of other seeded varieties; that the pollen is mature; 

 and that it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to avoid leaving pollen on the 

 stigmas of vines when emasculating them 2 or 3 days prior to their exjjansion. It is 

 held, therefore, that certain experiments which have been reported lieretofore and 

 in which emasculated flowers set fruits, are inconclusive as to the alleged absence of 

 fertilization in the development of seedless fruit. Nothing in this experiment was 

 discovered which would justify the assumption that fruit is produced in the ovule of 

 the Zante currant without the intervention of pollen. 



The condition of the coffee industry in Porto Rico, J. W. Van Leenhoff 

 [Porto Rico Sla. Circ. 2, pp. 2). — Reasons are given for the present distressed condi- 

 tion of the coffee industry in Porto Rico, the primary cause of which appears to be 

 the cyclone of 1899. It is believed that if Porto Rican coffee were better known in 

 the United States there would be a greater demand for it. 



Grape growing- and raisin making' in southern Utah, T. Jtdd (Soutlt. VtaJiEipt. 

 Farm Bui 1, pp. 14). — A nundjer of suggestions are made relative to the culture of 

 grapes in southern Utah with reference to raisin making, and descriptions given of a 

 number of varieties best suited for raisins. Thompson Seedless is recommended as 

 the best grape of its class for the southern grape district of Utah. Thirty-five vines 

 of Thompson Seedless grapes planted at the expermient station m 1900 gave an aver- 

 age yield of 13J lbs. of grapes or 3-2 lbs. of raisins per vine in 1903. One specially 

 vigorous vine produced 8j 11)S. of cured rasins. Of the commercial tal)le grapes the 

 Black Cornichon has proved the best variety thus far tested. Forty vines planted 

 in 1900 yielded an average of 11 lbs. of grapes each in 1903. 



Suggestions are given for grafting grapes and on the use of resistant vines. The 

 European varieties of grapes are the varieties grown. The phylloxera has not made 



