368 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



acre during the past 5 years. The data in the bulletin supplement that obtained 

 from Wayne County and serve to confirm the recommendations there given as to the 

 best cultural practices to follow. 



The avocado, a salad fruit from the Tropics, G. N". Collins ( U. S. Dept. Agr., 

 Bur. Plant Tndus. I>>d. 77, pp. 52, pis. 8). — The author visited certain parts of Mexico, 

 Central America, and the West Indies, and gives the results of his observations in 

 these regions with reference to the avocado. 



The origin, history, and botanical affinities are discussed, and the types found in 

 Guatemala, Porto Rico, Mexico, Costa Rica, Cuba, and Hawaii are noted. The cul- 

 ture of the avocado is considered at length and an account given of some experiments 

 in shipping avocados from Hawaii to New York City. Five crates were thus shipped 

 experimentally in cold storage. They were 30 days in transit. The majority of the 

 samples suffered considerably from the long trip, but some lots were found in good 

 condition, demonstrating that with better knowledge of methods of handling these 

 fruits can be successfully shipped in cold storage providing they are not too long in 

 transit- 

 Especial interest is attached to the thick-skinned avocados found in Guatemala. 

 These varieties promise to withstand shipment much better .than the thin-skinned 

 varieties, and the culture of these in Porto Rico, it is hoped, will aid materially in 

 establishing a profitable industry in that island. The food value of the avocado is 

 discussed by C. F. Langworthy and compared with that of a number of other fruits. 



Cooperative experiments with small fruits, H. L. Hutt {Ann. Rpt. Ontario 

 Agr. and Expt. Union, 26 { 1904), ]'/>■ -U-38). — The kinds of small fruits which were 

 sent out by the college to experimenters during the year are given, together with the 

 cultural directions which accompanied them. 



The influence of American stocks on the quality of wine, E. Hotter (Ztschr. 

 Lqndw. Versuchsw. Oesterr., S (1905), No. 5, pp. 565-571). — The effect on the compo- 

 sition of the fruit and on the quality of wines obtained from European grapes grown 

 on their own roots and on American stocks was studied. Nine European varieties 

 were thus compared. The fruit of 7 kinds on American stock contained more acid 

 and 2 kinds less acid than when grown on their own roots. Five varieties of Euro- 

 pean grapes on their own roots one year and 6 varieties another year contained 

 slightly more sugar than the same varieties on American stocks. 



Relative to the wine made, that from grapes on their own roots contained more 

 phosphoric acid than that from grapes on American roots. The results were the 

 same whether the grapes were fermented with the stems or not, or whether the must 

 was pressed immediately or after a considerable period. Tables are given w T hich 

 show in considerable detail the composition of fruit and the wine obtained from each 

 variety of grape during the 2 years of the investigation. 



Chinese fruits, G. E. Anderson (Mo. Consular Rpts. [L r . S.~], 1905, No. 294, pp. 

 52-54). — An account of the kinds and value of different fruits most commonly grown 

 in China. For the most part they appear to be much inferior to American fruits. 



The persimmon, which is highly esteemed in China, is thought to be less astrin- 

 gent than the American persimmon. It grows large and is a good keeper. The 

 author states that probably the best all-round fruit in China is the pomelo. This 

 resembles the American fruit in size, shape, and color, but is sweeter and has less 

 of the bitter quality, while the flesh is more perfectly separated into sections, as in 

 the case of oranges. It has better keeping qualities than the orange and is strongly 

 recommended to American horticulturists. 



The preparation of fruit pulp ( Hot. Dept. [Trinidad], Bui. Misc. Inform., 1905, 

 No. 46, pp. 174-176). — The method of preparing fruit pulp in France for shipment to 

 England, to be manufactured into jams, is given for a number of different kinds of 

 fruit, such as black currants, cherries, raspberries, apricots, plums, and the like. 



