866 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



preserved in the same manner as the gooseberries kept in good condition for a 



year. 



Does the acid content of berry fruits decrease when cooked with sugar? 

 W. Kelhofer (Landw. Jahrb. Schweiz, W (1905), No. 9, pp. 601, 602). — Cook- 

 ing unripe gooseberries with sugar was not found to decrease the percentage 

 of acid in the fruit. Earlier experiments by the author had shown a similar 

 result with orchard fruits. 



Changes in unripe gooseberries during- after-ripening, W. Kelhofer 

 i Landw. Jahrb. Schweiz, 19 ( 1905), No. 9, pp. 600, 601). — Some data relative to 

 the changes which take place in the after-ripening of gooseberries was obtained 

 by the author. 



Earlier investigations had shown that with black currants, picked when 

 slightly green and kept for a few days, there was an increase in sugar and a 

 decrease in acid content during the after-ripening. Gooseberries do not appear 

 to act in the same manner. Ticked June 21. when green, they contained 3.91 

 pei- cent of sugar and 27. 2 per cent of acid. When kept at a temperature of 

 15.2 C C. tor six days, they had taken on a dark color and contained 3.12 per cent . 

 of sugar and 25.5 per cent of acid, a decrease in both eases during after-ripening. 



Report of the viticulturist, if. Bragato (New Zeal. Dept. Agr. Ann. lipt.. L\ 

 (1905), pp. 300-312). — An outline of the work of the year is given. This, at 

 the station, has consisted mainly in the propagation of American vines for 

 resistant stocks. 



Shallow culture of grapes. L. Degrully and L. Ravaz (Ann. Ecole Nat. Agr. 

 Montpellier, n. ser., ■'> (1905), Vox. l, pp. 19-87: 2. pp. U8-188, figs. o' f . dgms. 

 6). — A review of the literature on this subject with the results of elaborate 

 experiments to determine the effects of deep and shallow cultivation on root 

 and vine growth of grapes. 



Among the conclusions drawn are the following: Young vines from the time 

 of setting out until the age of :; years should receive ordinary good cultivation. 

 The first roots are usually deep, and it is of prime importance that cultivation 

 be such as to facilitate aeration of the soil to the depth of these roots. For 

 older vines shallow culture is preferable on all compact, moist, or average soils. 



It is equally advantageous in sandy soils of the coast which are very dry at 

 the surface hut where the water table is high. On the other hand, in dry, 

 gravelly, very permeable soils, where the water table is low and consequently 

 the roots tend to establish themselves in the lower beds of soil, deep culture 

 ought to give better results than systematic shallow culture. Diagrams are 

 given showing the root development of vines on different soils cultivated to dif- 

 ferent depths. 



The affinity of French scions with Rupestis du Lot in calcareous soils, 

 E. Zacharewicz (Rev. \ it.. 25 (1906), No. <>.!!>, pp. 17-20). — The yields obtained 

 during 5 years with five varieties of European grapes grafted on Rupestis du 

 Lot are tabulated. Both the yield of fruit and the alcoholic content of the 

 wine were above normal. The shoots on some of the vines in the experiment 

 were pruned to a length of fifty to sixty centimeters. These vines yielded 

 practically double the amount of wine obtained from vines pruned back to 2 buds. 



Tests of varieties of grapes, W. Kelhofer (Landw. Jahrb. Schweiz, 19 

 (1905), No. !>. pp. 598-600). — In tests of 28 white and 14 red varieties of grapes 

 in 1903, for wine making, the average sugar content of both kinds was prac- 

 tically the same, but the acid content averaged about 3 per cent higher in the 

 red than in the white varieties. 



Relation of sugar to the weight of the must and to the acid in grape juice 

 at the Wadenswil Experimental Vineyard during the past 14 years, W. 





