NOTES. 1125 



Cooperative Experiment Association of the Great Plains Area. — The first annual meet- 

 ing of the Cooperative Experiment Association of the Great Plains Area was held 

 at Lincoln, Nebraska, June 21-22, 1906. This association consists of those members 

 of experiment stations who are interested in field-crop work in the States of North 

 Dakota, South I Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and the north of Texas, togel her with 

 representatives of the Bureau of Plant Industry of this Department who are inter- 

 ested in experiments in crop rotation and tillage in that region. The association 

 was organized at the time of the annual convention of the Association of American 

 Agricultural Colleges and Experiment station- at Washington in 1905, with B. T. 

 Galloway as president and E. C. Chilcott as secretary. 



This first annual meeting at Lincoln was a very successful one, both in point of 

 attendance and the interest and enthusiasm manifested. Eleven members of the 

 Department of Agriculture were present and about fifteen experiment workers. 

 The following were among the papers read: Effect of Crop Rotation on Soil Fertility, 

 J. H. Shepperd, North Dakota; Comparative Value of Corn and Summer Fallow in 

 Alternation of Wheat. John S. Cole, South Dakota: Drought Resistance of Sorghum 

 Crops, A. II. Leidigh, Bureau of Plant Industry, Amarillo, Texas; Seed Selection 

 Essential in Crop Production under Semiarid Condition-. W. II. 01 in, Colorado; 

 Proposed Physical Investigations in connection with the Cooperative Cultivation 

 Experiments, L J. Briggs, Bureau of Plant Industry; Crop Production in Western 

 Kansas, < >. H. Elling, Fort Hays. Kansas. These papers and many other subjects 

 of similar nature were informally discussed. 



The visiting members were given an opportunity of seeing the work of the Ne- 

 braska Station, and a luncheon was tendered them by the Lincoln Commercial Club. 

 Director 1". A. Burnett was elected president for the ensuing year, and E. C. Chilcott 

 reelected secretary. Manhattan, Kansas, was chosen as the place of holding the 

 next summer meeting. 



Society for Horticultural Science. — At the Cornell meeting of the society, June 27 

 and 28, W. T. Macoun spoke on The Relation of Winter Apples to Hardiness of the 

 Tree. To withstand a test winter at Ottawa, a tree or shrub must ripen its wood 

 early. Winterkilling is liable to he more severe after a season when the growth has 

 been strong than when it has been short. The more moderate the climate where a 

 variety originates, the less resistant is it to winterkilling. The hardiest varieti. - 

 apples are those that have originated in Russia and are summer or autumn varieties. 

 This is because they ripen their wood most thoroughly, whereas winter varieties 

 continue growth later in the season. The basis for the production of the desired 



winter apple for the North should he a variety which has withst 1 test winters in 



a similar climate and is also the latest keeper of -wr\\ varieties. 



William Stuart presented a general discussion of the use of anesthetics in the forc- 

 ing of plants, and summarized his own experiments with rhubarb. See E. S. P.. 

 17, p. 250.) 



In a paper on Pollination Methods, S. W. Fletcher presented a symposium of his 

 own experience and that of a considerable number of other plant breeders. The 

 ideal time to emasculate blossoms is as late as possible before the anthers dehisce, 

 but may he done when the hud- are still quite small, if complete accuracy is not 

 essential, and when working <>n blossoms that do not mature stamens and pistils- 

 simultaneously, the blossoms need not be emasculated. In crossing, select mature 

 trees of moderate growth ami perfectly sound. On such trees select Puds home high 

 up on the outside of the tree on well-nourished branches on the side of the tree oppo- 

 site from the direction of severe prevailing winds. As to the instrument- for emas- 

 culating, m the majority of cases a small scalpel i- n> he preferred, especially lor the 

 stone and pome fruits. As n. the location of the cut. the majority opinion is that it 

 should he madeat the insertion of the stamens above the nectary, though theauthor 



