FRUIT GROWING III 9 



temperature in these stacks should not exceed 350 C, the results obtained 

 were very satisfactory. 



Subjecting the tobacco thus treated to the usual fermentation hardly 

 any trace of pressure could be observed. It is thought that this result may 

 be interpreted as pointing to a slow oxidation, which during the process of 

 slow death of the leaves in the preliminary stacks, destroys certain essen- 

 tial oils which, owing to rapid heat, such as occurs in the ordinary stacks 

 (where the temperature frequently reaches 540 C.), are decomposed, The 

 products of decomposition, impregnating the dry cells, foi'm pressure spots 

 on the leaves, which marks persist during all the subsequent operations of 

 handling the tobacco. 



868 - Investigations into the Combustibility of Tobacco. — i. de vrirs o., Method of vrvtt 



Research. — II. De Vries O., Influence of Manure on the Combustibility of Tobacco. — growing 



III. SiDENius R., Enquiries into the CombustibiUty of Tobacco, in Mededeelingen van het 



Procistation voor Vorstenlandsche Tabak, No. 22. Semaraiig, 1916. 



Combustibility is first of all defined as : " the time occupied in the com- 

 bustion oj a leaf of tobacco stretched horizontally and i&iiied near its central pari. ' ' 

 At the same time the colour of the ash in small cigars made with tobacco of 

 the same origin and allowed to burn themselves out was observed. A scale 

 of colours facilitated an estimate of the differences. 



According to the results from the experimental fields where the tobacco 

 was treated with different manures, no influence of the manure on com- 

 bustibility was observed. 



It seems as though the properties of the soil and the climate have a pre- 

 dominating influence. A tobacco originally defective in combustibility 

 cannot be improved by a special manure. Only a potassic manure in large 

 quantities, which is then very expensive, may sometimes produce good 

 results. Thus, a dose of 0.75 oz. (20 grams) of nitrate of potash pei plant 

 produced seme effect. 



Flooding of the tobacco fields occasionally during periods of droughl 

 may considerably impair combustibility. 



A lesser combustibility was found in the leaves near the top as compared 

 with those at the end, especially if the rains do not fall until near the end 

 of the cultivation. 



The attempt was made to inject potash salts into the plants, but 

 without positive results. 



869 - Attempted Classification of Pears. — Chasset i^ouis. Compte-reudu ixir Gabriel 



l,Vlz^T,in Journal de la Suciiite Nationalc d' Horticulture de 7'VffHfc, .)th Scries, Vol. XVII, 



pp. 74-78. Paris, May 191 6. 



The idea of classifiyng and determining these fruits was first dealt with 

 by Robert Hogg in 1851, then renewed b\ him in 1884 in reference to ap- 

 ples only. In Fiance,- WiIvI.KRMoz made the greatest effort in this direc- 

 tion. In iqi2, at the French Congress of Apple Growers at lyimoges, two 

 writer Jui.ES Jouin and Louis Chasset, each submitted a preliminary 

 scheme diffeiing little from each other, although carried out at Ooo kilometres 

 distance without any consultation. 



