AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN NEW HAMPSHIRE 41 



2. The addition of manure to old or new soil has not proven bene- 

 ficial so long as nutrient levels were kept up by chemical fertilizers. In 

 fact, manure has decreased production in two or four replications. 



3. There has been no significant difference in the production from 

 new and old soil. Soil in which carnations had been grown the previous 

 year produced a fine crop of snapdragons with only one light feeding of 

 nitrate applied .March 1 near the end of the crop. 



James Macfarlaxe, W. D. Holley 



Ornamental Trials 



In this test many foreign introductions of the Bureau of Plant Indus- 

 trv are being tested along with newer varieties and species of shrubs from 

 other sources. One of the promising ne\\' plants is Korean box which 

 while injured somewhat during the past severe winter ma>- nevertheless 

 be hardy enough to provide a satisfactory low broadleaf hedge for this 

 area. 



W. D. Holley, H. S. Clapp 



House Plants 



Rather complete cultural information has been obtained on 16 house 

 plants since the project was introduced in August, 1940. This informa- 

 tion has been accumulated under actual home and office conditions and 

 answers many questions regarding house plant ills. The plants completed 

 thus far include the following: 



African Molet Dracena Godseffiana 

 Begonia (several varieties) Gardenia 

 Boston Fern Gloxinia 

 Browallia speciosa major Heuchera sanguinea 

 Calla Lily Begonia Manettia bicolor 

 Chrysanthemum (for home Primula malacoides or Baby Prim- 

 grown pot plants) rose 

 Cordyline terminalis Pteris or Table Fern 

 Cyclamen Streptocarpus or Cape Primrose 



Breeding work is being carried on with a number of plants in an at- 

 tempt to develop new and more interesting house plants. Two very fine 

 chrysanthemums have been developed for pot plants. One of these, a 

 dwarf, ball-shaped, Mhite variety won an Award of Merit at the Chrysan- 

 themum Show held by the iMassachusetts Horticultural Society in 1942 

 and has been named Granite State. The other is a large flowered bronze 

 "mum" that has been named Chocorua. Both these varieties were dis- 

 tributed to commercial propagators over the country in 1943. 



The begonia is being studied for inheritance of doubleness and other 

 characters. Several fine new begonias are resulting from this \york, es- 

 pecially a double white-flowered strain, and also attractive semi-doubles 

 of easy culture. A paper on begonia inheritance is being prepared for 

 future publication in the American Society of Horticultural Science pro- 

 ceedings. 



