40 Annals of Horticulture. 



lishment of the merits of a new system of cultivation, which 

 ^ ew has been styled "The New Celery Culture."* This system 



:ultur e . c j ose) so tnat tney bi eac h themselves. In a moist soil or one 

 artificially irrigated, and which is rich in available plant food, 

 the system has given excellent results. It will no doubt 

 greatly popularize celery cultivation. , 



Watermelons appear to have been planted in smaller areas 

 this year than last, especially in Georgia. The short acreage 



Sns" was most noticeable in the later counties, as a result of the 

 disastrous returns from late melons in 1891. The watermelon 

 industry is rapidly increasing westward, and Colorado is now 

 a very large producer. 



New mushroom. The most signal innovation of the year in 

 the line of kitchen garden vegetables is the discovery of a new 

 species of mushroom which was already in cultivation. An 

 account of it was first published, with illustrations, in Garden- 

 ing about the close of the year.j It was first brought to notice, 

 n,ush w apparently, by F. Boulon, a gardener near New York city, 

 room. It is unlike the common mushroom in several particulars, and 

 especially in its habit of thriving best in the summer months. 

 The mushroom is large, with a flavor somewhat inferior to 

 that of the ordinary kind. It was described by C. H. Peck, 

 state botanist of New York, as Agaricus subrufcscens, in the 



Auction sales of fruits are rapidly increasing in popularity, 

 especially for the Florida and California products, which 

 reach the markets in concentrated or massed consignments. 

 The system first gained popularity in this country in New 

 York, but it has now extended to other cities. Chicago mer- 

 Auction chants have recently adopted it. E. L. Goodsell, of New 

 sales. York, the introducer of the present system, gives me the fol- 

 lowing sketch : "The auction system for the sale of fruits 

 originated in England about a century ago. The plan has 



sales at aiu'tiwn 'iIiimm r\vr\ kind ot perishable produce that 

 reaches the English markets^ It has^ grown to be the popular 



