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BOOKS AND BULLETINS. 



ScJileideniana . It is common in Europe, where it is great- 

 ly dreaded. It was first noticed in this country in 1883, 

 in Wisconsin, by Professor Trelease. It is probably in- 

 troduced. ' ' No remedy has been tried. But the success 

 in France of the copper fungicides in the treatment of a 

 related parasite, the potato-rot, justify us in hoping they 

 will protect the onion also. No bulbs from a crop dis- 

 eased the previous year should be set out ; and the Eng- 

 lish are in the habit of sowing the onion seed in the fall, 

 thus enabling the young plant to get a good start before 

 the possible advent of the fungus in the spring." 



Attention is called to a disease of currant leaves, to 

 which Professor Dudley gives the name of anthracnose, 

 (Glccospoyiuin Ribis). The species has long been known 

 as attacking currants, even in this country, but it has not 



been mentioned as doing much damage. 

 Anthracnose In the University gardens last year, the 

 of Currants. leaves of the red and white varieties 



were badly attacked, and they fell very 

 early. "It is to be hoped that the peculiarly moist sum- 

 mer gave it an advantage it will not soon have in succeed- 

 ing years, but it may be necessary to carefully watch the 

 varieties susceptible to it, next June, and to apply occas- 

 ionally, by means of a fine sprayer, like the Eureka 

 sprayer, one of the copper solutions ; for the entrance 

 of the spores into the leaf must be prevented if the crop 

 is to be protected. It is fair to suppose that the copper 

 solutions will be as efficacious in this as in strawberry 

 leaf-blight." Attention is also called to the quince and 

 pear leaf-blight. 



Professor Comstock calls attention to the serious rav- 

 ages of the tent caterpiller, and recommends three meth- 

 ods of fighting the insects. The best plan 

 Tent is to gather the egg clusters in winter. This 



Caterpillar, is a perfectly feasible operation, as the eggs 

 are laid in a large and conspicuous mass 

 about young twigs. With long-handled pruners, like a 

 Waters pruner, these can be readily clipped off. The 

 masses should be burned. As soon as the larva hatches 

 it often eats into buds, and the destruction of the eggs is 

 the only means of preventing this injury.' The second 

 method of destruction is to burn out the webs or tents in 

 the evening or early in the morning before the larvse 

 leave them. The insects can also be destroyed by ar- 

 senical sprays, applied as for codlin moth. 



Professor Bailey describes, under the name of Orange 

 melon, the fruit which is variously sold as Vine Peach, 

 Mango Melon, Vegetable Orange and Melon 

 The Orange Apple. It is a variety of the musk melon 

 Melon. species, although most of the characteris- 



tics of the fruit are more nearly akin to the 

 cucumber. "The variety presents some desirable feat- 

 ures, but it is overpraised." A figure of the plant is given. 



The Crandall currant is a simple variation of the 

 " flowering currant" of yards, Ribes aiireum . ' ' The plant 

 is hardy and vigorous, and so far, our specimens have 

 been free from insect attacks, although the currant worm 

 was very abundant upon adjacent rows of common sorts. 

 The bushes attain to a large size, and need more room 



than other currants. The fruits are large and fair, bluish- 

 black and polished. They separate from the stem and 

 are therefore picked and sold singly, like gooseberries 

 and cherries. The flavor is sweet and agree- 

 able, though not pronounced There is none Crandall 

 of the grossness of flavor characteristics of Currant, 

 common black currants. It makes good 

 stews, pies and jellies, whether used green or ripe. In 

 jelly we prefer it to other currants. The variety is wholly 

 distinct It represents a new type, which, when further 

 selected and improved, must come to be a staple." 



Record is made of well marked variations in peas in 

 consequence of variation in soil. Clay, as compared with 

 loam, gave later, taller, greener and more glaucous plants. 



" It is a common practice among gardeners to set cab- 

 bage plants to the depth of the first leaf, upon the sup- 

 position that deeply set plants give better 

 heads than others. The experience and Transplanting 

 observation of the writer, during several Cabbages, 

 seasons, have led him to doubt the 

 greater efficiency of deep planting, beyond some influ- 

 ence it may exert by preventing injury from very dry 

 weather." The summary of the season's experiments 

 confirm the supposition that depth of transplanting does 

 not augment heading tendencies: "Of the twelve lots, 

 one-half did best from each treatment. The compara- 

 tive ratios are 13.46 to 13.6, in favor of deep plantings. 

 In other words, in 565 heads, those from the deep plant- 

 ings averaged about two ounces per head heavier. 270 

 cabbages gave better results in shallow planting, and 295 

 better in deep planting. The differences in the two cases 

 are so slight as to appear to be indifferent." 



' ' There is a belief that new or fresh seeds of squashes, 

 pumpkins and melons produce plants which ' run to vine' 

 more than those from old seeds ; and this supposed re- 

 dundance of vegetation is considered to exist 

 at the expense of fruitfulness. " Extensive Old 

 tests upon this point were made with squashes. Squash 

 watermelons, cucumbers and muskmelons. Seeds. 

 "There was no evidence whatever that older 

 seeds give shorter and more productive vines. In fact, 

 their was no uniformity of behavior between seeds of like 

 ages. The largest vines in some instances came from 

 oldest seeds, in others from the newest, and in others 

 from those of intermediate ages. All this variation is 

 evidently due to heredity of the individual seeds, or to 

 conditions of growth of the immediate parents, rather 

 than to age of seeds." 



A "New Preserver and Germinator of Cereals and 

 Seeds of all Kinds," sold by Dimpfel, of 

 New York, was tested. "With the excep- Patent 

 tion of an indication of a trifling advan- Germinator. 

 tage in the tomato seed tests, in which 

 the results may have been wholly accidental to the treat- 

 ments, the germinator gave no results in germination 

 superior to those obtained from soaking the same length 

 of time in water ; while in radishes the damage done by 

 the material was marked. In radishes and turnips, it 

 also lessened the rapidity of germination." L. H. B. 



