5o6 



BOOKS AND BULLETINS. 



this country, the apple, barberry, cherry, cucumber, cur- 

 rant, grape, kaki, melon, mulberry, orange, pear, pine- 

 apple, plum, raspberry, strawberry and tomato are dis- 

 cussed. The seedless plum is undoubtedly the mon- 

 strous fruit produced by the fungus Taphrinci pi-iini. A 

 most interesting chapter could have been written upon 

 seedless cucumbers, a subject that has never yet been 

 fully analyzed. 



The author has not purposed to give any elaborate 

 discussion of the known or assumed causes of seedless- 

 ness, but he has indicated some of the most common and 

 probable ones. He thinks that tenderness of flesh is 

 usually associated with slight seed-producing power, and 

 it seems to be a " legitimate field for horticultural effort, 

 to experiment with seed from nearly seedless forms, or 

 with seed which is more fragile or seemingly imperfect, 

 in the endeavor to produce increased quality, as also 

 with seed from unripe fruit. " The paper is a suggestive 

 and valuable one throughout, and should be in the hands 

 of all who study plants. 



Wines and Vines of California. A Treatise on tlie 

 Eiliics of Wine Drinkiiig. By Frona Eunice Wait. Pp. 

 21 J. Illustyated. San Francisco : Tlie Bancroft Company . 

 50 cents. ' ' The state of California exports to the Atlantic 

 coast as much wine as is imported into the whole coun- 

 try from France, and consumes herself of native pro- 

 duction three-fourths as much as is imported into the 

 entire United States from all countries. * * * There 

 is ample proof of the purity and high quality of our na- 

 tive wines, but our home dealers not only sell them on 

 their own merits, but substitute them for all kinds of 

 foreign wine. * * So-called California wine found 

 in the eastern market is as a general thing manufactured 

 in a three-story brick vineyard in some back street, not 

 far from where it is offered for sale, and in the majority 

 of cases contains everything but grape juice, while the 

 genuine article takes the hint and puts on 

 A Book a French label." This is reason enough to 



on Wines. write of the ' ' ethics of wine drinking, " or, 

 rather, wine making. But Mrs. Wait grasps 

 the subject broadly. She is evidently a connoisseur in 

 wines. She compares European and American condi- 

 tions and methods, and she discusses Californian wine- 

 making practices in detail. It is a timely book to wine 

 users, for it points out differences between the good and 

 the spurious, and ic educates the consumer. The bur- 

 den of the book lies on the ethical side. The authoress 

 believes in wine drinking, and she says so boldly, giving 

 commanding reasons for her belief. She even intro- 

 duces a chapter upon " Wine as a Temperance Agent." 

 (We wonder who will write upon gunpowder as a fire 

 extinguisher ! ) She maintains, with reason, that intem- 

 perance comes primarily from habit rather than from 

 appetite. She lays intemperance upon the unattractive- 

 ness of the hearthstone. It is a social evil. She lays it 

 upon the American cuisine, of which there is none "so 

 wretchedly bad as that distinctively American. " The 

 American laborer's "board is cheerless, and he seeks 

 relaxation where it can be found." She believes that 



wine at home is better than wine at a saloon, the same 

 as we now endeavor to amuse our boys at home rather 

 than let them seek entertainment where they must. 



The book treats of ' ' The Art of Wine-making, " ' ' How 

 our Native Wines are Managed," "Early History of the 

 Industry," "How to Drink Wine," " Enterprising and 

 Prominent Wine Men," and the leading wine centers of 

 California. The authoress writes entertainingly and in 

 a convincing manner. She certainly knows her subject. 



A Guide to the Cultivation of the Grape Vine in 

 Te.xas, and Instructions for Wine Making. By E. 

 H. Andrae. Pp. 4^. Illustrated. Dallas: Texas Farm 

 and Ranch Pith. Co. This is a useful little 

 guide to the novice in Texas grape growing, Texas 

 although it is not broad enough to answer Grape 

 the purpose of a manual. It considers va- Book, 

 rieties and the ordinary matters of propaga- 

 tion and culture, with a chapter on irrigation — probably 

 the most useful part of the book. The chapter on dis- 

 eases is entirely behind the times, and that on insects 

 contains nothing of value. The second part of the book 

 treats of wine making. 



Bulletin No. i, Vol. Ill, Tennessee Experiment 

 Station. Experiments in Gro'cuing Potatoes. By C. S. 

 Plumb. Pp. -24. The influence of the amount of the 

 tuber upon yield is again discussed. The Rural New- 

 Yorker trench system of potato 



culture has been made the sub- Potato Experiments 

 ject of experiment, and it was in Tennessee. 



found that the total yield would 



not pay for the cost of labor and fertilizers. It is diffi- 

 cult to account for this result, as others have obtained 

 the most gratifying results from this method of culture. 

 The system is commonly known as the trench system, as 

 it aims to plant the tubers about eight inches deep, so 

 that hilling is not necessary. A record is also made of 

 the behaviors of 74 kinds of potatoes. A novel and use- 

 ful experiment was a test of the keeping qualities of the 

 sorts. 



The Southern Queen sweet potato, upon light clay- 

 loam, was planted April 27, May 4, 11, 18, 25 and June i, 

 for the purpose of determining influence of date of plant- 

 ing upon yield, "(i) The largest yield was produced 

 from the planting of May 4th. (2) 



Many more unmerchantable potatoes Sweet Potatoes. 



were produced from the first three 



than from the last three plantings. (3) The average 

 yield for the first three plats, or early planted, is 489 

 pounds ; of the late planted, or last three plats, 510 

 pounds, or a difference of 21 pounds in favor of later 

 planting. (4) The average yield of the plantings from 

 April 27th to May iith was smaller than those planted 

 from May i8th to June 1st, and each plat contained, on 

 an average, 37 pounds more of unmerchantable tubers 

 than did the several late plantings." 



Bulletin No. 31, Indiana Experiment Station. 

 Small Fruits and Vegetables . By James Troop. Pp. 22. 

 Illustrated. For the farmer's garden. Professor Troop 

 recommends the following strawberries : Bubach, Cum- 



