NOTES AND ABSTRACTS. 



is given and illustrated. The larva is about 5 mm. long and the adult has a 

 wing expanse of 6 to 7 mm. The species causes hardly any injury to the cambium 

 and is therefore of little economic importance. — G. W. G. 



Apples, Date of Full Bloom and Date when Fruit is Picked. By J. Farrell (Jour. 

 Agr. Vict. Sept. 19 17, pp. 552-3). — List of fifty-eight different varieties, 

 with number of days involved between flowering and fruit being ripe ; the 

 shortest length of time being 80 days for ' Gladstone,' 87 for ' Early Margaret ' 

 and ' William's Favourite,' 90 for ' Lord Sufneld '; the longest being 227 days 

 for ' Sturmer Pippin,' 216 ' Rymer,' 214 ' Dougherty,' 210 for ' Twenty Ounce ' 

 and ' Scarlet Pearmain.' The usual period of full bloom of the apple in Victoria 

 is two to three days. — C. H. H. 



Apples, Evaporation of. By J. S. Caldwell [Jour. Agr. Vic. October 1917, 

 pp- 589-607 ; Nov., pp. 671-684 ; Dec, pp. 734-748). — The articles deal with : 

 The kiln evaporator, its uses and limitations ; construction of the building ; 

 two-kiln evaporator ; double-walled ventilator ; side elevation of four-kiln 

 evaporator, showing ventilating openings in the wall, which permit free entrance 

 of air beneath the floor of the work-room to the air inlets in the walls of the 

 kilns ; ground-floor plan ; second story plan ; section showing belt conveyor 

 from grader to storage bin and chutes from bin to paring table ; eight-kiln 

 ventilator; power bleacher ; plants for large capacity. Nov. 1917 : Heating 

 apparatus ; piping system of furnace ; section of building showing Jacket-and- 

 Hopper construction ; kiln floor ; steam-heated kilns ; the tunnel evaporator ; 

 furnace room ; furnace ; construction of trays. Dec. 191 7 : The Carson- 

 Snyder "All-purpose" Evaporator; its drying chamber, power parer ; 

 evaporating machinery — paring machines, sheers, graders ; other equipment ; 

 relation of temperature of the air to its moisture-carrying capacity ; artificial 

 means of increasing circulation of air ; determining when the fruit is properly 

 dried ; grading and packing the dried fruit ; best varieties of apple for evapo- 

 ration ; yield of dry fruit from different varieties. — C. H. H. 



Apples, Jonathan Spot and Seald of, Effect of Temperature, Aeration, and 

 Humidity on, in Storage. By C. Brooks and J. S. Cooley [Jour. Agr. Res. xi. 

 pp. 287-318, Nov. 1917 ; plates). — Jonathan spot and scald are both at first 

 restricted to the colour cells of the apple and both lay the fruit open to the attack 

 of rot fungi. Both were decreased by good aeration when fruit was gathered 

 in a mature condition and both increased with rise of temperature, having 

 a maximum at about 30 0 C. and an optimum at 20 0 C. Only at o° C. did scald 

 develop in an open container ; it increased rapidly in a moist atmosphere. Apples 

 stored in an atmosphere with more than 5 per cent. C0 2 at I5°C. have not 

 developed scald but have been destroyed in other ways. Apple-scald is more 

 serious on green fruit than on ripe ; apples delayed in storage, and well aerated 

 during the delay, provided they are mature when picked, develop less scald. 



F. /. C. 



Ash, Utilization of. By W. D. Sterrett (U.S.A. Dep. Agr., Bull. 523, June 

 191 7). — Ash is one of the leading commercial hardwoods of the United States. 

 Its importance is due to the intrinsic qualities of its wood ; for the quantity 

 cut annually and the available supply of standing timber are small in comparison 

 with the output and supply of a number of other American hardwoods. 



There are eighteen species of ash native to the United States, but 98 per cent, 

 of the ash lumber produced is from three species — white ash (Fraxinus americana), 

 black ash (F. nigra), and green ash (F. lanceolata). 



Ash wood is heavy, strong, tough, stiff, and hard, and takes a high polish. 

 It shrinks only moderately in seasoning and bends well when seasoned. The 

 layers of annual growth are clearly marked by several rows of large, open ducts 

 occupying (in slow-growing specimens) nearly the entire width of the annual 

 ring. The medullary rays are numerous and obscure. The colour of the heart- 

 wood is brown ; the sapwood is much lighter, often nearly white. The proportion 

 of heartwood and sapwood varies chiefly with the age of the tree. 



Ash is the second most important wood used in aeroplanes. The great 

 bulk of the wood used is spruce from the Pacific Coast and West Virginia. The 

 essential qualities needed in wood for aeroplanes are straightness of grain, 

 strength, absolute freedom from hidden defects, lightness (in comparison with 

 strength), and ability to stand extreme stress. Ash is used in framework, main 

 outriggers on which the canvas is stretched, uprights bearing the engine or 

 forming the engine beds, skids (on the upright, curving ends of which the alight- 

 ing wheels are fixed), rudders, and propeller blades. For framework, out- 

 riggers, and uprights, straightness of grain and strength are the essential qualities 

 needed, which usually can be best supplied by rapid-growing, comparatively 



