152 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Sophora japonica Linn. By W. J. Bean (Bot. Mag. t. 8764; 191 8). — Legumi- 

 nosae. Native of China. One of the most ornamental of hardy trees, flowering 

 in September. Trees, however, do not as a rule flower until they are thirty to 

 forty years old and seldom develop seed in this country. The leaves are 

 deciduous, alternate, imparipinnate 6 to 10 inches long, dark glossy green above, 

 glaucous and furnished with ad pressed pubescence beneath. The flowers are 

 borne in terminal, pyramidal panicles 4 to 8 inches high, creamy white. — L. C. E. 



Sorrel, Red, and its Control. By F. J. Pipal [U.S.A. Exp. Stn., Purdue, Bull. 

 197, vol. xix. Dec. 1916 ; 15 figs.). — As a rule, an abundance of red sorrel in a 

 field indicates acidity, insufficient organic matter, mineral plant food, or bad 

 drainage; in other words, the soil is " sour." An} 7 of these conditions is harmful 

 to the development of the crops, while it does not interfere seriously with the 

 growth of red sorrel. Consequently the latter grows and smothers the crop. 



Red sorrel can be eradicated and prevented from seeding by one or more 

 applications in form of fine spray, of 20 per cent, solution of sulphate of iron. 

 Spreading salt liberally over infested patches will prove effective, especially in 

 pastures. 



It has been claimed that red sorrel is relished by stock. Although it is best 

 to eradicate it as soon as practicable, it may be worth while, when found in 

 abundance on a farm, to utilize it for feed. — V. G. J. 



Spraying, Dusting as a Substitute for. By H. H. Whetzel and F. M. Blodgett 



(Proc. 1 6th Ann. Meet. N.Y. Fruit Growers' Assoc., March 15, 191 7 ; pp. 61-75). — 

 A summary showing the advantages from a fungicidal point of view of dry 

 spraying over wet, seeing that sulphur is the agent left, after lime-sulphur 

 spraying, for combating the scab spores. 



The results were disappointing, but the faults were attributed to (1) inexperi- 

 ence in dusting as compared with spraying, (2) the coarseness of sulphur used, (3) 

 failure to appreciate the greatest advantage which dusting has over spraying, 

 i.e. the possibility of making timely applications, and (4) the dusting machinery 

 is much less perfected than is spraying machinery. It is urged that dusting 

 be continued and the faults remedied, e.g. the sulphur to be ground finer, 

 timeliness of application studied, and that manufacturers improve the machines, 

 especially the feed control and distributing tube. — G. F. W. 



Stewartia serrata Maxim. By W. J. Bean {Bot. Mag. t. 8771; 1918). — 

 Ternstroemiaceae. A small hardy tree, probably native of Japan. The leaves are 

 deciduous, elliptic or obovate with the margin serrate and teeth incurved, dull 

 dark-green and glabrous above, paler beneath and pilose on the midrib and in 

 the axils of veins. The flowers are solitary in the leaf axils of young shoots 



2 to 7.\ inches wide, cream-coloured stained with red on the outside. In the 

 absence of seeds it can be easily propagated by cuttings made of fairly firm 

 wood, in July and August. — L. C. E. 



Stewartia sinensis Rehd. et Wils. By W. J. Bean (Bot. Mag. t. 8778 ; 1918). 

 — Ternstroemiaceae. Native of Western China. A small deciduous hardy tree. 

 It was first distributed under the name of S. monadelpha, from which it differs 

 in having much larger capsules. The leaves are usually oval, bright green on 

 both surfaces. The flowers are solitary, white, about 2 in. wide. — L. C. E. 



Storage Houses, Management of, for Apples. By H. J. Ramsey and S. J. 

 Dennis (U.S.A. Dep. Agr., Farm. Bull. 852, June 1917; 4 figs.). — This bulletin, 

 deals with the construction and efficient management of apple stores. — V. G. J. 



Sugar-Beet Syrup. By C. O. Townsend and H. C. Gore (U.S.A . Dep. Agr.,. 

 Farm. Bull. 823, May 1917 ; 9 figs.). — Describes growing of sugar beets in the 

 garden, and a simple process of making them into a palatable and nutritious 

 table syrup. The beets are cut into thin slices, soaked in hot water to extract 

 the sugar. The liquid is then boiled until the requisite thickness of syrup is 

 obtained. Generally speaking, a bushel of well-grown roots will produce from 



3 to 5 quarts of syrup. — V. G. J. 



Strawberry, Sterility in. By W. D. Vallieau (Jour. Agr. Res. xii. p. 613, 

 March 191 8 ; plates). — An important contribution to our knowledge of sterility 

 in strawberries. The wild American species of strawberry are mostly dicecious, 

 but the cultivated hybrids are usually more or less hermaphrodite. High per- 

 centages of abortive pollen grains are, however, produced, though some normal 

 functional pollen grains occur, and there is no evidence of physiological self- 

 sterility. The development of the pollen grains has been followed and is 



