NOTES AND ABSTRACTS. 



299 



diminishes this tendency by affording an opportunity for the inversion of 

 some of the Cane sugar. 



In most of the factories no attempt is made to chemically purify the 

 juices, dependence being entirely placed on heating and skimming ; but in 

 the mill of Messrs. Wright in Cairo (Georgia) the juices are sulphured 

 cold and then lime added almost to neutrality (as practised in sugar- 

 making in Louisiana), which clears and does not darken the resulting 

 product. 



An address by the author on " Cane and Cassava Culture in Florida " 

 is included in the pamphlet, together with notes on soils in various 

 States and their analysis, analyses of Sugar-cane, and finally the considera- 

 tion of problems which need further study. — C. H. C. 



Summer Gardening- {Garden, No. 1643, p. 327; 16/5/03).— The 

 death-blow was given to the old bedding-out system, not by the 

 plants which were used, for in themselves they were beautiful, but by 

 the commingling of crude colours entirely antagonistic, and intolerably 

 dull in their perpetual reiteration. But bedding-out must, and always 

 will, remain an essential part of a certain type of garden, if not of all. 



Nothing can be more charming, yet what more simple, than beds of 

 the common monthly Rose pegged down and flowering profusely at a 

 height of about 2 feet or so from the ground level. Banks and beds of 

 these are extensively used at Florence, and once seen can never be for- 

 gotten. What is there to prevent such delightful every-day things doing 

 equally well and being more long-lived in our own cooler, moister climate, 

 and yet how seldom are they seen in mass in our English gardens ! 



E. T. C. 



Sunlight injurious to Seeds. By M. Emile Laurent (Le Jard. 

 June 20, 1903, p. 83). — It has been found by experiments that seeds 

 exposed for some days to bright sunshine have their germinating power 

 retarded, and sometimes destroyed. — C. W. D. 



Sweet Corn Culture. By B. W. McKeen (U.S.A. Exp. Stn. 

 Maine, Quarterly Bull. vol. ii. 1). — Green sward on light land ploughed 

 six inches deep is the best. The land is thoroughly broken up by means 

 of harrows. The corn is planted in drills, 3 feet apart, about 8 qts. 

 of seeds to the acre ; about 450 lb. of a standard brand of phosphate 

 per acre. Weeding is thoroughly carried out before the corn comes up, 

 and when the corn is six inches high the cultivator is used. Clover and 

 grass seed are sown in the corn at the end of July. The stalks are cut 

 and made into silage. — F. J. C. 



Sweet Peas. By E. Molyneux (Gard. Mag. n. 2571, p. 85 ; 7/2/03).— 

 Now that the varieties of Sweet Peas have become so bewilderingly 

 numerous, it is an advantage for someone to make a selection to aid the 

 puzzled amateur. The writer has, no doubt, had difficulty in making a 

 selection where all are beautiful, and the result is that his list is far too 

 large for gardens of modest size, and it might be narrowed down to 

 almost a score. The cultural notes are practical and clear. — W. G. 



