1166 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Malaga Raisins, Preparation of. By Victor Sebastian (Qu. Agr. 

 Journ. xi. pt. 5, Nov. 1902).— Describes the methods used in the pre- 

 paration of Malaga raisins, and the best varieties of grape to be used for 

 the purpose. This communication is of interest chiefly to the viticul- 

 turists of Australia, and other tropical and subtropical countries where 

 the vine can be cultivated in the open. It concerns itself with the culture 

 and gathering of the fruit, the methods of drying, packing and pressing, 

 and finally with extracts from a paper read at the Viticultural Convention 

 held at San Francisco in 1888 on the Raisin Industry of California. 



M. C. C. 



Malvastrum capense (Gartenflora, 15/10/1902, p. 554).— An 

 exhibition was given in September by H. Lindemuth, at a meeting of a 

 German Gardeners' Society, of plants obtained by grafting Malvastrum 

 capense on Abutilon Thompson!. The plants bore leaves which were 

 variegated as in the latter species. Specimens were afterwards propa- 

 gated by cuttings. — J. P. 



Manures, Chemical, for Vegetables. By AY. (Bull. B. Soc. 

 Tosc. Ort. 11, p. 344, November 1902). — Experiments conducted in 

 Belgium in 1901 by Dr. J. Aeby and E. Hegh. Plants used were Carrots, 

 Cabbages, Spinach, French Beans, Lettuce, Onions, Leeks, Radishes, 

 Scorzonera, and others. Four parcels of land were chemically manured 

 with perphosphate of lime, sulphate of potash, and nitrate of soda. One 

 parcel was left unmanured ; one was manured with dung ; four with both 

 chemical manure and dung. One of the chief aims was to determine for 

 each piece of land and each kind of vegetable the action on them of an 

 increasing quantity of nitrate of soda. The various methods of applying 

 the manure and dung are given. The following is the result of the 

 experiment : (1) The best crops were obtained on the pieces of land 

 treated with both dung and chemical manure. Exceptions to this were 

 afforded by some crops of Spinach, Onions, and French Beans ; in these 

 the best results were obtained with chemical manures alone, without 

 dung, this latter appearing useless and perhaps injurious. (2) The pro- 

 duct of those portions manured solely with dung are, in general, far 

 inferior to the best crops obtained with chemical manures. Exceptions 

 to this are the Leeks grown at Mons, the Carrots at Oosterloo, and the 

 Onions at Gembloux, which yielded produce treated with dung equal to 

 that obtained with manure consisting of a mixture of dung and chemical 

 manures. (3) The produce of land treated with chemical manure alone 

 equalled, and very often surpassed, that of land treated with dung alone, 

 and considerably surpassed that of land without any manure. Exceptions 

 to this were Carrots at Oosterloo, and Onions at Gembloux and Ostend. 



The general conclusion is that rational doses of chemical manures 

 added to that consisting merely of dung is highly advisable if one would 

 obtain really good crops of vegetables. — W. C. W. 



Manures, Garden. By C. A. Keffer (University of Tennessee 

 Record, January 1903, p. 59). — A comparison between the value of 

 (1) manure alone ; (2) lime and manure ; and (3) acid-phosphate and 



