276 



JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



soy bean and the cow pea resemble each other very closely, but the 

 former has some marked advantages over the latter: — 



1. It has an upright growth (not clinging). 



2. More reliable as to fruitfulness under varying conditions. 



3. Not harmed by slight frosts. 



4. Eich in protein and oil; may even be substituted for cotton-seed 

 meal. 



5. Seed not attacked by weevils. 



6. Beans ripen together, and may be cut and threshed (cow peas 

 ripen irregularly and must be hand-picked). 



On the other hand (1) cow peas germinate more certainly, pro- 

 ducing a better stand. They are not liable to heat and spoil in storing, 

 like soy beans, and are not so much appreciated by rabbits; (2) when 

 grown with sorghum and allowed to climb, they outyield soy beans 

 in vine and fruit; (3) are much more easily cured by ordinary methods; 

 (4) and will sometimes yield a second crop. — C. H. L. 



Strawberries for Dry Weather. (Jour. Soc. Nat. Hort. Fr. 

 Sept. 1909, p. 516). — The varieties of strawberry known in France as 

 * Saint- Joseph,' * Jeanne d'Arc,' ' Constante Feconde,' ' OyranO' de 

 Bergerac,' * Souvenir Normand,' though producing small-sized fruit, 

 are said to bear drought better than any other kinds. — M. L. H. 



Sug-ar Beet, Leaf-hoppers of. By E. D. Ball (U.S.A. Dep. 



Agr., Bur. of Entom., Bull. 66, part 4; Jan. 1909; plates). — Among 

 the diseases of sugar beet is one called " curly leaf," but more than 

 one form of the disease has been confused under the one name. The 

 one with which this bulletin deals is characterized by the leaves 

 becoming rough and warty and curling up, and by the beet becoming 

 stunted. The plant does not recover in this case. The other form 

 is characterized by the presence of numerous pale spots, and the edges 

 turn down, but otherwise the leaf is smooth, and the injury is confined 

 to the leaf attacked. The latter form is due to the attack of 

 a species of Empoasca, the former to the attack of the beet 

 leaf-hopper, Eutettix tenella. The insect, which is a native of the 

 south-western States, belongs to the Hemiptera. It is a small, pale 

 yellowish green species, very active in all stages. The nymphs are 

 pale creamy white or coloured brown, &c., and the eggs, which are 

 laid in the petiole, are white. It feeds on a variety of native plants 

 allied to the beet. It is suggested that spraying with paraf&n emulsion 

 as soon as the hoppers appear, with an attachment to the sprayer to 

 turn the leaves over, or the use of a tarred board with an agitator to 

 cause the insects to fly, would be the best means of destroying the 

 pests. Eolling the ground while damp and in cool weather would also 

 materially lessen the pests. 



Several other species of Eutettix and of Agallia feed on plants allied 

 to the beet, and may possibly become troublesome pests of that plant. 



F. J. C. 



