NOTES AND ABSTKACTS. 



117 



material out of which new rootlets may be made, and on trees which have 

 undergone a journey, at least, seldom making any but the feeblest growth. 

 The scientific basis of the results of this improved contact of the soil with 

 the roots, and of the varying behaviour of the latter when rammed in 

 different soils, is dealt with in an article by Mr. Pickering in his " Studies 

 on Germination and Plant Growth " in the Appendix to this Eeport 

 (reprinted from the " Journal of Agricultural Science." vol. 2, part iv.). 



A. P. 



Fruit Trees : Root Injury on Planting 1 . By the Duke of Bedford, 

 E.G., and Spencer U. Pickering, F.B.S. (Woburn, Ninth Beport, 1908, 

 pp. 38-56). — The conclusions arrived at confirm those expressed in the 

 Fifth Report : namely, that the various items which are supposed to con- 

 stitute " bad practice " in planting are not only not deleterious to the 

 trees, but result in a certain amount of good, and the authors justify this 

 by referring to experiments which go to show that trees benefit by the 

 removal of fibres up to 1 mm. in diameter, as well as by the shortening 

 of the larger roots, the latter practice helping the formation of more 

 vigorous adventitious roots nearer the stem, and they maintain that it is 

 the formation of new roots, and not the preservation of old ones, which 

 should be the aim in planting trees. — A. P. 



Fruit Trees: Trenching- the Soil before Planting-. By the 



Duke of Bedford, E.G., and Spencer U. Pickering, F.B.S. (Wobum, Ninth 

 Beport, 1908). — The bastard trenching of the soil before planting has not, 

 as a rule, produced any good results, and the authors advise growers not 

 to go to the expense of trenching without strong evidence that such a 

 process has actually been found to be beneficial to the particular soil in 

 question. Where the -soil is deep and fertile it may have good results, as 

 well as in cases where it improves the drainage. — A. P. 



Fruits in Virginia and South Atlantic States, Orchard. By 



H. P. Gould (U.S.A. Dept. Agr., Bur. PI. Ind., Bull. 135, December 

 1908). — This is the first published report of the fruit district investiga- 

 tions of the Bureau of Plant Industry, and the object in making them has 

 been to ascertain the limitations within which fruit varieties may be 

 profitably planted in these regions, as indicated by the manner in which 

 they respond to the influences of their environment, the success of a given 

 variety being not alone " its ability to develop to a high degree of per- 

 fection, but its commercial value in terms of profit and loss when placed 

 upon the market " (p. 9). Based upon the observations of 63 growers, 

 descriptions are given of all the varieties of fruits commonly grown in the 

 districts in question (pp. 30-62) with their varying behaviour at different 

 elevations and in different soils, and these are supplemented by elaborate 

 phenological records by the same observers (pp. 68-95). For instance, 

 there are returns by 53 growers on Ben Davies apple, giving the latitude, 

 elevation, slope, and soil where it was grown in each case, with the dates 

 of blossoming in given years and of the last spring and first autumn 

 frosts, the times of gathering, the periods of its season, &c. The report 

 must prove a boon to intending planters in the States mentioned, and is 

 an object lesson which should not be missed by all Government and 



