NOTES AND ABSTEACTS. 



541 



Grape Root-worm Investigations in 1907. By F. Johnson 

 (U.S.A. Dept. Agr., Bur. Entom,, Bull. No. 68, pt. vi. ; figs.).— The 

 grape root-worm (Fidia viticida Walsh) has done great harm in the 

 vineyards about Lake Erie. It has been found that thorough spraying 

 with lead arsenate, when the beetles emerge about the middle of July 

 (the date varies with weather conditions), reduces the deposition of eggs 

 by a large percentage. The spray formula recommended is — 



5 lb. copper sulphate, 



5 lb. fresh stone lime, 



3 lb. arsenate of lead, 



50 gallons of water. F. J. C. 



Grapes nourished with Sugar Candy. By C. Arranger (Le Jard,, 

 vol. xxiii. No. 536, p. 189 ; June 20, 1909). — The authors announce that 

 it is possible by feeding grapes on sugar candy to get them to ripen two 

 to three weeks earlier than would naturally be the case, sugar candy 

 supplying the necessary carbohydrate. The method is very simple and 

 seems to deserve a trial. M. Pauchet, the inventor, merely pruned his 

 shoots as usual, leaving, however, 4 or 5 nodes above the last bunch 

 and then bent them obliquely down, so that they dipped into flasks con- 

 taining 150 to 200 c.c. of solution of sugar candy of 12*5-14 , 5 per cent., 

 i.e. 124-145 grammes per litre. The solution should not be more 

 concentrated than this. It is well to choose thick shoots since they 

 absorb better than very small ones ; they should be stripped of secondary 

 growths, and lightly scored longitudinally, to let in the fluid. They 

 are then rubbed with sterilized cotton-wool and introduced into the flasks. 

 The proper time is after the vine has flowered and the young grapes 

 are set. The absorption of sugar should not be allowed more than three 

 weeks. When the shoot ceases to absorb more than 1-2 c.c. a day it is 

 removed from the flask, washed in boiling water, and the end cut back 

 halfway. The flasks should be boiled for two hours, and the solution 

 prepared twice over by boiling. The flasks are filled with a pipette passed 

 through the flame and boiling water, and covered with sterilized cotton- 

 wool, to avoid all risk of mould, &c. They should be closely watched for 

 several days, and removed at once if the solution looks at all muddy, in 

 which case the entire process must be repeated. 



M. Pauchet has further tried to obtain artificial flavours by impreg- 

 nating the grapes with raspberry syrup, &c. — F. A. W. 



Growth, Measurements of, in Grafted Trees. By M. Nomblot- 

 Bruneau (Jour. Soc. Nat. Hort. Fr., June 1909, p. 350).— A tabulated 

 account of some curious and precise investigations that were carried on 

 during the whole of one season into the exact amount of growth made by 

 first-year grafts of pears during each consecutive period of twelve hours. 



M. L. H. 



Guelder Roses, To Force. By E. Galois (Le Jard., vol. xxiii. 

 No. 532, p. 12 ; April 20, 1909 ; 1 fig.). — Viburnum Opulus can be 

 trained into a pretty pot-plant by pruning it into the required shape, 

 plucking off half the leaves from the branches, taking it up from the open 

 ground in December, and potting in loose mould. It must be kept cool 



