656 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The crop must be kept clean, for, once infested by weeds, it is 

 practically doomed. Eich sandy loam and land with lime in it are both 

 suitable. 



The vitality of the seed diminishes rapidly after the second year, 

 but depends upon thorough ripening and good quality. A damp climate 

 is very prejudicial. The average yield in onion-set raising is three 

 hundred bushels to the acre, and profits are not large, as sets bring only 

 fifty to sixty cents the bushel. — C. H. L. 



Orangre Thrips, The. By P. E. Jones and J. E. Horton {U.S.A. 

 Dep. Agr., Bur. Entom., Bull. 99, pt. i. ; March 1911; 3 plates, 2 figs., 

 4 tables). — This Bulletin is a report of progress for the years 1909 and 

 1910. The orange thrips [Eutkrips citri, Moulton) scars the fruit and 

 curls the leaves of the orange. It has increased in numbers with the 

 growth of the orange industry in California, and its control is one 

 of the chief insect problems confronting the citrus growers of that 

 country. 



High-pressure spraying with a contact insecticide, such as black- 

 leaf tobacco extract in distillate-oil emulsion, gives the best result up 

 to now, three or four applications being necessary for complete control. 



F. G. J. 



Orchard Drainage a Necessity. By A. H. Carson (U.S.A. 

 St. Bd. Hort. Oregon Rep., 1909-10, p. 85). — Many soils would grow 

 fruit orchards profitably were they properly drained at the outset. 

 This is the case with shallow soils of two or three feet, having a hard 

 subsoil beneath upon which in a wet season water accumulates, pre- 

 venting healthy root-growth, and which are also the first to dry out m 

 the hot weather. 



By draining these four or five feet below the surface with earthen 

 pipes (* ' tiles ' ') the depth of available soil is increased to that amount, 

 and the necessary circulation of water and of air is ensured. 



Drainage, again, is absolutely necessary where irrigation is prac- 

 tised, unless the subsoil is of a nature to carry off surplus water by 

 itself. Disregard of this necessity has converted about 700,000 acres 

 of land in the West into swamp. 



The preliminary outlay is great (for draining must be accurately 

 graded by an expert), but it is an investment for all time. — C. H. L. 



Paper-Makingr, The Utilization of Crop Plants in. By 



Chas. J. Brand {U.S. Dept. Agr. Year Book, pp. 329-340; 1910).— 

 There are numerous crops whose residues furnish material now going 

 to waste that might be used for paper-making, isuch as corn-stalks, rice- 

 straw, cotton-mill fibre, cotton stalks, bagasse (refuse of sugar-cane), 

 flax-straw, &c. Besides these, there are plants that might be grown 

 at a profit, solely for paper-making purposes, such as hemp, the well- 

 known grass, Eulalia japonica, esparto (much used in Europe, and 

 obtained from Algeria, Tripoli, Spain, &c.), okra, jute, and others. 

 The paper produced from the above could hardly be cheap enough for 



