658 



JOUENAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Peaches, The Drying- of, in Chile (Bev, Hort. d'Alg. p. 418; 

 Dec. 1911). — An account of the widespread industry of peach-drying 

 in the province of Ooquimbo, in Chile. The peaches are peeled by 

 hand, bleached by the action of sulphur fumes, and dried in the open 

 air by the sun. The operations of peeling and subsequently removing 

 the stones at a .certain stage of the drying process require some skill, 

 and give employment to many of the female inhabitants of the depart- 

 ments of Elqui and Ovalle, in the province of Ooquimbo. — M. L. H, 



Pear Blig-ht. By A. H. Carson {U.S.A. St. Bd. Hort., Oregon, 

 Bep. 1909-10, p. 34). — Impresses upon fruit-growers the absolute 

 necessity of using the knife as the only remedy for this dangerous, 

 disease. Advertized sprays are no good. The great increase in spray- 

 ing against insect pests and fungoid diseases is a striking testimony to 

 the efforts of the Board in educational work. The fruit-growers should 

 not confine themselves to one crop only, but should be self-supporting 

 in the way of hay, feed, and other crops- that are absolutely necessary 

 on the farm, instead of buying them (p. 51). " Smudging " (p. 52) 

 to prevent injury to the spring bloom from frost should be classed 

 among the important operations of fruit-growing, just as spraying, 

 pruning, &c. The " fourth district " could do with more people from 

 the Eastern States, for they " could find plenty of room and work 

 with insured prosperity." — C. H. L. 



Pear, Hold-over Blig-ht in. By W. G. Sackett (U.S.A. Exp. 

 Stn., Colorado, Bull. 177; June 1911; figs.). — The question investi- 

 gated was the extent to which the "fire blight" organism, Bacillus 

 amylovorus, survives the winter in dry districts. It has been re- 

 peatedly stated that very few exist in spring, but the author finds 

 this statement inaccurate, at least 20 per cent, of the cankers on 

 the young branches and twigs containing active germs at flowering 

 time.— F. J. C. 



Pears, Stocks for (Bev. Hort. d'Alg. p. 82; March 1912).— It 

 appears that the native pears make far the best stocks for grafted pears 

 in Algeria. By their use the difficulties of growing pears in very chalky 

 soil seem to be removed, and the scions so grafted make much larger 

 specimens than any grafted on quince or French pear stocks. The 

 native pears for stocks must be reproduced from seed. Eunners taken 

 from wild plants make stocks which continue to produce runners. 



M. L. H. 



Pear Thrips, How to Control the. By S. W. Foster and P. R. 

 Jones (U.S.A. Dep. Agr., Bur. Entom., Circ. 131; Jan. 1911; 

 15 figs., and tables). — This insect, on account of its small size and 

 the rapidity with which it increases and spreads over large areas, is 

 very difficult to control. The full-grown thrips are on the wing 

 from the middle of February to early in April. They feed on the 

 frviit buds of all deciduous frujt trees^ eating away the soft ape} 



