3. In cultures in soil, 1mg. of boron in 8 kg. of soil, i.e. 0.00001 per cent., had no bad effect upon the beans when applied in the form of borax, although it was injurious in the form of boric acid; in every case larger quantities were harmful. The preceding experiments suggested higher limits.

Some experiments, however, seemed to show a favourable influence upon the bulk of the crop, which is to be attributed to the stimulant action of these substances; but the limit for this beneficial action is below 0.00001 per cent. of the soil.

5. Although some experiments have shown that the action of boric acid was more injurious than that of borax, further experiments are necessary to decide whether this was due to the idiosyncrasy of special plants, as in general the effect of the two compounds is equal.

6. The assimiliation of boron, whether from solutions or from the soil, usually depends upon the amount present; it appears to be deposited in the stems and not in the grain.

7. Although the exterior effects shown by the spots on the leaves scemed alike in different plants, the action upon the yield was different; perhaps the discrepancies between the results of present and former experiments may be attributed to this fact.

484 - Solanum Chimeras.

MARCHAL, E.: in Annales de Gembloux, Year 23, No. 3, pp. 121-129. Brussels, March 1, 1913.

Winkler (1) has shown that when reciprocal grafts of nightshade and tomato are cut back to the point of union, composite buds may arise which develop into individuals exhibiting a curious mixture of the characters of the two associated species.

During 1912 the writer repeated Winkler's experiments at Gembloux, proceeding as follows: nightshade (Solanum nigrum var guineense) and tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum) plants were raised from seed sown in January, the plants being hardened off as much as possible before the end of April. The stem of the tomato was then cut 15 to 20 cm. (6 to 8 in.) from the earth level, leaving 4 or 5 leaves on the plant. The stems of the nightshade were cut in the shape of a wedge not less than 3 cm. (1.2 in.) long, and all the leaves were removed. The wedge-shaped stem was then fitted into a corresponding v-shaped cut in the tomato plant, and the two were bound together. After 15 to 20 days the tissues were completely united, and a transverse cut then made about 1 cm. (0.4 in.) from the top of the stock, leaving a rectangular piece of nightshade fused

(1) H. WINKLER: Ueber Propfbastarde und pflanzliche Chimären (Ber. d. D. Bot. Ge sellschaft, Bd. XXV, H. 10, 1907).

ID.: Solanum tubingense, ein echter Propfbastard zwischen Tomate und Nachtschatten (Ber. d. D. Bot. Gesellschaft, Bd. XXVI, H. 8, 1908).

ID: Weitere Untersuchungen über Propfbastarde (Zeltschr. f. Botanik, Bd. I, H. 5, 1909). ID.: Ueber die Nachkommenschaft der Solanum Propfbastarde und die Chromosomengahlen ihrer Keimzellen (Zeitschr. f. Botanik, Bd. II, H. 1, 1909). (Author's note).

into the tomato stem. A large number of adventitious buds were immediately formed round the top of the cut stem, and in almost all cases they presented either pure tomato or pure nightshade characteristics according to their position; but amongst the 30 plants under observation, three cases of chimera were obtained. Where they occurred the other shoots were removed so that the monstrous shoots should benefit by the entire vigour of the plant, and they developed into forms such as have been described by Winkler.

One, belonging to the so-called sectorial type, appeared to consist of the longitudinal fusion of the two species, for on one side of the plant the leaves were all pure tomato, while on the other they were all pure nightshade, and the line of demarcation was sharply defined all down the stem; in the one or two cases where leaves sprang from the point of fusion of the two sides of the stem, these leaves were divided along the mid-rib, on one side reproducing tomato, and or the other rightshade characteristics. At a certain height, the stem split into its two constituent parts which then dissociated completely. The nightshade flowered and fruited profusely, but the organism died before the tomato side had developed any flowers.

On another plant, there arose two buds in such intimate contact that they appeared to spring from a common origin; as the stock was dying a cutting was made of the buds, and later, the two individuals were separated. They both belonged to the periclir al type of chimera, and one of them resembled the Solanum Kohlreuterianum of Winkler. In general appearance the plant was very like a tomato, but the leaves were more simple, and the plant was glabrous. It did not, moreover, possess the aroma of the tomato. Flower buds were formed, but did not open, and the luxuriance of the vegetation was marked. The twin bud, as well as a single bud on yet another plant, developed into the Solanum Gaertnerianum of Winkler. The leaves were simple, very irregular in shape and surface, almost glabrous, and without the aroma of the tomato. The apices all tended to curve over, causing a kind of twist of the stem, and the intensity of the colour often varied between the depressed and raised portions of the surface. The whole appearar ce suggested a lack of harmony betweer. the two symbiotes, and this was bome out on the physiological side by a great lack of vitality. No flowering took place, but Winkler obtained flowers and seeds from his specimers and the latter reproduced pure rightshade plants.

Cuttings were made of all these chimeras, and will be submitted to further experiments during the present season.

485 On Some Vegetative Anomalies of Trifolium pratense.

KAJANUS, B.

in Zeitschrift für Induktive Abstammungs- und Vererbungslehre, Vol. 9, Parts 1 and 2, pp. 111-1338 figs, and 1 plate. Berlin, February 1913.

The writer speaks of the fasciation and yellowing (chlorosis) observed in red clover and finds a connection between these two pher cmera.

486 - Self Coloured Violet Seeds of Pisum arvense.

KAJANUS, BIRGER: in Fühlings Landwirtschaftliche Zeitung, Year 62, Part 5, pp. 153-160. Stuttgart, March 1, 1913.

From a variety of field pea (Pisum arvense), whose seeds were grey with violet spots, is derived a variety in which the violet colour is continuous over the whole or part of the integument, or is present in the form of stripes. For the latter variety the writer proposes the name obscuratum. The violet colour is due to a pigment dissolved in the cells of the palisade layer. From his cultures and observations (1909-1911) the writer concludes that: 1) the appearance of the violet coloration over the entire integument of the seeds of P. arvense, is a modification arising especially in spotted varieties; 2) this modification arises spontaneously, and is not due to any special external influence; 3) the frequency of the occurrence of self-coloured violet seeds can be increased in single plants by the separate sowing of such seeds.

487

Influence of Green Manuring upon Germination of Seeds. Report of the Director, 1911-1912, University of Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station, pp. 26-27. Madison, Wisconsin, January 1913.

In 1911 a southern student at the Wisconsin Agricultural College reported the failure of some ten acres of cotton to germinate, where it had been sown immediately after ploughing under green clover. On the other hand, on a similar field planted with the same seed, but which had not been green manured, normal germination occurred. Professor Hoffmann has accordingly begun a study of the effect of green manuring upon the germination of seeds subsequently sown. In pot tests in the green house he has incorporated with the soil an amount of green clover corresponding to that applied under field conditions, and has then sown varions seeds, in all cases sterilizing one series of pots, while another was allowed to remain in a normal condition.

"It has been found that the decomposition of the clover somehow affects cotton seed, but does not have any material effect on the germination of corn [maize], wheat, and clover. Two experiments conducted with flax have, however, shown a similar detrimental effect to that produced on cotton. The results so far secured indicate that the decomposition of green manures results in the reduction of the oxygen supply and an increase in the carbon dioxide present in the soil atmosphere. It is thought that this change in gaseons content of the soil prevents the germination of the cotton and flax seed, which contain a high percentage of oil, and so require more oxygen for germination than such seeds as corn, clover, and wheat. "

MYERS, C. H.;

488 - Effect of Fertility upon Variation and Correlation in Wheat.
in Proceedings of the American Breeders' Association, Vol. 7, pp. 61-74. Washing-
ton, 1912.

A summary of the results obtained by other experimenters in this subject followed by an account of the writer's own work on a mixed pop

PLANT BREEDING

ulation of Dawson's Golden Chaff. His results indicate that variation is greatest on the poorest soil, but more data must be accumulated before any definite conclusions can be drawn.

489 - Xenia in Wheat.
Vol. 156, No. 10, pp. 802-804. Paris, March 10, 1913.

BLARINGHEM, L.: in Comptes rendus de l'Académie des Sciences,

Cases of xenia were observed in wheat when 1) Triticum durum and 2) Triticum turgidum gentile were used to pollinate T. vulgare lu tescens. The hybrids of the second cross exhibited characteristics more accentuated than those of either parents and a hybrid-mutation appeared to have occurred.

490

Heredity of a Maize Variation. COLLINS, G. N.: U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry, Bulletin No. 272, pp. 23, Washington, January 1913. During the harvest of 1909, a single white ear of corn was observed in a field of Yellow Dent maize at Waco, Texas. From the general circumstances it appeared extremely likely that this might represent a mutation rather than a chance admixture, and the case was further investigated.

The seed from the albinistic ear was sown in 1910 ; one self-pollinated and two reciprocal cross-pollinated ears were obtained. Beside this, pollen from one of the parents used in the reciprocal cross was taken to pollinate three ears of White Dent, and one of another white-seeded variety named Hopi.

The seeds thus obtained were sown in 1911, the plants were selfed, the resulting ears carefully analysed.

It seems probable that the plant which produced the original albinistic ear received pollen from the surrounding yellow plants, and the first generation therefore represented a cross between white and yellow in which the former was dominant. This is a most unusual occurrence, and the dominance appears completely reversed in subsequeut generations. In a general way the progeny of the albinistic ear can be said to have resulted in all shades of yellow with a pronounced tendency to fall into two groups representing 25 per cent. of white and 75 per cent. of yellow. This suggests a single Mendelian character; but the segregation is incomplete, as mary of the grains in the recessive class show traces of yellow. On the other hand the numbers do not fit any better under the assumption that two or more Mendelian factors are involved.

491

·

The Relation of Certain Ear Characteristics to Yield in Corn [Maize]. — LOVE, H. H.: in Proceedings of the American Breeders' Association, Vol. 7, pp. 29-40. Washington, 1912.

Studies made on two varieties of corn grown for two seasons. The results show that there exists a slight positive correlation between the length and the breadth of the ear, and the yield of the offspring; but that the number of rows of grain on the ear, and the shape of the ear (cylindrical or tapering) do not have a marked effect on the yield.

The Production of New and Improved Varieties of Timothy.

H. J.: in Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station, Bulletin 813, pp. 339-381.
Ithaca, N. Y., 1912.

A full report of the timothy breeding experiments carried out at the Cornell Experimental Station (1).

493 The Seed-Farm at Schlanstedt, Germany.

DAMSEAUX A.: in Annales de

Gembloux, Year 23, No. 8, p. 130. Brussels, March 1, 1913.

An account of the seed-farm belonging to the firm of Strube, including a description of the methods employed for obtaining races of cereals specially adapted to the conditions of North-Eastem Europe, and for improving the Kleinwanzleben sugar beet.

494

The Improvement of Indian Wheat (2). HOWARD, A. and HOWARD, G. L. C. (A paper read at the Punjab Agricultural Conference, Lyallpur, November 4, 1912). The Agricultural Journal of India, Vol. VIII, Part. 1, pp. 27-34. Pusa, January 1913. A discussion of the results obtained by the two main lines of improvement:

1) Agricultural improvements consisting of hot-weather cultivation and dry-farming methods, combined where necessary with green manuring.

2) Improvement in the kinds of wheat grown, by which both quality and yield have been raised.

renings Tidskrift, Year XXIII, Part I, pp. 27-50. Svalöf, 1913.

Svalöf Golden barley, which appeared on the marhet this spring for the first time, is a new pedigree variety, which has been selected from an old Swedish barley coming originally from the island of Gotland. It belongs to the nutans variety and the grain has the so-called B characters, the rachilla long-haired and the inner pair of nerves of the glume toothed. These characters are not variety characters, but only those of types or groups, but they are of great practical importance, since they in some measure make control easier; for the work of selection they have no direct importance

The chief object of this Golden barley is to replace Svalöf Hanuchen in general farm-practice; it agrees essentially with the Hannchen in several characters of practical importance; thus its stems scarcely reach medium height, and are slender, but strong and rigid; and its ears are relatively thick. The 1000-grain weight, the bushel weight and the time of ripening are also the same as for Hannchen. But Svalöf Golden is easily distinguished in the field from the fact that its ears become dark reddish before ripening and are completely drooping while those of Hannchen are either suberect or nearly horizontal; when

(1) See No. 1514, B. Nov. 1912.
(2) See No. 357, B. April 1913.

(Ed.).

(Ed.)

CEREAL AND PULSE CROPS