FEB. 4, 1921 abstracts: ethnology 55 



BOTANY. — Heritable characters of maize. I. Lineate leaves. G. N. Col- 

 lins and J. H. Kempton. Journ. Heredity ii: 3-G. January, 1920. 



This paper is the first of a series in which it is planned to record variations 

 in maize that prove to be inherited. "Lineate leaves," the character here 

 described, consist of a very fine, white striping of the upper leaf blades. 

 The progenies of self-pollinated lineate plants and crosses between Uneate 

 and normal plants indicate that the character is a Mendelian monohybrid. 

 The character is variable in expression, however, and 2 progenies out of 

 14 showed significant departures from monohybrid ratios. G. N. C. 



ENTOMOLOGY. — .4 revision of the nearctic termites. Nathan Banks, 

 with Notes on biology and geographic distribution. Thomas E. Snyder. 

 U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. io8. ' Pp. 228, pis. 35, figs. 70. 1920. 



This paper is divided into two distinct parts. The first deals with the 

 taxonomy of the termites, or white ants, of the Nearctic Region; while the 

 second part contains a comprehensive summary, supplemented by original 

 observations accumulated b}- the junior author, of the habits and distribution 

 of these interesting economic insects. In the part dealing with the 

 taxonomy each species and genus is characterized in detail and synoptic 

 keys to all the forms are given. Seventeen new species and one new variety 

 are described, thus almost doubling the number of forms previously known. 

 That portion of the bulletin which deals with the biology gives first a sum- 

 mary of the habits of these insects and discusses the nesting, feeding swarm- 

 ing, mating, metamorphosis, castes, parasites, economic importance, con- 

 trol, etc., and then gives a complete account of the available information 

 concerning each species. 



This paper is the most important work on our white ants and no worker 

 interested in these insects can be without it. S. A. RohwER. 



ENTOMOLOGY. — Black grain-stem sawily of Europe in the United States. 

 A. B. G.vhan. U, S. Dept. Agr. Bull. 834. Pp. IS, pis. 2. 1920. 

 The black grain-stem sawfly {Trachehis tabidus (Fabr.)), a European 

 pest of wheat, rye and similar grains, has been known to occur in the United 

 States since 1S99, but only in the last few years has it attracted attention 

 as a pest. This bulletin gives a history of the discovery of the insect in 

 America, what is known of its distribution, habits, host-plants, synonymy, 

 injury, suggestions for control, parasites and a practically complete list of 

 available literature. The adult is figured in both sexes and distinguishing 

 characters for the larva, separating it from allied species living in similar 

 situations, are included. This pest mines the stems of grains and besides 

 thus reducing the ability of the grain to head does its greatest damage by 

 cutting the stems close to the ground prior to the time it goes into hibernation. 

 The cutting of the stems causes the grain to fall and thus escape the harvester. 



S. A. ROHWER. 



ETHNOLOGY. — Native cemeteries and forms of burial east of the Mississippi. 

 David I. Bushnell, Jr. Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Bull. 71. Pp. 160, pis. 

 17, figs. 17. 1920. 



The reports of early writers contain a great body of information regarding 

 the burial rites and customs of our American Indians which are of particular 

 importance to the archeologist, and in the present work Mr. Bushnell has 

 brought together as much of the available material as possible applying to 



