352 Agricultur, etc. — Angewandte Botanik, Methoden. 



Shaw, H. B., An improved method of separating buckhorn 

 from red clover and alfalfa seeds. (Circular 2, Bureau of 

 Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. Agriculture (Washington, D. C), 

 p. 1-12, figs. 1-10 (halftones), 13 May, 1908.) 



The Buckhorn, Plantago lanceolata, L., is one of the com- 

 monest and most pernicious weeds in clover and alfalfa fields in the 

 eastern United States. Hitherto it has been found impracticable 

 to separate the seeds of this weed from those of clover or alfalfa. 

 It was found that seeds of Plantago lanceolata became adhesive 

 when moistened through the swelling up of a coating of mucilage 

 that forms a glossy transparent coating on the dry seeds. By soaking 

 the buckhorn seed five minutes in water at 65° F. (18.33° C.) or 

 over and eight minutes if below that temperature, the mucilaginous 

 coat swells up and if dry sawdust be mixed thoroughly with the 

 seeds they become coated with sawdust an can be sifted out from 

 the clover seeds very easily by using a screen having holes i/^g inch 

 in diameter. The clover or alfalfa seeds fall through upon a screen 

 ot NO. 22 mesh wire cloth that allows the loose sawdust to pass 

 through. The fine chaflf of various grasses such as fesque or redtop, 

 or even sand or dust maj^- be used instead of sawdust. The seed to 

 be cleaned of buckhorn may merely be wetted and then dried when 

 the buckhorn seeds will be found to have attached to themselves a 

 number of clover or alfalfa seeds; such seed balls are then screened 

 out. W. T. Swingle. 



Stephens, E. F., Are Orchards propagated by a Method cal- 

 led Whole-Root Grafts? (The Kansas Farmer, Topeka. Kans., 

 XLVI. 25. p. 703. 1908.) 



Discussion of the value of Siberian crab roots for Stocks on 

 which to graft the apple. Not important to graft on the entire root 

 of the seedling stock, in fact it is better to graft on a piece of a 

 strong stock than on the whole root of a small week seedling. 



The scion is said to exert a marked influence on the develop- 

 ment of the root of the stock. Whitney N^. 20, Siberian, Ben 

 Davis, Winesap and Genet are named as developing diverse 

 root Systems. W. T. Swingle. 



Rösnig, G., Ein neuer Apparat zur Demonstration des Con- 

 densationsvermögens des Bodens für Ammoniak. (Zeitschr. 

 f. d. landw. Versuchswesen in Oesterr. XL 2. p. 123—127. 1908.) 



Beschreibung eines von Prof. Remy konstruierten Apparates 

 zur quantitativen Bestimmung des durch den Boden kondensierten 

 NHg. Eine Anzahl Bodenproben ergaben ziemlich übereinstimmend 

 eine Kondensation von im Mittel 0,534 g NHg durch je 100 g trocke- 

 nen Bodens. K. Linsbauer (Wien). 



Personalnaehrieht. 



D^cede: M. Auguste Daguillon, Prof. ä la Faculte des Scien- 

 ces de Paris, le 17 Juillet dans sa 46e annee, et M. Alfred Giard, 

 Membre de l'Institut, Prof. ä la Sorbonne, le 8 Aoüt dans sa 62e annee. 



Ausgegeben t SO September 1908. 



Verlag von Gustav Fischer in Jena. 

 Buchdruckerei A. W. Sijthoff in Leiden. 



