Vol. XIV. No. 354. 



THE AGPJCULTURM, XKW>. 



:;: : 



THE TRANSFUSION OF SAP. 



A writer in the Ga for 



ember 11. 1915, ippears to be 



a new idea in frn \; the prai 



fusion of sap He 



Wi varieties, 



idui 1 and 

 'grown "u,' so ti 

 to propagate a ation. [fa sufficient number 



dling trees (of any ted it is certain 



that some would c oi producing fertile 



be iii other respei tme as a sterile 



rocess II ad ated would 



entail but little trouble I the out et, md would lie the means 

 of preventing a vast amount of trouble and loss. These 

 self sterile varieties of fruit trees have tp depend upon a 'fair 

 wind' for the carriage of pollen from another variety forming 

 a suitable mute. The question now is whether we can even 

 now corre I the fauil il terilityin tl and make them 



le of pollinating their own blossoms! 1 think we can. 

 M\ suggestion is tha of producing fertile pollen 



may be introduced into sterile varieti oi h til trees by 



usion oi sap, by the simple expedient of a graft from 



er variety. In confirmation of my theory I will mention 

 a case which has come under my notice. A large plantation 

 variety of fruit trees failed to fruit, and it was found 

 that when artificially pollinated with pollen of another variety, 

 branches of these tree- fruited perfectly. It was therefore 

 decided to try the experiment of introducing a graft of this 

 varied b Tee, for the purpose of ensuring 



the presence of fertile pollen on each plant. The operation 

 was carried out last March, and the result proved successful, 



but not in the way ex] ted. The trees fruited at once, and 



so heavily that the fruits had to be thinned. This was not, 

 then, the result "I the pollen from the grafts, because these 

 did not flower. Was it, then, the transfusion of sap from 

 these grafts.' I think that it was, and I submit that the 

 matter is at least worth a trial. I would invite fruit- 

 growers to make experiments such as I have indicated. 



COLOUR AND POISON IN THE LIMA 



BEAN. 



It is stated in the Tropical Agriculturist for 

 August MM."), that Bulletin No. 12 of 1914, issued by 

 the Departmenl of Agriculture, Burma, deals exhaus- 

 tively with the economic value of Burma beans and 



peas. 



The author- (Messrs. Thompstone ,nil Sawyer) express 

 the hope that as a result of their having clearly defined the 

 various kinds of peas and beans, the confusion caused by 

 making such a minor quality as colour the basis of 

 commercial classification (e.g. white beans) will be cleared 

 up, and that the bulletin will serve its object as a botanical 

 and agricultural guide to this class of plants. 



The note on the poisonous properties of the so-called 

 'Rangoon bean 1 (Pha&eolut lunatus) i.-- of interest from 

 a local point of view, in view of the fact thai species of this 

 bean are commonly cultivated in tin island, and that their 

 cultivation is extending as the result of the distribution of 



seed by the Agricultural Society. 



According to the authors, th able variation 



in the percentage of the poisonous principle of the beans, 



but the col , ! pments h 



yet ' tigated It would ippeai 



light brown I itl led, is the chief, 



if not tl uly typi a 



ides to an;. tent. 



The white t\ | nation h\ 



I director of the [mperi ill less d tngerous 



for consumption, and it is I that the amount oi 



prussic acid contained in 



extent on the method of cultivation and th of 



maturity oft] n at harvest. 



The Bui o ider the dried haulms 



feed, but when fed fresh, and particularly when in the... 



up' M it as i la irous f 1 which causes death 



v. itliin twelve hour-. 



In Burma the i iten boiled or parched, which 



is prob ibly the reason n by I hey are inno 



Xo fatal results are known to follow the consiimpt 



of the beans in < 'eylon, probably for the ■ reason, viz.: 



that they are well conked (hoiled or curried) before use. 



The subjecl of the poisonous nature of Lima beans 

 is dealt with in the West Indian Bulletin, Vol. XV,, 



Xo. 1. 



PLANT BREEDING IN MARYLAND. 



Plant bi Maryland Agricultural Experi- 



ment Station is on a large scale, both as regards practical' 

 problems, and the theoretical problems which it is attempting 

 to solve. Mendelism is being investigated in cowpeas, iu 

 connexion with selection; wheat, oats and barley are being- 

 cross-bred and selected; corn is being bred and studied irt. 

 a series of experiments which has now been under way for 

 ten years; mutations are being systematically sought in the 

 cereals. A new variety of pear of good quality and resistant 

 to blight is sought by crossing, particularly Kieffer by Seckel; 

 apples are being bred in a similar way, to produce a good, 

 early red apple of good cooking quality. Grape hybrids 

 include most of the hardy American species as well as the 

 Malaga type of Southern Europe, Vitis vinitera. Straw- 

 berries, celery, tomatoes, musk melons, Irish potatoes, cabbage, 

 are also the subjects of projects destined to furnish more 

 productive or disease-resistant varieties, and also to yield 

 information about the laws of heredity. Finally the station 

 is doing genetic research with one kind of material which has 

 been very little worked, namely, the castor bean (Ricinus 

 communis), where the variation and heredity of individuals 

 propagated from different branches and different flowers 

 are being investigated. The production of ormanental plants, 

 a work usually left to commercial nurserymen, has been. 

 undertaken to the extent of breeding improved strains of 

 dahlia and Black Eyed Susan. (Journal of Heredity f< a 

 September 1915.) 



Improving the Chile Pepper.— The chile peppes 

 (Capsicum annum), so much relished by Mexicans, is th.' 

 of attention at the New Mexican Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Station, where for the last live years it his been 



improved by selecti m for larger, smoother, fleshier pods, and 



freedom from blight. Three good strains have been perpetu- 

 ated from the fifteen with which the experiment started. 

 (The Journal of //credit// for September 1915.) 



