132 GENETICS [BoT. Absts., Vol. VII, 



887. Gersdorff, C. E. F. Germination of gladiolus seed. Flower Grower 7: 73. 1920. 

 -A table shows the time required for germination, the percentage of germination and the 



percentage of conns harvested, based on 3261 seeds of various varieties and hybrids. Seeds 

 were previously selected for plumpness. Sixty per cent of the total number of seeds germi- 

 nated and thirty per cent yielded conns which were harvested. The time required for germi- 

 nation varied from sixteen to eighty-five days. Most of the seeds "should have germinated 

 in thirty-one days." — The method of raising young corms from the seed is described. — A. N. 

 Wilcox. 



888. GowEN, John W. Self-sterility and cross-sterility in the apple. Maine Agric. Exp. 

 Sta. Bull. 287. 61-88 p. May, 1920. — Many varieties of apples are commonly self-sterile. 

 Results are the same whether stigmas are pollinated from the same flower, a flower from 

 another cluster or from another tree of the same variety. Of 12 varieties, tested, 8 were 

 wholly self-sterile; four — Baldwin, Wealthy, Duchess and Northern Spy — were, in slight 

 degree, self-fertile, Duchess and Northern Spy being doubtfully so. Only 42 of a compiled 

 list of 119 varieties that had been tested are known to have set self-fertilized fruits, and only 

 15 of these produced fruit in quantity. Varieties do not give the same results in all regions; 

 those self-sterile in one state may be, in some degree, self-fertile in another. In a test of 

 cross-fertility 43 combinations were tried; 20 of these proved compatible and formed fruit. 

 The most successful combinations were Grimes Golden X Ben Davis, Baldwin X Golden 

 Russet and Ben Davis X Mcintosh. Of a list of 243 combinations of varieties, made up of 

 tests in several states, 57 are recorded as not producing fruit and 186 as producing fruit. 

 Cross compatibility of varieties can be determined only by trial. Yields of orchards of self- 

 sterile varieties may be increased by introduction of other varieties. The number of good 

 seeds in crossed apples is greater than in those which are selfed. — Causes of self-sterility are 

 external and internal. The chief internal cause is the slowness of growth of the pollen tube 

 in the selfed style as against that in the crossed style. Other internal causes are degenerate 

 pollen and lack of proper development of ovule. — C. S. Crandall. 



889. GuTER, M. F., AND E. A. Smith. Studies on cytolysins. II. Transmission of 

 induced eye defects. Jour. Exp. Zool. 31: 171-223. 4 V^-, '^ fid- Aug. 30, 1920.— Preparation 

 of lens from eyes of rabbits, injected into peritoneal cavity of fowls, leads to formation of spe- 

 cific anti-body. Blood serum from fowls thus treated was injected into veins of pregnant 

 rabbits. In a small proportion of cases, young were born with defective lenses and other eye 

 defects. From young of one such brood five further generations with defective eyes have been 

 propagated. Defects tend to increase rather than decrease in later generations. Defects are 

 transmitted through males as well as females. They behave in some respects as a Mendelian 

 recessive character. Although these six defective generations have all arisen from a single 

 original treated female, full safeguards have been taken against possibility of having bred 

 from a strain which chanced to carry eye defects of this sort, prior to any operative treatment. 

 Also defective young born of an operated mother quite unrelated to the first stock are now 

 being reared for test of heritability of the modifications in independent strain. One case is 

 recorded in which normal appearing offspring of a treated mother gave rise to defective young. 

 This is not in harmon}' with interpretation of transmission of induced defect as due to direct 

 influence of defective organ upon germ-cells; i.e., inheritance of an acquired character, sensu 

 stricio. On the other hand, parallel induction theory is not in keeping with fact that germ- 

 cells of originally-treated mother were in no case affected, but that only those of her off- 

 spring which were in utero at time of treatment were affected. Authors are not prepared 

 to adopt definite theoretical interpretation. — F. B. Sumner. 



890. Hammond, J. On the relative growth and development of various breeds and crosses 

 of cattle. Jour. Agric. Sci. 10: 233-289. July, 1920.— Data from the Smithfield Club of fat 

 stock exhibits at Islington 1893-1913 were studied to determine the average weights attained 

 by different breeds, dressed weight of carcase, suet fat, gut fat, tongue, head, heart, tripe, hide, 

 blood, intestine and unaccounted for. Similar data are presented for sex, age, and Fi crosses 

 between breeds. Individual variation is noted. Correlation between weight of one part 



