200 BOTANICAL EDUCATION [Bot. Absts. 



eradicate from the "Tinny" tract a low-grade cotton (a variety of Gossypium neglectum) 

 locally known as 'pulichai.' Drill cultivation is being introduced and drill sowing and inter- 

 culturing implements are being manufactured. — F. M. Schertz. 



1411. Ttjero, F. Cultivo del agave americano 6 pita. [Cultivation of the American agave. J 

 Informacion Agric. [Madrid] 9: 32.-37 1 fig. 1919.— A compilation dealing with the desir- 

 able climate and soils for growing the agave in Spain, methods of planting, cultivation, har- 

 vesting, extracting and packing the fiber, and the expenses and profits of the undertaking. 

 Brief notes on the uses of various parts of the plant are included. — John A. Stevenson. 



1412. Volhard, J. [Rev. of: Heixrich, M. Versuche zur Verbesserung dumpfigen 

 Getreides. (Investigation for the improvement of musty grain.) Versuchsstat. 90: 49-67. 

 1917.] Biedermann's Zentralbl. Agrikulturchem. 47: 273-76. 1918.— A powder evidently 

 containing calcium or magnesium oxide mixed with a bicarbonate was recommended for the 

 treatment of musty grain. The author states that the powder did not cause any great lower- 

 ing of the moisture content of either dry or moist oats. — F. M. Schertz. 



1413. Walters, J. A. T. Improvement of the veld by artificial means. Rhodesia Agric. 

 Jour. 16: 32-36. 1919. — The four characteristics which distinguish the Rhodesian veld and 

 restrict its stock-carrying capacity are: (1) The prevalence of sour grasses (i.e. grasses that 

 are fibrous in texture, wiry to the touch and not unfrequently with an objectionable odor. 

 (2) The scarcity of edible legumes. (3) The early-maturing nature of the grasses. (4) The 

 occurrence of a long winter drought. The lack of succulence in winter can be overcome by 

 planting Napier fodder and other similar plants and by providing ensilage; the absence of 

 legumes can be obviated by the growing of various perennials. A permanent hay crop is 

 provided by molasses grass and it is more than probable that Kikuyu grass from British East 

 Africa will prove the basis of a short pasturage which will be of great value for both sheep 

 and cattle. — E. M. Doidge. 



1414. Weingart, W. Kleine Mitteilungen. [Minor contributions.] Monatsschr. Kak 

 teenk. 29: 10. 1919— See Bot. Absts. 3, Entries 3028, 3029. 



1415. Williams, C. B. Report of the division of agronomy. North Carolina Agric. Exp. 

 Sta. Ann. Rept. 41: 22-35. [1919.] — This is a brief report of work on mapping and analyzing 

 soils, soil fertility experiments, cotton breeding investigations, crop improvement, tests with 

 varieties of field crops, and miscellaneous tests with tobacco. — R. A. Jehle. 



1416. Wood, R. Cecil. Some agricultural aspects of the Hosur Remount Depot. Agric. 

 Jour. India 14: 291-295. 1919. For the remount depot the author recommends the growing 

 of mixed fodder crops. — F. M Schertz. 



BOTANICAL EDUCATION 



C. Stuart Gager, Editor 



1417. Peirce, George J. What kinds of botany does the world need now? Science 49: 

 81-84. Jan., 1919. — In this address (delivered at the meeting of the San Francisco Bay Sec- 

 tion, Western Society of Naturalists) the author calls attention to the fact that, with the ter- 

 mination of the war, the obligation falls upon scientific men to review their sciences, and to 

 consider the relations of science to human life, human needs and human ideals. The world 

 has little idea of what botany really is or what its devotees are trying to accomplish. The 

 various branches of botanical science — forestry, bacteriology, horticulture, agriculture — 

 have, themselves, forgotten their origin, and men engaged in these fields have ceased to real- 

 ize that they are applying what has been learned by investigations of the few. Pure science 

 should not be neglected merely because the world is hungry, but because the world is hungry 

 botanists may be able to make an estimate of what parts of the field of study are likely to help 



