274 AGRONOMY [Bot. Absts. 



1882. Severance, George. Twenty-eighth annual report for the year ending June 30, 

 1918. Washington [State] Agric. Exp. Sta. Bull. 153. 45 p., 8 fig. 1919. — Contains brief sum- 

 mary reports of experimental work, including the following of interest to botanists: Botany 

 (weeds), chemistry (some phases of soil science), farm crops, horticulture, plant pathology 

 and soils. The pathologist's report contains the first published record of the aecial stage of 

 Puccinia graminis on barberry for the Pacific coast, though specimens had been collected as 

 early as 1896.— F. D. Heald. 



1883. Sewell, M. C. Tillage; a review of the literature. Jour. Amer. Soc. Agron. 11: 

 269-290. 1919 — The review includes the early history and philosophy of tillage; preparation 

 of seedbeds; cultivation of crops as related to soil moisture, nitrification and yield; soil 

 aeration and nitrification. The review leads to the following conclusions: Plowing deeper 

 than 7 inches has not generally resulted in increased crop yields; the best depth of plowing, 

 less than 7 inches, has not been determined; the question of frequency of plowing has not been 

 answered ; cultivation may be necessary only to kill weeds and keep the soil in a receptive state 

 to absorb rainfall. — F. M. Schertz. 



1884. Sievers, F. J., and E. G. Schafer. Sugar beets under irrigation in Washington. 

 Washington [State] Agric. Exp. Sta. Bull. 154. 41 P-> H fi<J- 1919. — A popular account with- 

 out experimental data. — F. D. Heald. 



1885. Skvortzow, B. W. Notes on the agriculture, botany and zoology of China. Jour. 

 North China Branch Roy. Asiatic Soc. 50: 49-107. PI. 1-2, fig. 1-11. 1919.— See Bot. Absts. 

 3, Entry 2462. 



1886. Smith, J. W. The effect of weather upon the yield of potatoes. Potato Mag. I 10 : 

 11-14, 32; 1": 15-17; l 12 : 7, 16-17, 27; 2 1 : 16-17, 33-34. Fig. 1-28. 1919— Summarizes data 

 regarding relationship of mean temperature to regions of origin, to growth and to time of 

 planting and harvesting; frost dates; water requirements; thermal constants; temperature 

 and rainfall by 10- to 50-day periods; importation of seed potatoes; optimum conditions for 

 various diseases. — Donald Folsom. 



1887. Stapledon, R. G., and Hilda Loveday. "Shelled" grain in oats. Jour. Bd. 

 Agric. [London] 26: 489-496. 1919. — A certain amount of shelled grain, usually not ex- 

 ceeding 3 to 5 per cent by weight, is of common occurrence in oat samples received at the seed 

 testing laboratory. On the average, the shelled grain germinates about 24 per cent below 

 the normal unshelled grain. This relatively poor germination is not due to the influence of 

 drying on the unprotected grain, but would seem to be due to the mechanical injury received 

 during the thrashing operations. — M. B. McKay. 



1888. Stapledon, R. G. The temporary ley. Jour. Bd. Agric. [Londonf 25: 1280- 

 1311. 1919. — Experimental evidence is presented to show the most desirable seed mixtures 

 to be used in the temporary ley in Wales. For the 3- to 4-years le}' the following species may 

 be used with confidence at the indicated rate in pounds per acre: perennial rye-grass 7-14, 

 cocksfoot 6-12, timothy 3-5, rough-stalked meadow-grass 1 §-2, crested dog's tail 1 1— 2, late 

 flowering red clover 3-4, Alsike clover 1, wild white clover J— 1; total minimum to acre 28 to 

 30 pounds, maximum 35 pounds. For a two-years ley slight modification of the mixture is 

 necessary: rough-stalked meadow-grass and crested dog's tail should be omitted; English 

 white clover could often replace wild white clover or a mixture of the two may be used, a mix- 

 ture of broad red clover and late flowering red clover should always be used; the rye-grass 

 should consist in part of Italian rye-grass; cocksfoot and timothy ought to be retained in most 

 mixtures; on very dry soils the inclusion of tall oat grass is often an advantage. — M . B. McKay. 



1889. Stapledon, R. G., and Margaret Adams. The effect of drying on the germina- 

 tion of cereals. Jour. Bd. Agric. [London] 26: 364-381. 1919. — Many samples of cereal 

 seed received during two seasons at the seed testing station gave poor germination when first 



