AGRICULTURAL BOTANY. 523 



On the movements of the metabolic products of the leaf through unin- 

 jured, chloroformed, and plasmolyzed petioles, N. T. Deleano (Jahrb. Wiss: 

 Bot. [Pringsheim], J,9 (1911), No. 2, pp. 129-lM, figs. 9).— A study is reported 

 of the time necessaiT for the complete disappearance from the leaf tissues of 

 the primary starch formed by photosynthesis, and of the route of the unused 

 foodstuffs in their journey through the leaf stem or petiole, as indicated by 

 experiments with uninjured, chloroformed, scalded, and plasmolyzed petioles. 



It was found that in uninjured leaves the starch entirely disappeared in from 

 33 to 46 hours, and that not only carbohydrates but other metabolic products 

 passed out of the leaves, the carbohydrates being 1.06 per cent of the fresh sub- 

 stance and the noncarbohydrates 1.63 per cent. The experiments indicated that 

 the bulk of the metabolic products usually passed through the central fibrovas- 

 cular system of the petioles. 



Light and the behavior of organisms, S. O. Mast {New York and London, 

 1911, pp. XI+'/IO, figs. .j.j). — This is an extensive study of the processes! of 

 orientation in plants and animals, especially those without eyes — that is, as to 

 how these organisms rej^ulate their activities so as to bend or move toward or 

 from the source of stimulation. 



The text is divided into 4 parts, viz, an introduction and historical review con- 

 cerning the origin and development of disease and theories regarding movements 

 in plants and animals, with special reference to the question of tropisms ; ex- 

 perimental data and discussions bearing on the question as to how organisms 

 bend or turn and move toward or from a source of stimulation ; and general con- 

 siderations of reactions to light and reactions in light of different wave lengths 

 or colors. 



Organic and functional changes of plant organs under the influence of 

 radium, G. Fabre (Compt. Rend. Soc. Biol. [Paris], 69 {1910), No. 36, pp. 523, 

 524). — The author reports the results of experiments with the unopened flower 

 buds and ovaries of Lilium when exposed to radium rays of different strengths. 



It was found that the buds when subjected to strong radium rays were 

 arrested in their development and soon commenced to dry up, while the ovaries 

 and stigmas were completely atrophied and the anthers either did not develop 

 completely or were greatly retarded in maturing. 



A histological study of the anthers and ovaries showed that the pollen grains 

 had either no nuclei in them, or the nuclei only incompletely developed. Sec- 

 tions of the stigma showed a sufficient number of pollen grains present for 

 proper fertilization, but that no growth of the pollen grains had occurred. In 

 the ovaries not only were the embryo sacs atrophied, but the entire ovule also. 



The action of radium on plant structures, G. Fabre ( Compt. Rend. Soc. Biol. 

 [Paris], 70 {1911), No. 11, pp. Jfl9, -'i20). — In a further study of this subject (see 

 above) the author discusses the organic and functional changes that occur in 

 plant structures after exposure to radium rays, and the influence on the 

 germination of Linum catharticum of different amounts of radium bromid when 

 present in a given amount of soil. 



It was found that when Lilium rhizomes, the flowers of which had been 

 previously subjected to radium rays, were replanted they either rotted or failed 

 to grow, from which the author concludes that the exposure of the reproductive 

 organs to strong radium rays will cause a general derangement of the vegetative 

 organs. 



In the experiments with L. catharticum a general retardation was observed in 

 the germination and development of this plant from the presence of the radium 

 salts in the soil. There was also an appreciable increase in the number of 

 leaves developed on the plants subjected to the radium rays when compared 

 with normally grown plants. 



9204°— No. 6—11 3 



