342 EXPEEIMENT STATION EECORD. 



At the time of transplanting the plants, those that had received Wagner 

 salts seemed best developed, while those that had received a mixture of nitrate of 

 potash and nitrate of ammonia came next, followed by those that had received 

 potassium phosphate. The plants that had been given only nitrate of ammonia 

 lived but a short time after transplanting. Those that had received calcium 

 phosphate appeared weak when transplanted but by August they excelled the 

 ethers of both beds in height and in size of leaf. The author regards these 

 results as substantiating his earlier conclusions on the value of calcium phos- 

 phate as a fertilizer for solanaceous plants when they are making their first 

 growth. 



Field experiments with wheat, F. Ditzell {Agr. Gaz. N. 8. Wales, 23 (1912), 

 No. 2, pp. 122-136). — These pages report rotation, fertilizer, cultural, and 

 method of seeding tests with wheat at the Cowra experiment farm of the 

 department of agriculture of New South Wales. 



The effect of carbon bisulphid on the germination of wheat, A. Morettijmi 

 Staz. 8per. Agr. Ital., U {1911), No. 5-6, pp. 4i7-.i22).— Experiments on 2 

 varieties of wheat indicated that the use of cai'bon bisulphid at the rate of 

 35 gm. per hectoliter did not injure the germinating power unless its action 

 was concentrated on one part of the heap, as when it was poured directly on 

 the grain. 



Plant breeding methods, A. Hummel (Fuhling's Landw. Ztg., 60 {1911), 

 No. 22, pp. 761-780, figs. 6). — ^The author deals with the relative advantages 

 of mass selection, individual selection, and continued individual selection, and 

 reports tests of these methods in 1910-11 at Neustettin where he worked on the 

 time of flowering of rape and turnips. 



Mass selection changed the time of flowering about 1 6ay, and a combination 

 of individual and mass selection advanced the time of blooming from 1 to 3 

 days. Tables and curves state in detail the results obtained. 



[Seed tests], S. Hammar {Ber. Verks. Skara Eeni. Stat. Frokontrollanst., 

 1911, pp. 19-26). — Tables state the results of purity tests and mechanical 

 analyses of seeds of small grains, legumes, and grasses. 



Studies with dodder. — I, The germinability of the seeds. II, Infection 

 studies, A. von Degen {Landw. Vers. Stat., 77 {1912), No. 1-2, pp. 67-128, 

 figs. 6). — The author studied in the first series of experiments the germination 

 of the seeds of Cusciita trifolii and C. suaveolens as regards time of sprouting 

 under favorable conditions, and in the second the ability of the seeds of C. 

 suaveolens to endanger crops by producing plants under the conditions existing 

 i'o tlie open fields. The more significant results are as follows: 



The germinability of C. suaveolens is higher than that of C. trifolii, the two 

 being in the experiments made 67.6 and 47 per cent, respectively, of the seeds 

 tested. Both these dodders show a protracted energy of germinability. The 

 greatest percentage of germination occurred in the month of seeding, but 

 thereafter there was a steady decrease to mere sporadic appearances during the 

 27 or 28 months of observation, and at the end of this time there remained, 

 having neither sprouted nor rotted, 12.5 per cent of the seed of the first and 

 6 per cent of that of the second species. This delayed germination constitutes 

 a continuous source of danger from these parasitic vines. It is, however, 

 decreased by the fact that germination is retarded by the shading due to 

 luxuriance of the host crops, and is lessened by deep planting, while shallow 

 seeding and the more abundant light after harvest tend to sprout the seeds 

 at such times. 



The results obtained in the second series led to the conclusion that clover 

 seed containing not more than 3 seeds of dodder per kilogram is entirely safe 

 for planting, as very few of the parasitic plants may be expected to develop 



I 



