1128 EXPERIMENT STATION EEOORD. 



that aiuoiiK tlu' st'edlinjis of Cereus are sevfral which seeui far frdiu boing 

 typical. 



The principal portion of the paper is taken up with a discussion of the me- 

 chanics involved by the treatment. 



Mutation and traumatisms, L. Blaringhem (Mutation et Traumatismes. 

 Paiis, JHOS, PI). 2^8, pis. 8). — This is a study on the evolution of plant forms, 

 the principal observations having been made upon maize. The first part of the 

 work deals with the causes that induce metamorphosis in the sexual organs, 

 in the second part api>lications are made to other plants of the phenomena 

 found in maize, while in the third part the transmission of the anomalous char- 

 acters observed in the floral organs of maize is discussed at length. 



The author describes a number of new forms that were derived from a single 

 mutilated plant in 1902. This plant showed in the staminate panicle numerous 

 changes from the normal type, which were transmitted and reproduced new 

 types in a way similar to that described by de Vries for his mutations. Similar 

 results have been obtained by the author with barley and white mustard, show- 

 ing that mutilation is an important factor in the evolution of plant forms. 



The influence of the form of carbon upon the m.orphology of Penicillium 

 cultures, C TiioM (Ahs. in Science, n. sen, 27 (1908), No. 68.'/, p. 211). — The 

 author calls attention to cultures of 11 species of Penicillium to illustrate the 

 wide difference in morphology produced by changing the source of carbon in 

 synthetic culture media. For comparison the species were grown upon potato 

 agar and then upon synthetic agar in which the carbon was presented in the 

 form of sucrose, lactose, glycerin, alcohol, and tartaric acid. Repeated cultures 

 showed that the form of carbon produced very marked diffei'ences in metabol- 

 ism, in morphology, and in the formation of pigments, crystals, etc., in the 

 substratum. 



Hydrocyanic acid and nitrogen assimilation by green plants, C. Ravenna 

 and A. Peli (Gaz. Chim. Itah, 31 (1901), II, Wo. 6, pp. 5S6-G00).— The author 

 has made a study of the presence and formation of hydrocyanic acid in sorghum, 

 and finds that it is due to the direct and simultaneous action of carbohydrates 

 and nitrates in the plant. If these are withdrawn the amount of hydrocyanic 

 acid decreases rapidly. The effect of light is to increase the hydrocyanic acid, 

 providing that it does not in any way interfere with photosynthesis. 



EfEect of exposing germ cells to the rays of radium, C. S. Gager (Abs. in 

 Science, n. sen, 21 (1908), No. 681, pp. 335, 336).— The author describes the 

 effect as shown on the first generation of plants grown from seeds, the sperm 

 cells of which had been exposed to radium during their development. 



In growing some of the plants showed a lack of symmetry in that one side 

 of the plant grew more rapidly and vigorously than the other, although the 

 plants were subjected to perfectly uniform conditions. On one side the leaves 

 possessed the characteristics of some of the mutants of Onagra biennis. 



One plant produced two shoot systems from one root, one of which was typical 

 of O. biennis, the other of one of its mutating forms. This plant and the 

 asymmetrical ones described above are believed to be a form of bud sports that 

 indicate a hybrid nature of the plants thus sported. 



Effects of radium rays on mitoses, C. S. Gager (Ahs. in Science, n. ser., 27 

 (1908), No. 681, p. 336). — An abstract is given of a paper in which the effect of 

 ladium rays on the root tips of onions was described. An exposure to the 

 strongest radium (1,.500,000 activity) completely inhibited nuclear division. 

 With less active preparations and varying lengths of exposure, important dis- 

 turbances in the chromosomes wei-e noted. It was frequently observed that 

 some of the chromosomes failed to pass the i)oles and consequently were not in- 

 cluded iu the formation of the daughter nuclei. This elimination of chromatin 



