258 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Timber and shade trees, C. H. Shinn ( California Sta, Rpt. 1895-1897, 

 pp. 336-338). — The author in a brief report gives a limited list of shade, 

 ornamental, and timber trees which 8 years of experience has shown 

 to be well adapted to the lands east of the Salinas. The important 

 factors to be considered in determining the hardiness are ability to 

 resist drought, thrive on poor soils, and capacity to penetrate hard-pan 

 of various depths and various degrees of solidity. 



Among the trees best adapted to these conditions are some of the 

 oaks, particularly Quercus pedunculata, Q. douglasi, and Q. lobata. Of 

 these the English oak, Q. pedunculata, was by far the best. Among 

 other deciduous trees of merit in this respect are mulberries, box eld- 

 ers, and black locusts. Notes are also given on the mulberry tree, sev- 

 eral species of pine, casuarina, 3 species of fir, Cedrus deodar, Eucalyptus 

 globulus, Paulownia imperialis, and Osage orange. 



Brief review of the activity of the forestry department during the two years 

 from June, 1895, to June, 1897 (Selsk. Khoz. i Lyesov.,186 {1897), Aug., pp. 241-314). 



The influence of local conditions on tree growth, W. Gill (Jour. Agr. and Ind. 

 South Australia, 1 (1898), No. 9, pp. 675-677). 



SEEDS— WEEDS. 



Tests of the vitality of vegetable seeds, E. H. Jenkins (Con- 

 necticut State Sta. Rpt. 1897, pp. 383-391). — The author reports on tests 

 of a number of vegetable seeds. The tests were conducted in accord- 

 ance with the rules adopted by the Association of American Agricul- 

 tural Colleges and Experiment Stations, as published in Circular 34 of 

 this Office (E. S. E., 9, p. 143). Six hundred and fifty-live samples of 

 seeds were tested for their vitality, and it was found that on an average 

 the samples of beet, cabbage, and carrot seed which were over one year 

 old had a higher germinative capacity than new seed. This fact was 

 probably due to the generally better quality of the previous years' seed. 

 The author states that the results of several years' tests would probably 

 show that, taking one year with another, new seed would sprout better 

 than seed one or more years old. 



A series of tests was made of the vitality of onion seed, 131 samples 

 of seed from the crops of 1890 and 1897 raised in Connecticut, Ehode 

 Island, and California being compared. As a rule the vitality of seed 

 decreases with age, but there were some cases in which 2-year-old 

 seed sprouted better than that of the new crop. The vitality of the 

 California-grown seed was considerably higher than that of the Con- 

 necticut. Forty-four samples of Connecticut-grown seed of the crop 

 of 1896 were tested and gave an average of 72.4 per cent germination. 

 Thirty-nine samples of seed from the crop of 1897 gave an average of 

 77.9 per cent. The crop of 1895 gave, as an average of tests, a germi- 

 native capacity of 85.5 per cent. The average weight of onion seed 

 and the germinative ability of different varieties are given. The author 



