FIELD CROPS. 635 



The influence of a temporary low temperature on the develop- 

 ment of winter grains when sown in spring, 0. von Seelhorst 

 (Jour. Landic, 46 (1898), No. 1, pp. 50, 51). — Four pots each of winter 

 rye, winter wheat, and winter rape, 2 weeks after the seed had been 

 sown, were kept at a temperature of from to 2° C. for 2 weeks; and 

 6 of these pots were then placed in the open air and restored to natu- 

 ral conditions of growth. The other 6 pots were kept at this tempera- 

 ture for 1 week longer and then placed in a temperature of 5 to 7° C. 

 below freezing for another week. Each pot produced ripe grain. The 

 series of pots which had been subjected to a low temperature for the 

 shorter period of time ripened about 2 weeks before the other series- 

 The rape ripened during the latter part of July, the rye during the lat- 

 ter part of August, and the wheat during the first half of September. 

 The author concludes that a temporary low temperature during the 

 early vegetative period as tested in these experiments hastens the 

 development of the plant. It is found in practice that winter grains 

 when sown in spring either do not head during the following summer, 

 or that the heading is very incomplete. 



On the influence of smaller and larger amounts of -water on 

 the development of some cultivated plants, A. Mayer (Jour. 

 Landic, 46 (1898), No. 2, pp. 167-184). — Pot experiments during a num- 

 ber of years with rye, wheat, barley, and oats are reported, in which 

 the moisture content of the soils was maintained uniformly at fixed 

 percentages of their total water capacity from very wet to very dry 

 (10 to 96 per cent). As a rule the less the moisture the greater the 

 relative yield of grain, and as a consequence the less the percentage of 

 fiber the greater the percentage of protein and pure albuminoids and 

 the shorter the period of growth. The presence of large amounts of 

 water in the soil apparently tended to check seed production and 

 caused the formation of fiber instead of carbohydrates. As regards 

 water requirements, the plants experimented with stood in the following- 

 order: Oats, wheat, rye, and barley. In one series of experiments the 

 optimum percentages of water for the different crops seemed to be as 

 follows: For oats 90 per cent of the water capacity of the soil, wheat 

 80 per cent, rye 75 per cent, and barley 62 per cent. The results of 

 other experiments, however, show that these figures can not be accepted 

 as definitely fixing the relative water requirements of these crops. 



Notes on flax and hemp, H. T. French {Oregon Sia. Bui. 54, pp. 1-11, pi. 1, 

 Jigs. 2). — The results of culture experiments on flax and hemp are briefly discussed 

 and notes on the method of growing these crops are given. Four varieties of flax — 

 Belgian, Pure Riga, Finest Dutch Sowing, and White Balsam Dutch — were grown in 

 comparison and their relative merits, so far as determined from one year's experi- 

 ments, ai'e pointed out. 



Variety tests of potatoes, A. Sempolowski (Dent. Landw. Presse, 25 (1S9S), 

 No. 99, p. 1024). — Thirty-three varieties were tested and the results are here reported 

 in tables and discussed. The variety Wohltmann gave the best results. 



Second report on potato culture, I. P. Roberts and L. A. Clinton (Neiv York 

 Cornell Shi. Rpt. 1898, pp. 885-406, figs. 4).— A reprint of Bulletin 140 of the station 

 (E. S. R., 9, pp. 1044, 1060, 1072). 



