S36 EXPERIMENT STATION EECOED. [Vol. 36 



granulobacter pectinovortnn is described. A better yield was secured in a 

 test from seeds stored for more than a year than from fresh seed from the 

 last harvest. 



A handbook of industrial plants in common use, C G. Fabnsworth et al. 

 {[PhilUpinc] Bur. Ed. Bui. 54 (1915), pp. Ill, pis. 24, figs. ^9).— This handbook 

 briefly describes the industrial fiber plants of the Philippine Islands with ref- 

 erence to their botanical and other characters, distribution, habitat, and 

 utilization. 



Oat breeding experiments, J. T. Pridham (Agr. Gas. N. S. Wales, 27 {1916), 

 No. 7, pp. 457-461, pi. 1). — The breeding experiments with oats here reviewed 

 included mainly cross breeding and selection work mth the Algerian variety 

 to increase the height of the straw and to improve the grain from a feeding 

 standpoint. The principal high-grade strains secured in this work are briefly 

 noted, and yields obtained in a comparative test of varieties are reported. 



A study of a cross between Algerian and Carter Royal Cluster showed that 

 pigment in the straw behaved as a Mendelian character. In a variety test 

 conducted from 1912 to 1915, inclusive, Algerian ranked first among four va- 

 rieties with an average yield of 35.99 bu. per acre. 



Observations on potato culture, V. G. Kotelnikov {Selsk. Khoz. i Liesov., 

 250 (1916), Apr., pp. 593-603). — Seed tubers of medium size were planted in 

 alternate rows, one and two in a place. The varieties grown were Six-weeks 

 Imperial, and Always Good. Planting two tubers per hill gave a yield 15 per 

 cent greater than the yield from planting only one tuber in a place. The use 

 of large tubers for seed gave somewhat larger yields and a larger percentage 

 of large tubers, but these advantages were not suflicient to offset the profits 

 derived from the use of the smaller tubers. 



The influence of overabundant soil moisture during the latter part of the 

 growing season on potato tubers and their starch content, M. P. Ark- 

 Hangelskii (Selsk. Khoz. i Liesov., 250 (1916), Mar., pp. 40O-4O6, figs. 3).— 

 Studies in progress for two years indicated that the capacity of resisting the 

 malformation of tubers in the presence of an abundance of soil moisture is a 

 heritable character, and showed that tubers of regular shape may have a 

 starch content almost 4 per cent higher than tubers with outgrowths induced 

 by too much soil moisture. 



Further experiments in crossing potatoes, J. H. Wilson (Trans. Highland, 

 and Agr. Soc. Scot., 5. ser., 28 (1916), pp. 33-55, figs. /2).— This article describes 

 a number of varieties of potatoes derived from varieties described in an earlier 

 report on this work, previously noted (E. S. R., 19, p. 333). The characters and 

 quality of the different varieties of crosses are set forth, and the behavior of 

 seed sent out for trial is briefly reviewed. 



Harvesting and storing potatoes, L. Malpeaux (Vie Agr. et Rurale, 6 

 (1916), No. 40, pp. 238-244, figs. 5). — This article discusses the time and methods 

 of harvesting potatoes and storing the crop, describes storage in cellars and pits, 

 points out briefly the utilization of diseased or otherwise injured tubers, and 

 reports the results of studies on the influence of methods of storing potatoes 

 on their composition. It was found that, in general, storing in cellars was pref- 

 erable to storing in pits, as there was a smaller loss of dry matter and starch, 

 and the tubers were also in other ways of better quality for table use. The com- 

 position of lots of tubers stored for two, four, and six months in cellars and in 

 pits is given in tables. 



The soy bean, with special reference to its utilization for oil, cake, and 

 ether products, C. V. Piper and W. J. Morse (U. S. Dept. Agr. Bnl. 439 (1916), 

 pp. 20. ,figs. 3). — This bulletin is a general review of soy-bean production, in- 

 tended tu be of special interest to southern farmers and cotton-oil mill men, 



