1917] AGEICULXURAL BOTANY. 429 



"Loog as; " or the ash. of the alkali bush, A. Stead (So. African Jour. Set., 

 12 {1916), No. 11, pp. 5^0-54^). — Analyses of the ash of Mesembrianthemum 

 junceum showed a content of water soluble potash of 22.2 per cent or potassium 

 carbonate 32.59 per cent. This plant, it is stated, grows luxuriantly in many 

 of the Karoo districts of South Africa. It is considered an excellent .source of 

 potash for acid soils and is estimated to be of about twice the normal manurial 

 value of kainit. 



Chemical analysis of ash (Alaska Stas. Rpt. 1915, p. 25). — An analysis by 

 E. FuLMER of one sample of volcanic ash showed a potash content of 2.48, 

 calcium oxid 3.8, and total phosphoric acid 0.36 per cent. 



Outline of the relation of the use of lime to the improvement of the soil, 

 E. O. FrppiN (N. Y. State Col. Ayr., Cornell Univ. Ext. Bui. 5 (1916), pp. 16, 

 figs. 2). — This is a popular discussion of soil acidity and its causes, the toler- 

 ance of different crops for acidity and alkalinity in soils, and different kinds of 

 lime and their use and benefits in acid soils with special reference to New York 

 conditions. 



It is stated that " In the hill sections of New York from southern Wyoming, 

 Ontario, and Madison counties southward, and throughout the Hudson valley 

 region with the exception of a few small areas, . . . the lack of lime is one of 

 the most important limiting factors in larger crop production. In the remain- 

 ing cultivated sections of the State the use of some lime is generally beneficial. 

 The part of the State where the soil is best supplied with lime is a strip of land 

 extending southward for a distance of from 10 to 20 miles from a line passing 

 through Utica, Syracuse, Rochester, and Niagara Falls." 



Analyses of commercial fertilizers, fertilizer supplies, and home mixtures, 

 C. S. Cathcart et al. (New Jersey Stas. Bui. 297 (1916), pp. 3-43). — This 

 bulletin contains the results of actual and guarantied analyses of 635 samples 

 of fertilizers and fertilizing materials collected for inspection in New Jersey 

 during 1916. 



AGRICTJLTTJEAL BOTANY. 



A textbook of botany for colleges, W. F. Ganong (New York: The Mac- 

 millan Co., 1916, pp. XI +401, figs. 276). — This book is designed as an intro- 

 ductory course in botany as part of a scheme in general education, and not for 

 the preparation of professional botanists. In conformity with this idea, atten- 

 tion is given to the larger and more obvious aspects of plant activity, special 

 emphasis being placed on the interpretation of principles and the connection of 

 botanical science with knowledge in general and with man's relations to plants. 

 As the author states, " the book may be described as an attempt to present and 

 interpret the humanly important aspects of plant nature in the light of our 

 modern scienlfic knowledge." It is intended to be used in conjunction with 

 laboratory work to connect the facts there discovered with the science as a 

 whole. 



Some recent researches in plant physiology, W. R. G. Atkins (London: 

 Whittaker d Co., 1916, pp. XI+328, figs. 27).— The object of this book is to 

 present to senior students and investigators the results of recent work in some 

 of the branches of plant physiology which are attracting attention. Matter 

 already current in textbooks has been almost entirely excluded. The choice of 

 material by the author was influenced to a considerable degree by his work 

 at the School of Botany, Trinity College, Dublin. The main subjects treated are 

 carbohydrates, pectic substances, osmotic pressure, permeability of cells, func- 

 tions of the wood, and oxidases. Extensive bibliographies of these different 

 subjects are included in the publication. 



