638 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



except steamed bone, which is too low. These results are too few for any definite 

 conclusions to be drawn from them, but those secured by the acid digestion are very 

 encouraging, and this method, possibly with some modifications, promises at least a 

 partial solution of the problem of a laboratory method for determining the availa- 

 bility of organic nitrogen." 



Pond cleanings, P. Bridge (Farm and Home, 16 (1S97), No. 822, p. 425). — A note 

 on pond and ditch cleanings as a top-dressing for pastures and how to apply them. 



Analyses of commercial fertilizers (South Carolina Sta. Bid. S9-, pp. 30). — Notes 

 on valuation and on sampling, regulations regarding the sale of commercial ferti- 

 lizers in South Carolina, and tabulated analyses and valuations of 272 samples of 

 fertilizing materials, including mixed fertilizers, cotton-seed meal, aud kainit. 



Fertilizer analyses, B. H. Hite ( West Virginia Sta. Bui 46, pp. 408-43..'). — The 

 text of the State fertilizer law, notes on valuation, and tabulated analyses and 

 valuations of 480 samples of fertilizers. 



FIELD CROPS. 



The composition and yield of different varieties of sugar cane, 



P. Boname {Rap. An. Sta. Agron. [Mauritius], 1896, pp. 16-33). — 

 Experiments were carried ou with 61 varieties of sugar cane. The total 

 yields aud the sugar content of each variety ou August 5, September 

 8, and October 6 are here reported. Sandal, New Caledonian, and 

 Stripped Java, in the order given, produced the largest amount of sugar 

 per acre, while Setters, Tamarin, and Vilain contained the highest 

 percentage of sugar — 23.78, 23.00, and 22.98 per cent respectively, with 

 94.4, 93.3, and 91.1 as the corresponding coefficients of purity. The 

 early maturing varieties showed but little variation in their sugar con- 

 tent from August to October as compared with the later ripening 

 kinds, which continue to increase their sugar content until the time of 

 the harvest. 



Experiments in breeding Noe summer wheat and Gbttingen 

 oats, Liebscher, Edler, and von Seelhorst {Jour. Landw., 45 

 (1897), No. 3-1, pp. 211-263). — Pot experiments were made to determine 

 the influence of selection of seed. Each experiment occupied 12 pots, 

 only 3 of which received no fertilizer, the rest receiving equal 

 amounts of chemical manures. Three of the pots containing the fertil- 

 ized soil contained 8 plants each and 1 plant each, while in each of 

 the 3 with the unfertilized soil 8 plants were grown. The results 

 are given in detail in tabular form. 



The results in the wheat experiments indicate that seed from large 

 heads, so selected for a number of years, produces a greater total yield 

 than seed similarly selected from small heads. The thickness and 

 length of the straw and the length of the upper internode were found 

 to be greater in the plants grown from seed taken from large heads, 

 aud the number of internodes was also somewhat greater. Seed taken 

 from heavy-culmed plants produced a heavier, stronger, and somewhat 

 longer straw than seed taken from thin-culmed plants. The number of 

 nodes was also found to be hereditary. The progeny of 5-noded plants 



