SEEDS — WEEDS. 577 



present methods for testing timber. Tlie sources, characters, and uses of the princi- 

 pal woods of commerce are described, about 750 different kinds being enumerated. 

 A bibliographical appendix is added giving the most important sources of information. 

 Forest reserve manual ( f /. *S'. Dept. Lit., Gen. Land Office, Forest Reserve Man- 

 ual, 190J, pp. 97, figs. '2). — General information is given relative to the object of 

 forest reserves and their utilization, and the present organization for the protection 

 and control of the forest reserves is described. The duties of the various forest 

 officers are defined and instructions given for the care and propagation of the forest. 

 The various forms of applications and permits for grazing, timl)er cutting, irrigation 

 structures, etc., are given, and the penalties for violation of the rules are stated. 

 AVhile containing much information of general interest, the manual is intended 

 prhnarily for the guidance of forest inspectors, rangers, and other officers. 



SEEDS—WEEDS. 



The germination of seed as affected by sunlight, V. Jodin {Compt. Rend. 

 Acad. Scl. I'arls, 135 {190,.'), Nu. 10, pp. 44S, 444) -^^ series of experiments was 

 conducted by the author, in which seeds were placed in vessels and covered with 

 screens of different colors. Others were sealed in tubes and placed in similar situa- 

 tions. A report is given of seeds of cress which were placed in tul)es, as described 

 above. Under the conditions of the experiments all the seeds which had not been 

 thoroughly dried lost their germinative power, falling from 100 per cent to germi- 

 nations within 2 months. If the tubes were opaque or comiiletely transparent, the 

 resistance of the seed seemed to depend more upon the heat action than the illumi- 

 nating action of the sun's rays. Seeds dried and placed in a tube with a small quan- 

 tity of phosphoric acid had a germination of 92 per cent in March, 1896. This tube 

 was exposed continuously to the sun's rays until August 4, 1902, at which time 69 

 per cent had retained their vitality. 



Observations on the duration of the germinative property of seeds, J. Pois- 

 SON {Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci. Paris, 135 {1903), No. 6, pp. 333-335).— A number of 

 instances are cited in which the germination of seeds has apparently been suspended 

 for a number of years. In one case an annual species of Lathyrus, which had at one 

 time been very abundant in a park, seemed to have entirely disai)peared on account 

 of the increased shade furnished by the trees. After about 30 years of dense growth 

 the trees were thinned and the leguminous plant reappeared. Another instance 

 cited is that of the occurrence of Juncus bufordus in 2 pots filled with soil taken at a 

 considerable depth in an excavation made in a part of Paris. Another instance is 

 the api^earance of alders in great abundance on ditch banks in a tract of land which 

 had been drained and on which, so far as known, no alders had ever been grown, 

 nor were any known to exist anywhere in the vicinity from which the seed could 

 have come. 



The preservation of the germinative power of seeds, L. Maquenne ( Compt. 

 Rend. Acad. Sci. Pari^, 135 {1902), No. 3, pp. 208, 209).— A study is reported on the 

 effect of drying on the germination of seeds. The amount of moisture lost by seeds 

 of castor bean, parsnip, radish, and wheat, when subjected to the temperature of a 

 drying oven, as well as the loss when kept in a vacuum, are shown. It was found 

 that seeds retained their germinative faculty much longer when thoroughly dried 

 and kept in a vacuum than when exposed to the open air. 



Report of the section of geed control, A. Voigt {Bat. Mas. u. Lab. Waarenkunde 

 Hamburg, Ber. Aht. Sainencontrole, 1901, X, pp. i/).— A report is given of the activity 

 of the seed control station in connection with the botanical laboratory, Hamburg, 

 for the year ended June 30, 1901. During the period covered l)y this report 2,273 

 samples of seed were investigated, an increase of about 25 per cent over the previous 



