838 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Handbook of inorganic chemistry, ( ). Dammer (ITandhurJi der anorgnvlarJicn 

 Chemie. Stiittgmi: Ferdinand Knkc, IMS, vol. 4, pp- XXTV-^IO^S). — AT)stracts of the 

 literature of inorganic chemistry from 1892 to 1902. 



Results of agricultural chemistry, A. Mayer {ReKuUute der AgrihdlurcJieniie. 

 Heldelherg: (Jarl Winti'r, 190S, pp. VIII \-2G9, figii. 28). — This is a condensed summary 

 of what the author considers the most important practical results of investigations in 

 agricultural chemistry. It is based on the fifth revised edition of the author's larger 

 treatise on agricultural chemistry, but is less technical in style and therefore better 

 suited to the purposes of the general reader. 



Agricultural chemistry, I. Giglioli {Chhiiiru agraria, cnmpeMre, c mlvdno. 

 Naple.v Marghieri, 1902, pp. XVIII-\-S77, figs, ai; rev. in Nature, 07 {1902), No. 17 SO, 

 p. 169). 



Annual report of the progress in animal chemistry, R. Andreasch and 

 K. Si'iRo {Jalire.^lji'r. Thier. Chein., SI (1901), pp. A'A'A'r//-|-mT^) .— This contains 

 abstracts of the literature of animal chemistry for 1901, with subject and author 

 indexes. The volume is prefaced with a brief biograpliical sketch of the late M. 

 Nencki, one of the previous editors of this jtublication, and a list of the pul)lications 

 of Nencki and his pupils. 



BOTANY. 



Studies in the vegetation of the State. II. The relation of the Avater con- 

 tent of the soil to certain plants, principally Mesophytes, (1. (x. HEDiicocK 

 ( Univ. Nebraska, Bot. Surrey Nebraska, 1902, VI, ])p. 79; abs. in Bof. CentbL, 90 {1902), 

 No. 25, pp. 695, 696). — The results of experimental studies of the conditions influenc- 

 ing the growth of plants in different soils, the water content of the soils, and the rel- 

 ative amount of water in the i^lants are given, together with statements as to the 

 influence of drought on plants. The amount of "physical" water in soils was found 

 to vary directly with the water-retaining capacity of the soils. The chief known fac- 

 tors influencing the water content are gravity, capillarity, surface tension, and evap- 

 oration. The amount of physiological water in s<.iils, i. e., that available for the use 

 of plants, varies directly with the total amount of water held in the soil, and inversely 

 with the amount of hygroscopic water. The adaptal)ility and vigor of the plant 

 varies according to its power to draw water from the soil. The amount of water in 

 the soil which is not available for the use of the plant is dependent directly upon the 

 ability of the plant to withdraw water from the soil. The soil comppsition and tex- 

 ture directly affect the ability of the plant to withdraw the water. 



The percentage of water in the tissues of the plant is usually greatest in seedlings 

 and decreases gradually as the plants grow older. Plants containing the highest j^er- 

 centage of water are not necessarily the healthiest, as frequently the most vigorous 

 growing plants were found to contain a considerably lower percentage of water than 

 less thrifty ones. Shade plants and plants grown under humid conditions have a 

 relatively high water content, due probalily to the poor development of the fibrovas- 

 cular system. 



Mesophytic plants apparently lose water when first wilting in about the same ratio 

 by weight as the soils. This probably indicates that the plant gets little or no water 

 from the soil after it begins to wilt excessively and that the root sytem is already 

 beginning to die at the extremities. Xerophytic plants lose weight very slowly when 

 subjected to drought and some retain most of the water in their tissues even when 

 the substratum is practically air dry. The percentage of water in dying plants varies 

 not only with the species but also with the individuals. Seedlings die with a greater 

 percentage of water in their tissues than older i>lants, and mature plants when dying 

 contain the minimum percentage of water. 



The ability of plants to take water from the soils varies in an ascending scale Irom 



