NOTES. 499 



Royal Gardens at Kew, where he remained until 1848, when he came to America. 

 In 1852 his present extensive nursery business in Germantown was founded in partner- 

 ship with the late William Saunders, afterwards superintendent of the experimental 

 gardens and grounds of this Department. Mr. Meehan was editor of Gardeners' 

 Montlihj Magazine for nearly 30 years, and in 1890, in company with his younger 

 sons, estalilished the present Meehan' s Monthly Magazine, devoted to general garden- 

 ing and wild flowers. His published writings include The American Handbook of 

 Ornamental Trees, an octavo volume of 257 pages, published in 1853; The Native 

 Flowers and Fruits of the United States in their Botanical, Horticultural, and Popular 

 Aspects, published in 1879-80, and more than 1,000 shorter scientific articles. 



In his public life his name was closely allied with the movement for the establish- 

 ment of the smaller parks in Philadelphia, and it is largely to his foresight and efforts 

 that their number and l)eauty are due. 



Prof. Dr. Robert Hartig, profes.sor of botany of the University of Munich, died on 

 Octoljer 9, 1901. He was born atT Brunswick May 30, 1839, and began service as 

 forester "^to the Duke of Brunswick in 1865. In 1867 he became attached to the 

 Prussian Academy of Forestry at Eberswalde, and in 1877 became professor of bot- 

 any in the University of Munich. The principal works which he has published are 

 Investigations on the Growth and Production of Oak and Beech; Principal Diseases of 

 Forest Trees, which has gone through a number of editions and been translated into 

 English, French, and possibly other languages; The Decomposition of Wood; Report 

 on the Investigations of the Forestry Institute of ^Munich; A Manual of Anatomy and 

 Physiology of Plants; A jMonograph of the Wood of German Conifers; and The Beech 

 considered from an Anatomical, Physiological, Chemical, and Forestry Basis. 



The death of Henry Settegast, director of the agricultural institute of the Univer- 

 sity of Jena, occurred December 4, 1901. He was born October 12, 1853, at Ragnit 

 in East Prussia. During his life he held important positions in agricultural institu- 

 tions and made valuable contributions to the science of agriculture. 



Personal Mention. — D. W. May, a graduate of the Missouri Agricultural College 

 and for two years past an assistant in this Office, has been appointed animal husband- 

 man at the Kentucky Station and entered upon his duties January 1. 



W. J. Spillman, agriculturist of the Washington College and Station, has suc- 

 ceeded F. Lamson-Scribner as agrostologist in this Department. Professor Scribner, 

 as previously announced, has Vjecome chief of the newly estal)lished Bureau of 

 Agriculture in the Philippine Islands and will sail for Manila aliout the middle of 

 February. 



Marcus L. Floyd, tobacco expert in the Bureau of Soils of this Department, has 

 resigned to accept the position of manager with a company formed to grow wrapper 

 tobacco under shade in the Connecticut Valley. 



Miscellaneous. — According to a note in Science, taken from the London Times, 

 the National Association of British and Irish Millers has decided to institute an 

 inquiry into the whole question of the relative strengths of English and American 

 wheats, and have secured the cooperation of the Southeastern Agricultural College 

 at Wye. The question has arisen in consequence of complaints of English farmers 

 that the millers give the preference to American wheat, though they have to pay a 

 higher price for it. The millers reply that they can not sell for bread-making pur- 

 poses flour made from English wheats because they lack the strength of the American 

 .«orts. The coming season the Southeastern Agricultural College will grow the same 

 wheats on different soils and with different manures, and milling and baking tests 

 will be made of the grain in each case. New varieties are being obtained from Can- 

 ada and the United States, and an attempt will lie made to improve the yield of the 

 old varieties by selection and crf)ss l)reeding to increase the number of grains in 

 the ear. 



A note in Xahire gives the results of experiments in hop culture carried on at the 

 Southeastern Agricultural College at Wye. These experiments have in some cases 



