SEEDS^ — WEEDS. 1055 



Queensland. Thene dunes are rai)i(lly encroachinji upon the land in certain places, 

 and attention is railed to the desirability of chefkint: them by forest and other 

 planting. It is stated that niarrani grass and Ipoinoa grow abundantly along the 

 toast, and wherever these i)lants occur in thick growth the sand is (ixed. After the 

 dune has been checked a i)rotection is afforded for forest operations, and it is recom- 

 mended that jilantings should })e made of the cluster ])ine {Piiiiix iilnmtlrr) and the 

 cypress pine, both of wlii<-h seem particularly adapted to the purpose. 



SEEDS WEEDS. 



Germination, of clover and grass seeds {Jour. lid. Ayr. [fAtiitlon], S {1903), 

 No. 4, pp- -'ilO-^l^). — A re})ort is given of a series of experiments conducted at the 

 Vienna Seed Testing Station in which the loss in germinating |)ower of clover and 

 grass seed which had been stored for some years is shown. A number of varieties 

 of clover and grass seed were tested for 5 vonseiutive years. The germination for 

 the different tests is given, together with the average loss in germinative ability 

 during the 4 years elapsing l)etween the first and last test. Red clover lost in this 

 time 17.5 per cent of its germinative ability, alsike 79.4, white clover 32.4, alfalfa 23, 

 tall oat grass 51.1, perennial rye 50.9, meadow fescue 40.5, timothy 9.4, orchard 

 grass 7.3, redtop 44.8, and sheep fescue 70 per cent. The suggestion is made that if 

 clover and grass seeds are to be kept for any length of time, care should be taken 

 that only seed showing a high percentage of germination is selected, and it should 

 be protected from moisture and kept at an even cool temj)erature. 



Germination of the seeds of some common cultivated plants after prolonged 

 immersion in liquid air, A. I). Selhv (/>'»/. Torreij Hot. (_'luh, ,.'S {1901), Xo. 1.', 

 pp. 675-679). — Seeds of the castor Ijean, yellow lupine, maize, flax, wheat, rye, 

 cucumber, sensitive plant, serradella, and a few others, were submitted to prolonged 

 innnersion in liquid air, after which they were placed to gerr.iinate between moist 

 filter paper. Similar lots of seed were also planted in a greenhouse and the germina- 

 tions in the two conditions are reported. The seeds were divided into 2 lots, one of 

 which was suddenly brought into the liquid air, a portion of which remained (> hours 

 and the remainder 12 hours. In the second series of exi)eriments, the introduction 

 into the temperature of the liquid air was gradual. These seed remained 24 and 48 

 hours, respectively, after which they were germinated. With the exception of the 

 seed of the maize, no apparent change occui-red as a result of the low temperature to 

 which they were subjected. The kernels of maize cracked badly, showing that the 

 hardened endosperm could not withstand the stress imposed. There was apparently 

 no unfavorable effect on the germination of the seed that could be traced to the 

 immersion. With sunflower, wheat, and rye the prolonged subjection of these seed 

 to the temperature of —190° C. for 48 hours seemed to increase the protnjitness of 

 the germination to some extent. 



Valvular torsion as a means of seed dispersal in Ricinus, K. ■\I. Wilcox 

 {Ahs. III. Scii'ticf, n. .se.r., 1.5 {1903), No. 877, }i. 4''>tJ). — \n order to secure accm-ate data 

 regarding the etliciency of valvular torsion for seed dispersal in the ciistor bean, the 

 grf)und about a plant in the open field was divided into (juadrants and the surface 

 frequently cultivated, so that seeds could not be blown about by the winds after fall- 

 ing. The distances to which the seeds were thrown were measured from the ba.se 

 of the plant and are shown in tabular form. The plant was 104 cm. in height and 

 the inflorescence, at maturity, was 36 cm. in length. The greatest distance to which 

 any seed was thrown was 325 cm. (alxjut IO5 ft. ) 



Report on mustard spraying, ]\I. W. Dohertv {Ontario Agr. Coh and Krpt. 

 Farm Rpt. 1901, pp. 36-39). — During the past season the author conducted some dem- 

 onstration experiments for the eradication of wild mustard by spraying with solutions 



