726 EXPEBIMENT STATION EECORD, 



ited to tlae fall of the year. The process of starch formation can occur iu the 

 branches of fat-storing trees (as Tilia) throughout the entire year, low tempera- 

 tures acting only as a check on its progress. Fatty trees of the A. Fischer type 

 contain much fat even in the summer and the fat-forming process, at least with 

 Tilia, continues throughout the summer. Only an indirect connection exists 

 between starch solution and fat formation. The contention that fat in com- 

 parison with starch represents a more stable form of reserve material and that 

 the fat of trees acts as a protection against cold can not be generally accepted. 



The behavior of plants toward lithium salts, C. Ravenna and M. Zamorani 

 (Atti R. Accud. Lincei, Rend. CI. Set. Fis., Mat. e Nat., 5. set:, 18 (1909), II, 

 No. J2, pp. 626-630; a&s. in Jour. Chem. Soc. [London], 98 {1910), No. 569, II. 

 p. 235). — The presence of lithium in the ash of tobacco led the authors to inves- 

 tigate the frequent claim that the salts of lithium are poisonous to plants. 

 Tobacco plants were grown in water cultures, one lot receiving a complete 

 nutrient solution, another the same solution to which lithium sulphate was 

 added, and a third a solution in which lithium was substituted for the potas- 

 sium of the culture medium. The plants grew for about 3 months, when they 

 were cut, weighed, dried, and analyzed, 3 plants from each lot being taken. 



The green weight of the check lot was 178 gm., while for the second series, 

 which received the lithium sulphate, the weight was 81.5 gm., and for the third 

 series, where the lithium was substituted for the potassium, the weight was 55 

 gm. The dry weights for the same lots were 23.G, 15.7, and 7 gm. The ash in 

 proportion to the dry weight increased from the first to the third series. In 

 comparing the amount of lithium iu the ash with the lithium present in normal 

 plants, there was found to be a very great increase in the ash of the plants 

 grown in the culture media. 



The effect of lithium on potatoes was tested by placing different proportions 

 of lithium sulphate in cavities in the tubers, it being found that for the Solana- 

 cese lithium did not have a marked injurious effect. For beans and oats grown 

 in sand cultures the lithium salt was decidedly poisonous, but the authors 

 think that perhaps the injury was due to the large quantity of lithium added 

 to the solutions. 



The possibility of substituting lithium salts for potassium iu the nutrition of 

 plants is to be studied further. 



On the poisonous action of alkaloidal solutions on soils and plants, R. 

 Otto and W. D. Kooper (Landu: Jahrh., 39 {1910), No. 3, pi>. 397-.',07, dgni. 

 1). — The authors claim as a result of their experiments that both humus and 

 sandy soils will absorb nicotine, but that no true chemical union occurs, and 

 that the alkaloid still retains its chemical properties. 



After absorption a part of the nicotine is decomijosed, while another por- 

 tion is volatilized ; warmth and dampness hasten these processes, while dry- 

 ness checks them. It was found that a 3 per cent solution of nicotine increased 

 the alkaloidal contents of Nicotiana tabacum, exerting a very favorable influ- 

 ence on its growth and also on the growth of Solanum tuberosum. 



Other nitrogenous compounds (sodium nitrate) likewise produced an increase 

 in the alkaloidal content, while the addition of alkaloids exerted no appreciable 

 influence on the compounds of other elements. 



The effects of factory smoke on pine forests, P. von Ru§nov {Centbl. Gesam. 

 Forsiio., 36 {1910), No. 6, pp. 257-268).— Attention is called to the serious 

 damage to coniferous forests that occurs from factory smoke containing sul 

 phur dioxid and sulphur trioxid, which often kills outright the trees over large 

 areas. The injurious effects of smoke from two cellulose and paper factories, 

 one mineral-oil refinery, and a large factory that burned coal containing sulphur, 

 each situated in separate regions, are noted, and the character and extent of the 



