FIELD CROPS. 531 



198). — This article notes the earliness and lateness in time of flowering of 

 crosses between cultivated English and Austrian female hops and wild Danish 

 hops. The dates of flowering of the offspring showed a wide A^ariation, the 

 number of individuals decreasing greatly from the average toward the two 

 extremes and thus offering an opportunity for improvement by selection and 

 vegetative propagation. 



"A comparison of offspring and mother plants reveals the fact that the mean 

 flowering date of the former is often essentially different from that of the 

 latter. This made itself apparent in our experiments as a retardation of the 

 flowering time in the offspring of early plants, and an advancement of the same 

 in those of later varieties, while in the offspring of intermediate mother plants, 

 little or no difference was observed." 



Report on collective experiments: Results of introducing in 1913 fer- 

 tilizers on lupines, S. P. Kulzhinskii (Ahs. in Zhur. Opytn. Agron. (Russ. 

 Jour. Expt. Landw.), 15 (1914), No. 3, pp. 268, 269).— Fertilizer experiments 

 with blue lupines, reported from 42 fields, show that the use of 2 poods (72 

 lbs.) of K2O as potash salt per des.syatina (2.7 acres) gave increases in yields 

 ranging from 105 to 631 poods per dessyatina in 25 cases. Ten cases reported 

 decreased yields with potash. The use of 2 poods of P2O5 per dessyatina as 

 superphosphate showed increases in yields ranging from 31 to 710 iwods in 15 

 fields, and decreases in 19 cases ranging from 17 to 1,212 poods. The average 

 of all the P2O5 tests showed decrease in yield of 72 poods. With the combined 

 application of 2 poods of IViO and 2 poods of P2O5 per dessyatina, 18 cases re- 

 ported increases up to 626 poods, while 16 reported decreases in yields of green 

 forage up to 1,264 poods, with an average decrease of 34 poods of green forage 

 by the use of the combination. 



The use of seed potatoes from light soils on richer and heavier soils, 

 ScHNEiDEWiND {Laudw. Wchnschv. Sachsen, 11 {1915), No. 3, pp. IS, 19; ahs. 

 in Internat. Inst. Agr. [Rome'], Mo. Bui. Agr. Intel, and Plant Diseases, 6 

 (1915), No. 4, pp. 575, 576). — This notes the increase in yield, ranging from 

 2,000 to 7,100 lbs. per acre, of potatoes returned to a loess-loam soil after having 

 been planted a season or two on a sandy soil. 



Pictorial practical potato growing, W. P. Wright and E. J. Castle (London 

 and New York: Cassell d Company, Ltd., 1913, pp. 152, figs. 50). — This book 

 treats of intensive methods of production and of insect pests and fungus dis- 

 eases of potatoes, with notes on the cooking of potatoes. 



The prototype of the cultivated sorghums, C. V. Pipee (Jour. Amer. Soc. 

 Agron., 7 (1915), No. 3, pp. 109-117).— In this article the author reviews the 

 studies of earlier investigators and discusses various forms and subspecies of 

 Andropogon sorghum of African origin as possible prototypes. He concludes 

 that " there is yet too much to be learned about the wild sorghums to determine 

 with any assurance which are the actual prototypes of the cultivated sor- 

 ghums. It seems perfectly clear, however, that A. halepensis and its subspecies 

 as above defined are not at all concerned. It appears equally clear that not 

 all of the wild races of A. sorghum can be considered as probable ancestors of 

 the cultivated varieties. The ones most likely to belong in this category are 

 A. heivisoni, niloticus, drummondii, and possibly effusus and verticilUflorus. 

 The last two races as at present understood are very variable and perhaps each 

 name stands for several distinct plants. The problem of the wild ancestors of 

 the cultivated sorghums is now so narrowed that it is reasonable to hope that 

 the details may in the near future be definitely determined." 



"Variations in soy bean inoculation, J. H. Vooehees (Jour. Amer. Soc. 

 Agron., 7 (1915), No. 3, pp. 139, I4O). — This notes the absence of nodules on 

 the roots of certain varieties of soy beans although the seed had been inoculated 



