40 EXPEEIMENT STATION RECORD. 



posit of the melaniiilike compound in the liulls results in black, a light deposit, 

 brown. Anthocyanin in the hulls results in a light violet red. In naked forms 

 the melaninlike compound in the pericarp results in a black kernel ; anthocyanin 

 produces a violet one. The acid condition of anthocyanin in the pericai-p super- 

 imposed upon the alkaline condition in the aleurone layer gives the effect of a 

 purple color, while a blue aleurone beneath a colorless pericai^p is blue gray. 

 White hulls over a blue aleurone cause the grain to appear bluish or bluish 

 gray. Black hulls over a blue aleurone give, of course, a black appearance. 

 The anthocyanin is always violet in the hulls and in the pericarp, showing that 

 these tissues are in an acid condition, and always blue in the aleurone layer, 

 showing an alkaline condition. The occurrence of anthocyanin in the pericarp 

 of hull-less barleys is more significant than its production in the aleurone 

 layer." 



A bibliography of 26 titles is appended. 



[Analyses of locally grown cassava], J. S. Camus {Philippine Agr. and 

 Forester, 3 (191^), No. 4, p. 75). — The analyses of white petioled, red petioled, 

 and intermediate varieties of cassava showed a range of starch content from 

 23.82 to 25.79 per cent, mere traces of sugar and dextrin, from 0.043 to 0.048 

 per cent of hydrocyanic acid in the bark, and from 0.023 to 0.028 per cent in 

 the edible portion. The latter is expelled by cooking. 



Some principles of genetics applied to cotton production, L. Trabut 

 (Gouvt. G6n. Alg^rie, Dir. Agr., 8erv. Bot. Bui. 50 {1912), pp. i6).— This dis- 

 cusses recent work at the leading cotton-breeding stations of the world. 



Kafir, G. K. PIelder {Kansas Sta. Bui. 198 {1914), PP- 609-627, figs. 7).— In 

 this bulletin the author has attempted to show briefly the value of Kafir corn 

 in the western half of Kansas and particularly in upland soils, giving a dis- 

 cussion of the varieties best adapted for each locality and the most economical 

 methods of handling them. 



A summary states that in western Kansas Kafir corn is worth twice as much, 

 acre for acre, as corn; that listing is more satisfactory than surface planting; 

 that row plantings are more economical than broadcast plantings; that cut- 

 ting with a binder is the most economical method of harvesting row plantings ; 

 that the silo offers the cheapest and most convenient method of storing Kafir 

 corn fodder for cattle feeding; that threshed grain stored in bins will heat 

 unless it is clean and very dry; that home-grown seed is usually superior to 

 imported seed; that seed selection should be made in the field in the fall 

 before the first hard frost; that Kafir corn to be used as seed should not be 

 threshed until planting time; that the formalin treatment effectually kills ker- 

 nel smut; and that Kafir corn compares favorably with corn either as fodder, 

 grain, or silage. 



Relation of yield of straw and grain in oats, H. H. Love {Jour. Amer. Soc. 

 Agron., 6 {1914), No. 3, pp. 97-108, figs. 7). — In this article the author discusses 

 the relation of yield of straw and gi-ain in the 31 varieties grown at Cornell 

 University in 1911, 1912, and 1913. Data presented show the ratio of pounds 

 of straw to pounds of grain to range from 1.08 : 1 to 3.11 : 1 in 1911, 1.12 : 1 to 

 2.03 : 1 in 1912, and 1.04 : 1 to 2.05 : 1 in 1913. 



" The foregoing data show that there is a very close relationship between 

 yield of grain and yield of straw for the different varieties and that this is 

 fairly constant from year to year and is not merely an environmental relation. 

 Certain exceptions occur, but, on the whole, one may expect an increase in 

 yield of grain with a corresponding increase in yield of straw. The ratio of 

 straw to grain is also sho^\Ti to be fairly constant from year to year. Certain 

 strains produced almost a pound of grain for every pound of straw, while others 



