FIELD CROPS. 731 



branch station ; and, though further truUs are needetl before it can be decided 

 which systems will be most profitable for farmers to adopt, results already 

 obtained indicate that sncli croi)s as held peas. corn, and alfalfa in cultivated 

 rows can. in a large measure, be substituted for sununer fallow. In an exten- 

 sive te.st of diffei'ent cultivation methods for winter wheat under tlie summer 

 fallow system it has l)een found that from 4 to 10 bu. an acre is gained l>y 

 plowing the ground earlier in the si)ring than is the common practice." 



Variety testing (Wui^hingtoii Sta. Bui. 118 (19Vf), pp. 18-22. fitj. i).— Data 

 are given regarding variety tests of winter and spring wheat, winter and spring 

 barley, oats, and field peas. 



Grasses and forage plants of Hawaii, C. K. McClbxlano (Hawaii Sta. liiil. 

 :{G' (I'Jl')). pp. -J.i, pis. it). — This bulletin gives a detailed idea of the present 

 status of forage plants on the various Hawaiian ranclies. Tables .show the 

 average annual and monthly precipitation at some Hawaiian ranches and 

 other points for periods ranging from 5 to 27 years ; analyses and compiled 

 data as to the comixisition of Hawaiian feeds; the Hawaiian, conmion, and 

 botanical names of the more important grasses and leguminous and miscella- 

 neous forage plants; the names of grasses introduced for range improvement 

 but not yet established; and undesirable and poist)nous i)lants. Descriptions 

 of many of the forage plants are given and recommendations for planting are 

 offered, together witli brief notes on the management of range lands. 



Forage crop studies, J. B. TnoMi\soN {Guam. Sta. Rpt. IVL't, pp. 15, 16, pi. 

 1). — This notes the pi'oductinn of Para grass, Paspalum (Ulatatum, Guinea 

 grass, sorghum, and peanuts for soiling and pasture crops. 



Brachysm, a hereditary deformity of cotton and other plants, O. F. Cook 

 (f/. 8. Dcpt. Ayr., Jour. Ayr. Rcxmrcli, 3 (1915), Xo. J, pp. 387-399, pis. 10).— 

 In this article the author discusses facts discovered by observations of the cot- 

 ton plants under the headings of special features of brachysm in cotton, inde- 

 jiendent origins of brachytic variations, different degrees of brachysm, shorten- 

 ing of internodes by drought, retention of blasted buds in brachytic varieties, 

 morphol?:^' of decurreut pedicels, brachysm accompanied by fasciatiou and 

 adhesion, analogy between brachytic variations and hybrids, brachysm and 

 homoeosis. and agricultural defects of '• cluster " cottons. 



In conclusion it is stated that " brachysm is a term proposed to designate the 

 shortening of the vegetative internodes of plants. It is a hereditary abnormal- 

 ity, indicating degeneracy, that has appeared in independent mutative variations 

 in many distinct families of plants, including many cultivated forms. Brachytic 

 variations are of frequent occurrence in cotton, giving rise to the so-called 

 •cluster' and 'limbless' varieties, and afford uiuisually favorable ojiportunities 

 for learning the nature and physiological significance of such variations. 



" The shortening of the internodes of the cotton plant is usually confined to 

 the fruiting branches without affecting the main stalk or the vegetative 

 branches. Brachytic variations occur independently in different species and 

 varieties of cotton and do not constitute a natural group with a common ori^n. 



"Brachytic varieties of cotton usually show other abnormalities of the inter- 

 nodes, leaves, and involucral bracts. There is also an increased tendency to 

 abortion of the floral buds, and the blasted buds often remain attached to the 

 plant, because of the absence of well-differentiated absciss layer at the base of 

 the pedicel. 



" Though brachytic variations arise by mutative changes in the expression 

 of the characters and show alternative Mendelian forms of inheritance, they 

 afford no additional support to the general theories of mutation and Mendelism 

 as explaining evolution. Such variations represent reduced .specialization or 



