1917] 



AGRICULTURAL BOTANY. 127 



depressed both ammonification and nitrification, the depression becoming 

 greater as tlie size of the addition was increased." 



It is concluded that " if manganese salts in small quantities increase crop 

 yields on a soil, that increase may be due in part at least I » a beneficial effect 

 on ammonification and nitrification with a consequently greater production 

 of available plant food. On the other hand, if manganese salts when applied 

 to the soil restrict crop growth, that restriction may be due in part to a de- 

 pression of bacterial activity." 



Fertilizer analyses, H. B. McDonnell et al. (Md. Agr. Col. Quart., No. 75 

 (1917), pp. [31]). — This contains the results of actual and guaranteed analyses 

 of 505 samples of fertilizers and fertilizing materials offered for sale in Mary- 

 laud from August, 1916, to January, 1917, inclusive, together with the text of 

 the Maryland fertilizer law. 



Commercial fertilizers. 1916, B. H. Hite and F. B. Kunst {West Virginia 

 Sta. Insp. Bill. 5 {1917), pp. 3-85). — This bulletin contains the results of actual 

 and guaranteed analyses of 477 samples of fertilizers and fertilizing materials 

 offered for sale in West Virginia during 1916. 



AGRICULTURAL BOTANY. 



The morphology of the monocotyledonous embryo and of that of the grass 

 in particular, W. C. Woesdell {Ann. Bot. [London], 30 {1916), No. 120, pp. 

 509-524, figs. 10). — The author, concluding a study of Zea mays, Eordeum 

 vulgare, and other monocotyledonous plants, states that the scutellum is the 

 lamina of the cotyledon, corresponding to that of the foliage leaf in grass. 

 The part of the cotyledon which corresponds to the sheath of the foliage leaf 

 becomes obscured after the early stage of its development. The coleoptile ap- 

 pears to be that part of the cotyledon which is represented in the foliage leaf 

 by the ligule. The epiblast is that part of the cotyledon corresponding to the 

 auricles of the base of the lamina of the foliage leaf in certain grasses. 



The cotyledon of the grasses differs in no essential, however, from that of 

 other monocotyledons. The mesocotyl is the elongated primary node. The 

 position of the cotyledon is terminal in all monocotyledons, being the continua- 

 tion of the hypocotyl. The balance of development of the cotyledonary lamina 

 and sheath may vary in favor of the latter in certain cases and stages. In 

 certain instances the sheath may develop into a second cotyledon, this character 

 being novel and progressive instead of ancestral and reversionary. 



Further expeiiments on correlation of growth in Bryophyllum calycinum, 

 J. LoEB {Bot. Gaz., 62 {1916), No. If, pp. 293-302, figs, i?).— Further observa- 

 tions (E. S. R., 34, p. 730) under varied conditions are reported. These show 

 that there is in a detached leaf, or pair of leaves, and adjacent portions of 

 a cutting of Bryophyllum, a suction (this term serving as a symbol to denote 

 the direction of the flow of materials) associated with the growth of a marginal 

 or axial bud, which inhibits growth in neighboring portions. The experiments 

 show that a vigorous growth in the notches of a leaf may act as a center of 

 suction which may prevent the flow of sap to the cortex, and thus inhibit 

 growth there if the suction by the stem, or in this ease the cortex, is not bo 

 strong. 



Cambial activity in certain horticultural plants, L. Knudson {Bui. Torrey 

 Bot. Cluh, 43 {1916). No. 10, pp. 533-537).— Recording in tabular form studies 

 regarding the season of cambial activity in woody plants, the author states 

 that cambial activity began in the peach at the time of the opening of the buds. 

 This is contrasted with the result of observations on the lai'ch, grape, and 



