632 EXPERIMENT STATION EECOED. 



Tvirnip weed (Rapistrum rugosum), H. W. Andrew {Jour. Dept. Agr. &'o. 

 Aust., 19 (1915), No. 5, pp. Jfl^-Jflo, figs. 6). — This article notes the wide distri- 

 bution and vigorous growth of the turnip weed. It is stated that it often 

 attains a height of 8 ft. under favorable conditions, and may be found in all 

 cultivated fields. 



HORTICULTUEE. 



Tests -with, nitrate of soda in the production of early vegetables, J. W. 

 Lloyd (Illinois Sta. Bui. 184 (1915), pp. 29-^6, fig. 1). — In the experiment here 

 reported, which was started in 1907 and continued through six years, top- 

 dressings of nitrate of soda were made to growing crops of radishes, turnips, 

 beets, onions, spinach, lettuce, cabbage, and cauliflower. One plat each of the 

 different vegetables received applications of nitrate of soda at intervals of one 

 week, another at intervals of two weeks, and a third was left untreated as a 

 check. The number of applications of nitrate of soda and the amount of ma- 

 terial used varied with different seasons and different crops. The results for 

 each season, as measured by yields, are reported in detail and discussed. 



The investigation as a whole leads to the following conclusions : " Under 

 the soil and climatic conditions attending these tests, nitrate of .soda usually 

 does not induce an excessive development of foliage on the common early root 

 crops, radishes, turnips, and beets, without a corresponding development of the 

 root. Top-dressings of nitrate of soda may reasonably be expected to have a 

 beneficial effect upon the following crops of early vegetables on well-manured 

 brown silt loam in the corn belt : Radishes, turnips, beets, spinach, cabbage, 

 and cauliflower. The beneficial effect may consist in a higher percentage of 

 plants reaching marketable size or condition within a given time, greater size 

 of the individual specimens, or gi'oater total yields. (If the stand were uniform, 

 the last two points would be correlated.) 



" Under the conditions of these tests the benefits to be derived from top- 

 dressings of nitrate of soda to onions and head lettuce do not appear to be 

 sufliciently marked or consistent to warrant the use of this fertilizing material 

 on these crops. Nitrate of soda applied at intervals of two weeks seems to be 

 fully as effective as when applied at more frequent intervals, even though the 

 aggi'egate amount of material is correspondingly less ; in many cases it is more 

 effective. 



" Under the conditions of these tests the beneficial results of using nitrate 

 of soda in the production of early vegetables do not appear to be so pronounced 

 as results which have been reported from certain other sections of the country." 



Mushroom growing, B. M. Duggar (New York: Orange Judd Co., 1915. pp. 

 VIII +250, pis. 31). — This work comprises a treatise on mushroom culture and 

 spawn making, together with a classification and discussion of the more im- 

 portant and widely distributed genera and species of mushrooms. Brief 

 accounts are also given of certain cultural practices and exploitations in 

 foreign countries, including some observations on European truffles. African 

 and Asiatic terfas, and a general description of the foreign market for wild 

 nnishrooms. 



Morphological and biological researches on the cultivated radishes. 

 Yvonne Trouard Riolle (Ann. Set. Agron., 4. ser., 3 (1914). No. 6, pp. 295-S22. 

 figs. 22). — A historical study of the cultivated radishes, conductefl with special 

 reference to securing some information relative to the origin of this vegetable. 

 A bibliography of cited literature is included. 



The present article precedetl and is apparently introductory to the full 

 report of the author's mori)hological and biological researches on the cultivateti 

 radishes (E. S. U., 33. p. 038). 



