1919] FIELD CROPS. 641 



Trials of Sudan durra for brewing {Bui. Imp. Inst. [So. Kensington], 11 

 (1919), No. 1, pp. 22-31). — This comprises a review of investigations conducted 

 by L. Briant and H. Harinan as to the suitability of Sorghum vulgare for 

 brewing purposes. It is concluded that if sufficient grain is obtainable at 

 favorable prices it can be successfully employed in the manufacture of roasted 

 grain for coloring and flavoring, of flakes, or in the production of sugar of a 

 malto-dextrin type. It is deemed unlikely that durra will ever compete with 

 barley as a malt material. 



[Furcraea fiber], A. Lopez (El Fique su Cultivo y Beneficio Industrial, 

 Medellin, Colombia, 1918, pp. 23, fig. 1). — This describes the production and 

 utilization of various Furcrtea fibers in Colombia. 



[Proceedings of the National Hay Association] (Rpt. Nat. Hay Assoc, 24 

 (1917), pp. 298, pis. 2; 25 (1918), pp. 293, pis. 3, figs. ^).— These volumes report 

 the proceedings of the twenty-fourth and twenty-flfth annual conventions of the 

 organization. 



The retting of hemp: A preliminary note, D. Cakbone (Stas. Sper. Agr. 

 Ital., 50 (1917), No. 6-8, pp. 261-299, fig. i).— The author describes in some de- 

 tail observations on the bacteriological aspects of the retting of hemp. 



Lolium subulatum, " Wimmera " rye grass, H. A. Mitllett (Jour. Dept. 

 Agr. Victoria, 17 (1919), No. 5, pp. 266-278, figs. 6).— Based on observations of 

 existing stands and on the experience of various growers, an account is given 

 of the history, present distribution, habits of growth, stock-carrying capacity, 

 methods of propagation, and control of so-called Wimmera rye grass in Victoria. 

 The grass has been identified as L. subulatum, and if controllable is said to 

 give considerable promise as a pasture grass in the wheat belt. 



New Zealand flax, Ventry (Roy. Bot. Gard. Keio, Bui. Misc. Inform., No. .'/ 

 (1919), pp. 169-177, pis. 3; abs. in Nature [London], 103 (1919), No. 2595, p. 

 410). — The possibilities of growing New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax) on a 

 commercial scale in Great Britain are discussed. It is suggested that experi- 

 mental plantings be made on boggy and poor moorland soils, as the development 

 of the plant under such conditions is said to be encouraging. 



The inheritance of the weak awn in certain Avena crosses and its relation 

 to other characters of the oat grain, A. C Fraseb (New York Cornell Sta. 

 Mem. 23 (1919), pp. 635-676, figs. 8).— This paper presents additional data 

 (E. S. R., 39, p. 234) supporting evidence on the inheritance of the weak awn 

 in a cross between Burt and Sixty Day oats, together with a further study of 

 the relationships of the awning factor and the conditions affecting it. The 

 observations were continued through the Fa generation. The conclusions 

 reached may be summarized as follows : 



In a cross between the fully awned Burt and the awnless Sixty Day types 

 thei'e was a nearly complete dominance of the awnless condition. The evidence 

 is held to indicate that both parents contain the factor for awning, but that it 

 is prevented from operating in Sixty Day oats by an inhibitor which is closely 

 linked with the factor for yellow color in that variety. The production of 

 awnless or partly awned plants in the Fi generation is said to be dependent 

 on the extent to which this inhibitor, /, is dominant over its normal allelomorph 

 i, this dominance, in turn, being regarded as probably dependent to a large 

 extent on environmental factors. 



In the F2 generation, awnless, partly awned, and fully awned plants were 

 produced in approximately the ratio of 1:2:1. The ratio of plants not fully 

 awned to plants fully awned approximated 3 : 1. An Fs generation test of F- 

 plants showed that the fully awned individuals were pure recessives, and that 

 they bred true for 100 per cent of awns. A test of the partly awned plants 



