SEEDS — WEEDS. 347 



with short-stalked leathery leaves and small white flowers. A vine 65 years old may 

 be expected to yield 100 gm. of marketable caoutchouc. 



Willugliheia tenuifoUa is common with the former species and produces a gutta- 

 percha of inferior quality. 



The pnxhict of Willughbeia Jirmn is not equal to that of Ficus elastica but a greater 

 quantity is produced by crushing the sections of stem after the flow of sap has ceased. 

 Special factories have been built to crush the stems and prepare the product for 

 market. — h. m. pieters. 



About vanilla {Boxlon: Joseph Burnett Co., 1900, pp. 44, .fig-''- 9). — Popular account 

 of the ha))itat, history, culture, and curing of the orchid producing the vanilla bean. 



Experiments -with lawn grasses, B. D. Halsted {Nevj Jersey Slas. Rpt. 1899, 

 pj). 409, 410). — A report is given of 9 i)lats of grass which were seeded in 1896, in 

 which 9 different species of grass, are compared for lawn purposes. Notes are given 

 upon the relative value of each. Based upon the experiments of 4 years, the author 

 suggests as a satisfactory lawn mixture Rhode Island bent grass, Kentucky blue grass, 

 redtop, and perennial rye grass. 



American floriculture, retrospective and prospective, B. T. Galloway {Flor- 

 ists' E.vrJi(i)/ge, 12 {1900), No. 36, pp. 86S, 869). — Historical and statistical review. 



Ornamental trees and shrubs, W. R. Lazenby {Jour, f'olunihus Hort. Soc, 15 

 {1900), No. 2, pp. 63-68). — Paper read before the society at its Aj>ril meeting. It 

 discusses the planting of trees and shrubs for home grounds, public grounds, and 

 roadsides. 



Ornamental climbers, W. R. Lazenby {Jour. Columbus Ilort. Soc., 15 {1900), 

 No. 2, pp. 85-88).- — A number of annuals and perennials are noted, their characters 

 being given. 



Status of the rose, E. G. Hill {Amer. Gard., 21 {1900), No. 297, pp. 583, 

 584). — The author holds that in order for the rose to hold the same high place in 

 American gardens that it does in English and continental gardens it must first be 

 freed from the fungus disease known as the "black spot." If this can not be done a 

 new race of roses must be built up by crossing the hardier species with our present 

 highly developed Tea and Hybrid Tea varieties. For forcing purposes varieties 

 with new colors are needed — something "like Gen. Jacqueminot, or Rodocanachi, or 

 a variety with the tint and fragrance of Marechal Niel combined with the fine 

 practical qualities of Bride or Bridesmaid." 



The best sweet peas {Amer. Gard., 21 {1900), No. 299, p. 612). — Some of the 

 most p<jpular exhibition varieties of sweet peas at the recent Sweet Pea Conference 

 in London in the decreasing order of merit were: Blanche Burpee, Mars, Lovely, 

 Navy Blue, Triumph, Mrs. Eckford, Princess of Wales, Queen Victoria, Lady Grisel 

 Hamilton, America, Black Knight, Salopian, and Sadie Burpee. A list is given 

 showing the merits of each varietj^ in the entire competitive display. 



The classification of sweet peas {Amer. Florist, 16 {1900), No. 637, pp. 56, 

 57). — A list is given of sorts adjudged the most distinct and also of those which 

 have received awards from the Royal Horticultural Society. 



SEEDS— WEEDS. 



The germination of seeds as affected by certain chemicr.1 fer- 

 tilizers, G. H. Hicks ( U. S. De^^t. A(/r., Division of Botany Bid. ^.^, 

 P2J. lo,j)ls. 2). — A series of investigations are reported, in which the 

 effect of immediate application of certain chemical fertilizers to seeds 

 is shown b}' the germination and growth of the seedlings. 



Previous investigations in this line are reviewed and an outline of 

 the author's experiments is given, in which it is claimed that ferti- 



