PERIODICAL LITERATURE 



First of German Periodicals 



The first magazine literature from Germany that has reached us 

 since the beginning of the war is made up of two issues of v. Tubeuf 's 

 Naturzvissenchaftliclie Zeitschrift fiir Forst imd Landzvirfscliaft. 

 Their dates give us an inkling as to conditions under which they 

 are published ; the first being a double number for January-February, 

 1918, the second combining the months March to August under one 

 cover (without explanation). War conditions are also reflected in a 

 lengthy account of methods to gather beechnuts for their oil to eke 

 out the scarcity of fats. It appears that 1916 was a beech mast, and, 

 remarkable to tell. 19 18 promised even a better mast, which usually 

 occurs only in periods of 4 to 7 years. One hundred pages are devoted 

 to the distribution in Switzerland of the mistletoe and to the insects 

 feeding on it. 



The most important contribution, and of interest to us, consists 

 of a symposium on the production of rosin, needed in so many in- 

 dustries and not obtainable by importation. 



It also covers around 100 pages in 12 articles by various authors, 

 the outcome of studies, experiments, and practices under the direction 

 of a war commission. 



The Scotch pine and Norway spruce are the species concerned. 

 Various methods of tapping the trees are described and their re- 

 sults compared. The "American" pot method and an improvement (?) 

 by Splettstoesser called the "fishbone" method are found the most 

 satisfactory, leaving the preference of these two undetermined. Briefs 

 of the several articles will appear in the subsequent numbers of the 

 Journal. 



BOTANY AND ZOOLOGY 



Fischer, of the Berne botanical garden, re- 



Heredity ports an interesting proof of the heredity of 



of monstrosities or sportive forms. A specimen 



Spruce of Norwa}' sprvice- — Picea excelsa virgata Cran- 



Sports stonii Carr. — which developed without branches 



— a serpentine spruce — bore fruit in 1905. no 



attempt having been made to control pollination. The many seedlings 



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