506 XEW JEESEY AGRICT:LTURAL COLLEGE 



Observations upon Salsify. 



All blossoms open and close at abont the same time, remaining 

 open longer on a cloudy day than in the bright snn. Those kept 

 under a bell jar remained open the whole day, the others closing from 

 9 :30 to 11 :30, according to the weather. A flower oj>ens two or three 

 times and it takes two weeks, or a little more, for the seed to mature. 

 The color of the flowers varies from yellow, through orange and red, 

 to a violet purple. The new plot is planted after this arrangement. 

 The color 333 includes several shades. The yellow centers are more 

 abundant in the orange and orange yellow flowers than in those more 

 nearly approaching the violet. In the latter the "yellow" is very light, 

 sometimes almost white. The flowers, especially the violet ones, faded 

 in successive openings. Some of the flowers designated as "yellow 

 centered" were only mottled with yellow, the amount varying from 

 slight mottling to a pure yellow. This did not occur in the more 

 violet flowers. There is great variation in the shape and general 

 appearance of the plants, to which but little attention has been paid. 



The black salsify is not usually self-fertile. The colors vary greatly 

 in seed-producing capacity, but this is not a variation in the number 

 of ovules formed, but in the number fecundated. In general, the colors 

 more nearly like the parents produce the most seeds. 



EXPERIMENTS "WITH W^EEDS. 



After nine years, in July, of the present season, the weed experi- 

 ment was brought to a close. The weeds left uncared for had a bad 

 effect upon trial plants in the land bordering upon the unfilled ground. 

 The outer portion of the weed land offered unusual conditions for 

 the growth of such plants as the sweet clover (Melilotus alha L.), 

 which grew to great size and overshadowed many kinds of weeds that 

 were located more centrally. One end of the ground became almost 

 entirely covered with an aster (Aster paniculatus Lam. ( ?) ), while in 

 the opposite end a wild eherr\' [Prunus serotina L.) tree had attained a 

 lieight of fifteen feet and was making a dense shade, inimical to the 

 weed experiment in that locality. The middle of the weed })lot had 

 become overgrown with wild grapevines, which were fast choking out 

 the other plants. The end it was not difficult to forecast, namely, the 

 aster covering a portion of the area exclusively; a large cherry tree, 



