578 



NATURE 



[January 29, 1920 



(1000 francs), for a young French scientific worlier; 

 the Thorlet prize (1600 francs). 



Special Foundations.- — The Lannelongue foundation 

 (2000 francs), to one or two persons in need of assist- 

 ance belonging either themselves or through their 

 parents to the scientific world ; the Laplace prize, to 

 the first pupil leaving the Ecole Polytechnique ; the 

 L. E. Rivot prize (2500 francs), between four pupils 

 leaving each year the Ecole Polytechnique. 



Research Foundations. — ^The Tr^mont foundation 

 (1000 francs); the Gegner foundation (4000 francs); 

 the Henri IBecquerel foundation (3000 francs) ; the 

 Bonaparte foundation, for assisting researches by 

 workers who have already given proofs of their 

 capacity and lack sufficient resources to under- 

 take or pursue their investigations (minimum grant, 

 2000 francs); the Loutreuil foundation (125,000 francs); 

 the Charles Bouchard foundation (5000 francs), for 

 the assistance of researches in medicine or physiology. 



APPLIED PLANT MORPHOLOGY. 



THE importance of a knowledge of the special 

 physiology of a crop plant in attempting to im- 

 prove the yield or quality of the product needs no 

 demonstration. The case for the study of the mor- 

 phology of the plant is no less clear, and is reinforced 

 by the fact that the two lines of investigation should 

 go hand in hand. There are numerous familiar in- 

 stances where successful cropping depends upon the 

 correct understanding of morphological principles, and 

 those botanists wise enough to reflect upon the lore 

 of the intelligent practical man are aware that the 

 knowledge possessed by him of the essential morpho- 

 logy of the plants with which he deals is frequently 

 of no mean order. 



There can be little doubt that fuller investigation of 

 the morphology of economic plants (and especially of 

 those of the tropics) would be profitable from both the 

 scientific and commercial points of view. An example 

 of such work is afforded by the fourth of Dr. C. A. 

 Barber's memoirs on Indian sugar canes, in which 

 he deals with the tillering or underground branching 

 of the plants (Memoirs of the Department of Agri- 

 culture in India: "Studies in Indian Sugar Canes," 

 vol. X., No. 4, June, 1919). Since in the sugar cane 

 (Saccharum) the crop comprises aerial stems derived 

 from the branching of the underground rhizome, the 

 desirability of a full knowledge of the methods of 

 branching and of the factors regulating the process is 

 evident. By careful organisation Dr. Barber and his 

 assistants have dissected and examined a large series 

 of canes (both adult plants and seedlings), and the 

 results so far obtained are of considerable interest and 

 promise. 



The chief classes of canes occurring in India include 

 "thick" canes obtained from tropical sugar-growing 

 countries, and Indian cultivated canes, together with 

 wild Saccharums not used for sugar production. The 

 results of the research show that branching in the 

 various groups, from the wild Saccharums to the thick 

 tropical canes, is of the same nature, but of very 

 different degree. Taking a to represent main shoot, 

 and b its branches, c branches of h, and so on. Dr. 

 Barber arrives at a series of formulae for the struc- 

 tural composition of the clumps at crop time varying 

 from a+mb+c in the thick canes to a + mb+nc + 

 nd+me + f in the wild Saccharums; while the different 

 groups of Indian canes can be arranged in a series 

 between these two extremes. The difference in form 

 and size between the branches of different orders in 

 the same plant have also been carefully studied. The 

 general tendency is for the later branches to be suc- 

 NO. 2622, VOL. 104] 



cessively thicker, to have longer joints, and to show 

 greater curvature at the base. The characters of the 

 branches of different orders are found to be so definite 

 that the harvested canes can be easily separated at the 

 mill and classified into early and late canes. This 

 opens up a new line of work, since it becomes possible 

 to examine these different classes of canes separately 

 at the mill and to ascertain their relative sugar content 

 and milling qualities. A further point of practical in- 

 terest arises in connection with this question. The 

 differences exhibited by canes of varying ages in the 

 same clump are often much more marked in clumps 

 raised from seedlings than in those grown from cut- 

 tings. The question as to whether this variation is 

 handed on when the seedling is propagated vegeta- 

 tively is not yet definitely known, and experiments 

 are being conducted to determine this point, which 

 is of considerable importance in the proper selection 

 of seedlings. 



The factors influencing the amount of tillering in a 

 plant are, of course, both inherent and external. Dif- 

 ferent species and varieties, as well as seedlings from 

 the same parents, differ widely, but such differences 

 are complicated and often masked by others brought 

 about by variations in environment which in the case 

 of the sugar cane appear to be translatable into terms 

 of amount of food available. Dr. Barber points out 

 that light, spacing in the field, moisture, soil constitu- 

 ents, and manuring appear to be the chief controlling 

 factors, and of these he regards the light as "probably 

 the most important limiting factor in the production 

 of the greatest number of canes per acre." The 

 results obtained in the investigation raise the hope that 

 it mav be found possible to develop the work along 

 the lines indicated bv Dr. Barber. 



THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF WESTERN 

 AUSTRALIA.'^ 



AllT-ESTERN AUSTRALIA has followed the other 

 '•^ Australian States in the development of its 

 senior scientific society into a Royal Society,' and has 

 issued the first four volumes of the Journal in its 

 new form. Thanks to the enlightened support of 

 the State, which undertakes the printing and pub- 

 lication, the society is able to issue a better journal 

 than would be possible if it were dependent on its 

 still small roll of members. The society has started 

 well owing to the cordial co-operation of the new 

 and democratic local university with the scientific 

 services of the State. The first four presidents have 

 been Profs. Dakin and, Ross, Mr. Gibb Maitland (the 

 Government Geologist), and Mr. Montgomery (the 

 Government Mining Engineer). 



As the reorganisation of the society marks a new 

 start, the journal appropriately includes somesynopses 

 of existing knowledge of Western Australia; thus 

 Mr. Alexander begins an interesting series of papers 

 on the earlv history of Australian zoology, and he 

 also contributes a list of the Ortfioptera; Mr. Hedley 

 has compiled a useful catalogue of Westralian Mol- 

 lusca; and the third volume is mainly occupied by 

 W. V. Fitzgerald's memoir on the botany of Kim- 

 berley, including the description of two new genera and 

 eighty-eight new species. In the presidential ad- 

 dresses Prof. Dakin deals with vitalism, adopting a 

 non-committal conclusion, but being quite uncon- 

 vinced that there is in life any non-material factor; 

 and Prof. Ross discusses the problems of national 

 scientific organisation and education in the light of 



1 Journal and Proceedings of Iht Roval Snnietv of Western Australia. 

 Vol. i. Pp. xxx-h2^i-fi6 pis. (1914-15.) Vol. ii. Pp. xv4-ii2+7 P's- 

 (1915-16.) Vol. ili. Pp. .vii + 227 + 2pls. (igi6-i7.) Vol.iv. Pp. xil-)-S4-t- 

 I pi. (Perth, W.A., 1916-19.) Price 51. each. 



