32 SCIENCE BULLETIN, No. 9. 



Lime and Lupins. HEINRICH. (Bied. Centr., 1896, 26, 231-232.) The result 

 of the addition of 0-5 to 1-5 up to 10 per cent, of chalk to sandy soil, 

 showed even the smallest amount to be injurious to lupin. At the rate 

 of 1 per cent. CaSO 4 , reduced the crop by 50 por cent. Ca 3 P 2 O 8 , at the 

 rate of 0-5, appeared injurious. MgCO 3 , at the rate of 0-5 per cent, killed 

 the plant. 



Selective absorption of certain elements by plants. E. DKMOUSSY. (Compt. 

 Rend., 1898, 127, 970-972.) The plants were grown in different solutions, 

 such as KNO 3 and KC1, each containing two salts, Ca and K, Na and Ca, 

 K and Na. The plants exercised a selective action. 



Barium in plant and soil. RICHARD HORNBERGER. (Lanclw. Versuch Stat., 1899, 

 91, 473-478.) The ash of different parts of the trunk wood of two copper 

 beeches, 100 years old, were found to contain from 0-97 to 1-20 and 0-57 to 

 0-90 per cent, of barita. The soil contained a small amount of BaO. (400 

 grammes extracted with hot I-IC1, 5 per cent., gave 9 milligrammes of 

 BaSO 4 . Ba was also found by Fore-hammer (Ann. Phys, Chim.. 1855 (i), 

 95, GO) in the ashes of beech, oak, and birch ; and by Boedecker and Eckard 

 (Annalen, 1850, 100, 244) in beech weed and in the sandstone near 

 Gottingen. It also occurs in the Nile mud (Knop Landw. Yersuchstat, 17, 

 Co), and in the wheat grown in the Nile Valley (Rworzack, ibid., 398). 



The role of sodium in plants. M. STAHL SCHRODER. (Chem. Centr., 1899, ii, 

 693, from J. Lanclw., 47, 49-84.) . . . In accordance with Contejean 

 and Guittean's results, Na remained mainly in the lower parts of the 

 plants. Oats can assimilate large amounts of sodium without injury. 



Plants containing Zinc. ERNEST FRICKE. (Chem. Centr., 1900, ii, 769, from 

 Zeit often tb. Chem., 6, 292.) On a meadow near Randsbeck, in Westphalia, 

 which is occasionally flooded by waste liquors containing Zinc, and on a 

 soil near Bockwiese and Lautenthal, which is known to contain zinc, a 

 cruciferous plant very similar to Ara&is Halleri has been found to flourish. 

 In both cases the plant contained zinc; and in the latter case the plant 

 substance free from water and sand yielded 1-3 per cent, of ash, which 

 contained 0-94 per cent. Zn. 



Ivy as a calcareous plant. W. VON KLENKE. (Zeit. Landw. Versuch. Vv'est 

 Oester, 3, 629-630.) The air-dried wood of ivy yielded 2-57 per cent, of ash, 

 containing 31-09 per cent, of lime and 4-52 per cent, of MgO. Ivy is thus 

 undoubtedly a calcareous plant. It is not suitable for fodder, and is 

 almost free from parasites. 



Mercurial poisoning of green plants. FRANZ W. DAFERT. (Zeit. Landw. 

 Versuchs. West Oesterr., 4, 1-9.) Plants grown under a jar over mercury 

 were killed by its vapour. 



Pot experiments of the action of Nal, and NaBr and LiCl on crop. J. 

 AUGUSTUS VOELCKER. (Journ. Roy. Agric. Soe. England, 1900 (iii), 11, 

 566-591.) Nal, at the rate of 2 cwt. per acre, NaBr of 1 or 2 cwt. 

 per acre, LiCl at the rate of 5 cwt per acre, had injurious effects on 

 w r heat, barley, clover. 



Presence of copper in plants, and the amount they contain. EDOUARD HECKEL. 

 (Bull. Soc. Botan. de France, 1899, 46, 42-43.) . . . Viola calaminaria 

 is said to contain considerable quantities of zinc, and the presence of the 

 plant usually indicates zinc in the soil. 



Toxic action of the compounds of alkaline earth metals toward higher plants. 

 HENRI COUPIN. (Compt. Rend., 130, 791-793.) A study of the action of 

 Ca, Sr, Ba on wheat. With soluble homologous compounds the toxic effect 

 increases with the atomic weight ; the insoluble salts of these metals are all 

 innocuous. Soluble salts of Ca, Sr have marked toxic action. CaL, Sri are 

 very poisonous. 



Occurrence of zinc in the vegetable kingdom. L. LABAND. (Zeit. Nahrung 

 Genussmitt, 1901, 4, 489-492.) The Author examined some plants grown 

 in the neighbourhood of Scharley, Upper Silesia, on soil containing zinc 

 and situated near, zinc mines. He found 0-252 of ZnO in 100 grams of dry 

 material. 



Poisonous action of ferrocyauide of potassium on plants. S. SUZUCKI. (Bull. 

 Coll. Agric. Tokyo, Imp. Univ., 1902, 5, 203-205.) Pot. Ferrccyn. in solution 

 at 0-001 per thousand gradually destroyed barley plants. 



