302 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [ APRIL 
Britton; and a new Ribes from Idaho, by A. A. Heller. Mr. F. V. Coville ® 
has described a new Collomia from Oregon, and Mr. John B. Leiberg* a new 
Delphinium and a new Sambucus from the northwest coast. G. Hieronymus” 
has begun the publication of the spermatophytes of the Argentine Republic, 
Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, and Bolivia, the first paper including the Ver- 
noniez and Eupatoriee. ‘The great display of these tribes to the south may 
be judged by the fact that over 200 species are presented, almost 100 of 
which are new. The three great genera are Vernonia, with fifty-six species, 
twenty-five of which are new; Stevia, with forty-five species, twenty-seven of 
which are new; and Eupatorium, with seventy-five species, twenty-six of 
which are new.— J. M. C. 
ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO the Hatch Experiment Station published a 
bulletin upon the effect of the electric current in promoting the growth of 
plants, which was somewhat adversely commented upon in this Journal.” 
The same station has now issued another bulletin dealing with the subject 
from another standpoint. The work was done by Asa S. Kinney,” under the 
supervision of Professor George E. Stone, and relates chiefly to acceleration 
of growth during germination. Very few of the attempts to study the action 
of electricity upon plant life have made any substantial contribution to our 
knowledge of the subject. The present paper, however, appears to show that 
beyond doubt a small alternating current of moderate frequency and fairly 
high voltage when applied for a short time has a stimulating effect upon growth. 
The experiments were in three series. In the first series 200 seeds of 4 
kind, after being soaked in water for twenty-four hours, were divided into lots 
of twenty-five seeds each, and exposed to the electric current at different | 
voltages for two minutes, with exception of one lot kept for comparison. 
Seeds of white mustard, red clover, rape and barley were used. The source 
of the current was four Leclanché cells, acting upon a secondary induction 
coil through a primary coil and interrupter. The results are shown in the 
number of seeds germinating at intervals of 24, 48 and 72 hours, and the 
average length of the radicles at the close. A second trial was carried out 
in the same manner, but using two Samson no. 1 battery cells, and continuing 
the treatment five minutes instead of two. A third trial was made in all par- 
: ticulars like the first trial but omitting the barley, and continuing the obser~ 
vations to a fourth interval of ninety-six hours, and measuring both radicle 
and hypocotyl. ‘For the three trials 2200 spa were used. 
5 28 Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. rx: 35-37. ‘1897. 
‘ 3 Proc. B iol. Soc. ' Wash. EE: 39-41. al 
. -@ ENGLER’s Bot. J ahrb. 22: 6 672-798. 1897. 
ag: - e oe : ie ; x 
= Electro-germinatic ~a eceamenin Station, no. 43, 32 PP+ Hlust. 800. 
