576 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXX. No. 773 



of names and their identification are given 



below in the hope that the list may be made 



permanently useful. 



Agli=:the garlic. 



Avellani = the filbert. 



Castagne = the chestnut. 



CipoUi = the onion. 



Coriandrum sativum = the coriander. 



Fave = the bean. 



Tave a nieta=:bean remains in fecal matter. 



Fichi e uva pressa ^ figs and pressed grapes. 



Fichi secchie a coppie =; dried figs in pairs. 



Fiori di melo grande = flowers of large apples. 



Frammenta di pigna = fragments of pine cone, 



seeds included. 

 Garubbe = the carob. 

 Grano o orzo mondato ^ grain freed of its hull, 



or covering. 

 Hordeum hexastichum = 6-rowed barley. 

 Hordeum tetrastichum = 4-rowed barley. 

 Lenticchi :^ the lentil, the pulse. 

 Mandorle = the almond. 

 Miglio = the millet. 

 Noci = the walnut. 

 Pere = the pear. 



We see by an inspection of this list that the 

 residents of Pompeii used as vegetables the 

 onion, the garlic, the bean and the lentil, 

 v^hile the barley (of two kinds), the millet and 

 the chestnut were probably ground to make 

 bread. The fresh fruits of the table were the 

 grape, the fig, the apple and the pear. As 

 edible nuts, the Pompeiians used filberts, 

 chestnuts, pine seeds, walnuts and almonds, 

 while the dried fruit comprised the fig, the 

 carob and the grape. This is evidently only a 

 partial list of plants actually used in Pompeii, 

 for, as in all large cities, the vegetables and 

 fruits sold in the markets vary with the sea- 

 son and the above list represents the plants on 

 sale during late August, the date of the de- 

 struction being August 24, 79. 



John W. Harshbeeger 



Univebsitt of Pennsylvania 



notes on a nematode in wheat 

 During the season of 1909, a nematode in 

 wheat has made its appearance in different 

 parts of the United States. It was found by 

 members of the OfBce of Grain Investigations 

 at Modesto, Cal., May 28, 1909, and authentic 



reports of its presence have since been re- 

 ceived from Georgia, "West Virginia and New 

 York. 



Affected wheat heads are similar in appear- 

 ance to "bunted" heads. The glumes of the 

 spikelets spread somewhat and galls, dark in 

 color and fuU of nematode larvae, occupy the 

 places where the kernels should be. The nema- 

 tode is undoubtedly Tylenchus tritici Koffr., 

 and has been known in Europe since 1Y45. Its 

 life history is described by Davaine in Comptes 

 Bendus Acad. Sc. Paris, Part 41, 1855, pp. 

 435^38 and Part 43, 1856, pp. 148-152. The 

 European literature on the subject is exten- 

 sive, but no American citations of its occur- 

 rence in the United States are known to the 

 writer. Sorauer in his " Handbuch der 

 Pflanzenkrankheiten," Teil III., gives a good 

 account of the parasite and mentions it as 

 occurring in Sweden, Holland, Germany, 

 Austria-Hungary, Switzerland, Italy, North 

 America and Australia (?). Dr. E. A. Bessey 

 in a letter of June 19, 1909, says that he has 

 observed related forms on species of Agro- 

 pyron, Elymus, Calamagrostis, Trisetum, 

 Chcetochloa, Agrostis and Sporobolus from 

 various parts of the United States, but has not 

 observed any form attacking wheat. The 

 parasite has already gained headway in fields 

 around Old Field, W. Va., and may prove a 

 serious pest. 



Infested wheat should be cleaned thoroughly 

 before sowing. Dr. N. A. Cobb recommends 

 cleaning by winnowing, sieving or skimming 

 off the floating galls after the seed-grain has 

 been submerged in water. Dr. E. A. Bessey 

 suggests the probable efficiency of hot-water 

 treatments such as are used for smut, and also 

 mentions a treatment consisting of steeping 

 seed in a two to five per cent, sulphuric-acid 

 solution for one half to two hours. Sorauer, 

 I. C.J recommends soaking infested seed in 

 dilute sulphuric acid (1 kg. sulphuric acid to 

 150 1. water) for twenty-four hours. 

 Further experiments are necessary before acid 

 and hot-water treatments can be safely recom- 

 mended. 



Edw. C. Johnson 

 U. S. Department op Agbiculture 



