Jantjaet 14, 1910] 



/SCIENCE 



79 



from the vicinity of these plantations, and, it is 

 believed, successfully, except in portions of Con- 

 necticut and in Ontario and Minnesota, which 

 latter are inspected by local authorities. This 

 worlc was carried on in cooperation with the for- 

 estry and plant pathological worlcers of the states 

 involved. The disease is under control at present. 

 The great problem now is to control or prevent 

 further importations. 



Chinese Perennial Wild Rice: C. S. Scofield, 



U. S. Bureau of Plant Industry. 



A plant closely resembling the wild rice of 

 North America was collected about seventy years 

 ago in the Trans-Baikal region of Siberia by a 

 Russian botanist, Turczaninow. At that time the 

 American wild rice was known to European bot- 

 anists under the name Hydropyrum esculentum, 

 and Turczaninow's plant, being regarded as con- 

 generic with it, was named Hydropyrum lati- 

 folium. When Hackel monographed the grasses 

 for Engler and Prantl, he decided that the Asiatic 

 plant was only a variety of the American species, 

 and, resurrecting the Linnaean name, Zizania 

 aquatica, applied it to both. 



Certain significant characters indicate that the 

 Asiatic plant is a distinct species from the Amer- 

 ican. The American plant is an annual, being 

 reproduced by seed which falls ofiF into the water 

 as soon as ripe. The Asiatic plant is perennial, 

 capable of reproduction by rhizomes. There are 

 also some differences in the floral characters, these 

 being most apparent in the form of the floral 

 pedicel and in the length of the awns of the 

 glumes. 



The Close Parallel between, the Floras of Pales- 

 tine and of California: Professor A. Aabon- 

 SOHN, Haifa, Palestine. (By invitation.) 

 The speaker first exhibited a series of lantern 

 slides showing the topography of Palestine, and 

 the striking resemblances to that of California. 

 Near the coast in each region is a range of low 

 mountains beyond which lies a long interior valley 

 having a range of higher mountains for its eastern 

 wall. The direction of the prevailing winds being 

 the same, the distribution of rainfall is closely 

 parallel. 



Herbarium sheets were then displayed showing 

 numerous specimens of the same species from each 

 region where they occur under very similar cli- 

 matic and topographic conditions. 



The conclusion was drawn that the present 

 "lirifavorable aspect of agriculture in Palestine is 

 not due so much to sterility of soil and aridity of 



climate as to the adverse influence of the form of 

 government which has prevailed there. Under an 

 improved regime it is anticipated that many of 

 the economic plants that now flourish in Cali- 

 fornia may be successfully introduced into 

 Palestine. 



In conclusion Professor Aaronsohn presented a 

 second series of lantern slides showing agricul- 

 tural conditions in Palestine to-day, and the vege- 

 tation of the sections visited in his explorations 

 which resulted in the discovery of a wild wheat 

 growing at high altitudes on sterile soil which he 

 considers to be the prototype of our modern culti- 

 vated varieties. He found in this wild species a 

 great diversity of types, some forms resembling 

 Triticum durum and others T. polonicum and 

 T. monococcum. W. W. Stockbergeb, 



Corresponding Secretary 



THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



The 39th annual meeting of the society was 

 held in the West Hall of George Washington 

 University on December 18, 1909, President Wead 

 in the chair. The meeting was devoted to the 

 presentation of the usual annual reports and the 

 election of officers. 



The following ofScers were duly elected for the 

 ensuing year: 



President — R. S. Woodward. 



Vice-presidents — C. G. Abbot, A. L. Day, L. A. 

 Fischer, E. B. Rosa. 



Treasurer — L. J. Briggs. 



Secretaries — R. L. Paris, W. J. Humphreys. 



General Committee — W. A. DeCaindry, Edgar 

 Buckingham, P. G. Nutting, E. G. Fischer, R. A. 

 Harris, W. S. Eichelberger, F. A. Wolff, G. K. 

 Burgess, B. R. Green. R. L. Fabis, 



Secretary 



THE WASHINGTON CHEMICAL SOCIETY 



The 194th meeting of the society was held at 

 the George Washington University on Thursday 

 evening, December 9, 1909. President Walker 

 presided, the attendance being 55. Dr. Eugene T. 

 Allen resigned as councilor of the American Chem- 

 ical Society, and W. B. D. Penniman was elected 

 in his stead. The following papers were read: 

 " Estimation of Glycerin^ in Meat Preparations," 

 by F. C. Cook ; " Enzymes and their Relation to 

 Soil Fertility," by M. X. Sullivan; "Detection 

 of Colocynth Seed in Powdered Colocynth," by 

 . K. Chestnut. J. A. Le Clebc, 



Secretary 



