868 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XIX. No. 492. 



not perfect fish. Yet they have the character- 

 istics of the albino parents. 



Of the fry from the second cross 42 per 

 cent, hatched; but none were alive at the end 

 of one month. Some of them were imperfect 

 in form, and were colored more like the nat- 

 ural male parent, but not entirely so. 



From the third cross all the eggs were fertile 

 except eight — a loss of but two per cent. — and 

 all are living at the end of thirty days. There 

 are practically no cripples, and the coloring 

 is typical of the natural female parent. 



The silver gray albinos did not spawn. They 

 have the appearance of barren fish. 



These fish were exhibited by this department 

 at the New York state fair last fall and at- 

 tracted much attention. 



C. E. Pettis. 



Forest, Fish and Game Commission, 

 Albany, N. Y., 

 April 1.5, 1904. 



BOTANICAL NOTES. 



WEEDS USED IN MEDICINE. 



Under this title the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture issues an interesting bul- 

 letin (Farmers' Bulletin, No. 188) prepared by 

 Alice Henl^el, assistant in drug and medicinal 

 plant investigations. The author calls attention 

 to the fact that many of the common weeds of 

 the farm and garden possess medical properties, 

 and in some cases might be collected and made 

 a source of revenue. Thus in his fight with 

 the plant pests in his fields the farmer may 

 actually turn them to some account, by col- 

 lecting and preparing them for the market as 

 crude drugs. Directions are given for col- 

 lecting and curing, and suggestions are made 

 as to their disposal when ready for the market. 

 They are first considered under roots, barks, 

 leaves and herbs, flowers and seeds. Follow- 

 ing this are descriptions of some of the more 

 common weeds which have medicinal impor- 

 tance, illustrated by a number of good figures. 

 No less than twenty-four species are taken 

 up in this part of the bulletin. It should 

 prove very useful to many farmers and 

 gardeners. 



THE DATE PALM IN AMERICA. 



In a recent bulletin (No. 53) of the Bureau 

 of Plant Industry of the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, Walter T. Swingle makes 

 a report of his investigations of the date 

 palm as grown in Algeria, and of the at- 

 tempts to introduce it into California and 

 Arizona. The purpose of the bulletin, as 

 stated by the author, " is to call attention to 

 the peculiar suitability of the date palm for 

 cultivation in the hottest and most arid re- 

 gions in the southwestern states, and to its 

 remarkable ability to withstand large amounts 

 of alkali in the soil. The most intense heat, 

 the most excessive dryness of the air, the 

 absence of all rainfall for months at a time 

 during the growing season, and even the hot, 

 dry winds that blow in desert regions, are not 

 drawbacks, as in almost all other cultures, 

 but positive advantages to the date palm, en- 

 abling it to mature fruit of the highest ex- 

 cellence." The author shows that the Salton 

 Basin in California ' is not only the most 

 promising region in the United States, or in 

 North America, for the culture of the best 

 sort of dates, but that it is actually better 

 adapted for this profitable culture than those 

 parts of the Sahara Desert where the best ex- 

 ported dates are produced.' It is shown to be 

 probable that this single region is capable of 

 producing dates enough to supply the demand 

 for the whole country. Other regions in 

 California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and 

 Texas are discussed, the conclusion being that 

 in all of these states date palms of certain 

 varieties may be grown with profit. 



From the bulletin it appears that there are 

 three principal types of dates cultivated by 

 the Arabs, viz : ' soft dates,' which are very 

 sugary and include the sorts with which we 

 are familiar ; ' sour dates,' which contain a 

 much lower percentage of sugar, not enough, 

 in fact, to preserve them; 'dry dates,' which 

 are not at all soft or sticky when ripe, and 

 which may be stored and kept indefinitely. 

 None of the last are to . be found in the 

 American markets, and scarcely any of the 

 second type. Of the ' soft dates,' the variety 

 which bears the name of ' Deglet Noor ' is the 

 most famous. It is very late in maturing. 



