Maech 22, 1907 J 



SCIENCE 



473 



In looking over the tribes one finds many 

 familiar genera, more than half being more or 

 less common in this country. Thus one finds 

 Andropogon (18 species), Paspalum (4 sp.), 

 Panicum (34 sp.), Setaria, (4 sp.), Leersia 

 (1 sp.), Sporoholus (3 sp.), Agrostis (1 sp.), 

 Aristida (3 sp.), Calamagrostis (2 sp.), 

 Diplachne (1 sp.), Eragrostis (10 sp.), Poa 

 (2 sp.), Bromus (1 sp.), etc. Four genera 

 and thirteen species of bamboo (BambusecB) 

 are recorded, but as to these the author states 

 that his treatment is still necessarily incom- 

 plete, owing to the rare flowering of most of 

 the species, and the unsatisfactory condition 

 of the available herbarium specimens. The 

 author concludes that ' on the whole, the 

 Philippine Gramineae are strongly Malayan or 

 Indo-Malayan, with a decided northern ele- 

 ment in the highlands of northern Luzon, and 

 a rather characteristic [north] Australian 

 one.' In this connection the reader may 

 profitably consult 0. B. Eobinson's paper on 

 ' Some Affinities of the Philippine Flora ' in 

 the January number of Torreya. 



Here may well be mentioned four pamphlets 

 from the Philippine Bureau of Forestry, con- 

 sisting of the annual report of the director. 

 Major G. P. Ahem (including sixteen fine 

 plates, most of which are of botanical in- 

 terest) ; Bulletin 4 (including a paper on me- 

 chanical tests, properties and uses of thirty 

 woods, and another on Philippine sawmills, 

 lumber market and prices) ; Bulletin 5 (in- 

 cluding a working plan for a forest tract on 

 Negros Island, with twelve plates and a map) ; 

 Bulletin 6 (including a working plan for a 

 forest tract on Mindoro Island, with fourteen 

 plates and a map). These bulletins contain 

 much matter of interest to the general 

 botanist, as well as to the forester. 



EFFECTS OF SHADING ON SOIL CONDITIONS 



The Bureau of Soils of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture has published a 

 bulletin (No. 39) prepared by Mr. J. B. 

 Stewart, on the effects of shading on soil 

 conditions which is of much interest to plant 

 physiologists. He shows that under the pro- 

 tection of a tent (1) the soil retains more 

 moisture, (2) the temperature of the air is 



slightly warmer, (3) the relative humidity of 

 the atmosphere is greatly increased, diminish- 

 ing the transpiration of the plants and increas- 

 ing their turgidity, (4) the velocity of the 

 wind is reduced, still more reducing evapora- 

 tion, (5) the plants make a larger, more rapid 

 and earlier growth. The exact data for 1, 2 

 and 3 are as follows, in averages for the 

 season : 



Inside Outside Differ 



tent tent ence- 



Soil moisture 14.7% 11.6% 3.1% 



Temperature 72.8° 71.4° 1.4° 



Relative humidity .. 79.0% 71.7% 7.3% 



The growth of plants inside and outside of 

 the tent is plotted on cross-section paper, 

 showing very plainly that the plants in the 

 tent grew faster and larger, and matured at 

 an earlier date than the plants outside. The 

 author points out, however, that " while the 

 plants grew faster, and the leaves larger, the 

 yield per acre was less by 100 to 300 pounds 

 inside the tent than outside. This was prob- 

 ably due to the influence of the shade, which 

 tends to make the surface of the leaves larger, 

 but at the same time much thinner." 



Charles E. Bessey 

 The Univebsitt of Nebraska 



HENRI MOISSAN^ 



membee de l'institut 



But what I can not put into these successive 

 chapters, is the joy I experienced in pursuing 

 these discoveries. To walk in a newly-turned 

 furrow, to feel one's self untrammelled, to see new 

 subjects for study spring up on all sides, is so 

 delightful that it can not be fully comprehended 

 except by those who have experienced the ardent 

 pleasure of research. 



With this closing to a preface, Moissan 

 throws open the door and invites us to par- 

 ticipate with him in the discoveries made with 

 the electric furnace. This most skillful of 

 experimenters, having won his spurs in the 

 conflict of isolating fluorine, thus distancing 

 all others who had attempted the task, he 

 attacks new problems with zeal, and the ability 

 of an accomplished craftsman. He was truly 



'■ Eead before the New York Section of the Amer- 

 ican Chemical Society. 



