June 16, 1911] 



SCIENCE 



941 



To be published in full in the current number 

 of the Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific 

 Society. 



Natural History Notes: E. W. Gudger, State 

 Normal College, Greensboro. 



A. An Interesting Case of Symbiosis (speci- 

 mens exhibited). — For six successive seasons, 

 wood frogs, leopard frogs, toads and salamanders 

 (species unknown, probably Ambly stoma puncta- 

 tum) have been observed to lay their eggs in a 

 small pool in the college park. Each spring it 

 has been noted that the eggs of the salamanders 

 only had a greenish color. Microscopic examina- 

 tion shows that this is due to great numbers of 

 a very small unicellular green alga found within 

 the inner mass of jelly. The green color grows 

 more marked as the development of the eggs takes 

 place, due presumably to the larger amount of 

 CO; given off as the larvae become more active. 

 Since no algse have ever been found in the outer 

 or general mass of jelly, it seems possible that 

 they may penetrate the oviducts of the salamander 

 and become enclosed in the inner capsule of jelly 

 as the eggs pass to the exterior. 



B. So7ne Plant Abnormalities. — A bifurcated 

 frond of the common Boston fern was exhibited. 

 This was one of two growing on one plant in the 

 writer's laboratory at the present time. Three 

 years ago two others were noticed on different 

 plants. 



A drawing was exhibited of a motile Hcemato- 

 coccus with four flagella. This was found last 

 fall in a lot of fresh material from a cemetery 

 urn. 



Conjugating Yeasts: W. C. Cokek, University of 



North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 



In the course of experiments by an advanced 

 class in the fall of 1910 the rare and peculiar 

 wild yeast, Schizosaccharomyces octospora Beyer- 

 inck, was found. It appeared in test-tubes that 

 were filled with distilled water in which were a 

 number of unbroken Delaware grapes that were 

 bought in the local market. A day or two after 

 the tubes were prepared a slow fermentation set 

 up, and later a precipitate appeared. On exam- 

 ination of this precipitate after three weeks it 

 was found to contain the Schigosaccharomyces iu 

 process of conjugation. A later experiment made 

 with Tokay grapes gave a similar result. Cultures 

 were continued and the life history studied in all 

 stages, confirming in general the observations of 

 Guilliermond. Four species of Schieosaceharo- 

 myces are known, all supposed to be tropical or 



subtropical, and S. octospora has not been found 

 before in America. 



Sesults of a Practical Attempt to Control Lettuce 

 Sclerotiniose : E. L. Stevens, North Carolina 

 College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, West 

 Ealeigh. 



Lettuce sclerotiniose has been the subject of 

 investigation for several years in the North Caro- 

 lina Agricultural Experiment Station. From the 

 laboratory study it was concluded that all struc 

 tures except the selerotium are short lived; there- 

 fore, that if the formation of new sclerotia could 

 be prevented diseased beds could eventually be 

 restored tc health. To test this theory several 

 experimental beds were very thoroughly infected 

 in April, 1908, by heavily inoculating a large 

 number of plants and allowing the sclerotia which 

 were formed to remain in the beds. The follow- 

 ing year 555 plants, or over 45 per cent., died of 

 sclerotiniose. From this time on a course of 

 treatment designed to prevent the forming of 

 sclerotia was followed with the hope of lessening 

 the disease. The following year only seven plants, 

 or one half of one per cent., of the crop died. A 

 year later, that is, the present year, the results 

 were almost the same. This experiment seems to 

 indicate that control of this disease can be ob- 

 tained by the methods employed. 



Studies in Soil Bacteriology, V. — The Nitrifying 



Powers of North Carolina Soil: F. L. Stevens 



and W. A. Withers, assisted by P. L. Gainey, 



F. W. Sherwood and T. B. Stansel. 



During 1909 and 1910 samples were taken from 



58 localities representing 21 different soU types, 



in each of which was a good soil and a poor soil, 



The soils came from sixteen counties. Nitrifica 



tion was expressed as N. E., N. I. P. and N. I. P, 



in Solu., which terms have been explained in pre 



vious publications.^ 



A summary of the results is: 



N. E. N. I. P. 



Maximum found 105.1 89.9 



Average for good soil . 8.7 44.7 



Average for poor soil . 5.0 34.8 



Average for all soils . 6.8 39.8 



N. I. p. 

 in Solu. 



1.5 



0.6 



0.6 



06 



There is seen to be a great difference in results 

 by different methods of testing. There is also a 

 difference between the results obtained by the 

 same method on samples taken from the same 



"■ Centralblatt f. Baht., Abt. II., Bd. 25, 1910, 

 p. 64. 



