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plant which has caused the death of many cattle in western 

 Nebraska, I'tah, Wyoming, and Nevada. In this country 

 arrow grass, known also as goose grass and sour grass was 

 first observed in salt marshes near the coast, but is also found 

 in salty or alkaline spots near streams and lakes in the interior. 

 This plant is the subject of a bulletin just issued by the U. S. 

 Department of Agriculture, "Arrow Grass as a Stock Poisoning 

 Plant," Technical Bulletin No. 113-T. The bulletin reviews 

 previous mention of the plant as poisonous to livestock, de- 

 scribes the plant, and reports experiments in which it was fed 

 to cattle and sheep in various amounts and in different stages 

 of the plant, from fresh-cut leaves to cured hay. 



Dr. E. D. Merrill, the new director of the New York Bo- 

 tanical Garden, has been appointed vice-president of the Fifth 

 International Botanical Congress, which meets in Cambridge, 

 England, this coming August. 



Dr. Loren B. Smith, in charge of the government's research 

 laboratory for the study of the Japanese beetle at Moorestown, 

 N. J., claims that the increase numerically of the beetle has 

 been permanently checked in the districts where it has been 

 for the longest time. The beetle was first noted near Riverton, 

 N. J. and the Department of Agriculture began war on it two 

 years after its discovery here, in 1918. More than 250 species 

 of plants are eaten by the beetle, but some 25 or 30 seem to be 

 especially preferred. Among the preferred plants are apple, 

 quince, pear, cherry, plum, grape, corn, soy bean, and some of 

 the commonly planted shade trees. The checking of the increase 

 of the beetle is due to the introduction of foreign parasites and 

 the increase of factors of natural control. 



