201 



which the apparatus lends itself. With certain adaptations, 

 which are believed mechanically possible, the apparatus might 

 be used in connection with growing plants to study their tran- 

 spiration, respiration, etc., as well as the energy required for 

 these different physiological processes. But little is known re- 

 garding the energy changes of plant activity, and this apparatus 

 seems to afford means of extending knowledge along that line. 

 Indeed, the possibilities for the study of the respiratory exchange 

 and energy production of vegetable products and plant life are 

 well-nigh unlimited, and open up a line of investigation of great 

 importance." 



The seeds and plants imported by the Bureau of Plant In- 

 dustry in the early part of 1910 make, with their descriptions, 

 an eighty-page booklet which is supplied free of charge by the 

 Department of Agriculture. 



Volume one, number one, of the Journal of the Washington 

 Academy of Sciences has just appeared. It is " . . . a medium 

 for the publication of original papers and a record of scientific 

 work in Washington [D. C.]. It accepts for publication (i) brief 

 papers written or communicated by resident or non-resident 

 members of the academy; (2) abstracts of current scientific 

 literature published in or emanating from Washington; (3) pro- 

 ceedings and programs of the affiliated societies; and (4) notes 

 of events connected with the scientific life of Washington." 

 The journal is a semi-monthly, costs six dollars a year to non- 

 members of the academy, and is not offered in exchange. Very 

 little botanical is found in this first number, but there are ab- 

 stracts of W. H. Kempfer's paper on the preservative treatment 

 of poles, and of F. G. Plummer's Forest Service Bulletin No. 85 

 on "Chaparral: Studies in the dwarf forests, or elfin wood of 

 Southern California." 



Bulletin 87 of the Forest Service deals with the Eucalpyts 

 in Florida. It contains nearly fifty pages of interesting reading, 

 illustrations, and a table showing the various species, their uses, 

 rate of growth, climatic and soil requirements, etc. 



