247 



chestnut blight. Up to 191 1 the Department of Agriculture 

 estimates the country's loss at $25,000,000. In Pennsylvania 

 there are large areas not yet invaded by the chestnut disease, 

 and $275,000 have been appropriated for studying and combating 

 the disease. 



An anti-frost candle has been added to the protective devices 

 (smudges, oil heaters, firepots, etc.) for fruit trees. The candles 

 contain a slow burning substance and can be suspended near the 

 fruit, distributing heat at the level most needed. 



The state board of education of Utah has recently ruled that 

 every high school which receives support from the maintenance 

 fund provided for high schools must teach agriculture. Utah 

 is probably as good a state as any in which to enforce the teaching 

 of agriculture; not only because of the proportion of farm land, 

 but because of the peculiar conditions attending western farming. 

 Nevertheless, such legislation is hardly the best thing for any 

 new subject. This is particularly true of agriculture which to 

 be well taught demands a good biological foundation and some 

 practical experience. Compulsory adoption of a new subject 

 forces poorly prepared teachers into the w^ork, and is a disad- 

 vantage which wise advocates — even the most enthusiastic — - 

 would try to avoid. 



It is to be hoped that the Utah provisions are in the form of an 

 increased appropriation for such schools as include agriculture 

 in the curriculum, and not an enactment making it compulsory 

 upon pain of losing the entire state appropriation. 



In repeating some of Overton's plasymolysis experiments with 

 living cells Professor W. T. V. Osterhout {Science, August 11) 

 finds that the "usual methods of determining osmotic pressure 

 by plasmolyzing in salts of Na and K is very erroneous. Salts 

 of Ca give more nearly the true osmotic pressure." 



Solutions of calcium chloride and sodium chloride — each too 

 weak to cause plasmolysis — caused very prompt and strong plas- 

 molysis which mixed together; this indicates that "it is unsafe 



