February 18, 1885. 



SCIENCE. 



125 



white silver-skinned;' it is also a little less early." 

 It may be noted, further, that the Messrs. Landreth 

 of Philadelphia declare their ' extra early Bloomsdale 

 pearl,' which is remarkably flattened in form to be 

 the earliest of all onions. 



In twenty so-called varieties of the turnip, the 

 axial diameter is noted as less than, or equal to, the 

 transverse diameter. Of these, one is called 'very 

 early,' nine are called 'early,' one is called 'rather 

 early,' and five are called ' half early.' In fourteen 

 varieties the axial distance is noted as greater than 

 the transverse diameter. Of these, one is called 

 ' late,' one ' a little late,' one 'medium,' five are called 

 'half early,' three 'rather early,' and three 'early.' 

 The 'rouge plat de mai de Munich,' described as 

 being 'very much flattened,' is said to be 'unques- 

 tionably the earliest of turnips.' The ' rouge de 

 Milan,' called 'very flat,' is pronounced 'one of the 

 earliest.' In the majority of the long-rooted turnips 

 the season of maturity is not noted, — a fact in itself 

 suggestive ; for the more depressed forms would hardly 

 be noted as ' early,' if they were not earlier than 

 others. 



It maybe objected to this hypothesis, that a root or 

 bulb that grows in a round or flattened form would 

 naturally sooner acquire the requisite size for table 

 use than one that grows long and slender, and that this 

 fact alone is not sufficient to indicate a physiological 

 relation between the form of the root and its time of 

 maturity. The time of the first bloom, and the first 

 ripe seed in different varieties, mark definite stages 

 of development, which, we may assume, are less 

 dependent upon the influence of selection. If, there- 

 fore, we find that the time of bloom and of seed ma- 

 turity bear a relation to the form of the root, we have 

 additional evidence in favor of our hypothesis. We 

 have gathered from records of the station such data 

 as bear upon the point, with the results noted in the 

 following table : — 



Radish {1883). 

 Turnip-rooted .... 

 Long-rooted .... 



Radish (1884). 

 Round, or turnip-rooted 

 Long-rooted .... 



Beet (1883). 

 Turnip-rooted .... 

 Long-rooted . . . . 



Carrot (1883). 

 Short-rooted . . . . 

 Long-rooted . . . . 



No. of 

 vari- 

 eties. 



Average 



days to first 



bloom. 



°t~3 



57f 



60 T 'o 

 63 



57| 



59 



52 



Average 



days to first 



ripe seed. 



116| 

 123| 



108 

 112^ 



112 

 116 



119 

 122 



In the radishes, those have been called ' long-root- 

 ed ' in which the axial diameter exceeded the trans- 

 verse diameter. In the beet and carrot the division 

 was necessarily more arbitrary, but the shortest-rooted 

 varieties were called respectively ' turnip-shaped ' and 

 'short.' It is evident that the figures given in the 

 table sustain the hypothesis, so far as they go. Ob- 

 servations made in the station garden upon many 

 varieties of beet, carrot, onion, radish, and parsnip, 

 indicate, that, in general terms, the degree of earliness 

 is proportionate to the degree of ' flatness ' of the 

 root, though exceptions are not very uncommon. 



Should further evidence establish this hypothesis? 

 we have a valuable guide for selection in producing 

 new varieties. We may not only hope to increase our 

 earlier varieties by selecting the more flattened roots; 

 but by rendering the roots of the earliest long vari- 

 eties short through selection, or possibly through 

 influence of cross-fertilization, we may reasonably 

 hope to secure earlier varieties than have as yet been 

 obtained. For example: the 'early long scarlet' 

 radish, though it has a long slender root, is scarcely 

 less early than the ' early scarlet turnip-rooted.' It 

 would appear, therefore, that in this variety we have 

 a parent for an earlier radish than is at present known. 

 The roots of this variety vary considerably in thick- 

 ness as compared with the length. By selecting for 

 seed through a series of generations the roots having 

 the greatest proportional diameter, we may hope to 

 promote earliness. Experiments in this line are 

 already in progress at our station. 



Emmett S. Goff. 



N. Y. agricultural experiment-station. 



Domes mounted on cannon-balls. 



The chief objection urged against the mounting of 

 rotatory domes on cannon-balls is the difficulty ex- 

 perienced in keeping the balls at equal distances 

 apart. If the dome is much used, this objection be- 

 comes a serious one; and no dome so large that it 

 would require more than four balls should be mounted 

 in this manner. If the sill and the bed-plate of the 

 dome are so well built that they retain their figure 

 sensibly perfectly, and the track is kept thoroughly 

 clean, the balis will ordinarily not be found to change 

 their relative position very much, except during the 

 winter season. At this time of the year, and under 

 favorable conditions of temperature, the fine snow 

 which is often driven into the observatory, under- 

 neath the dome, will, if allowed to remain in the track, 

 form an icy coating over the balls as they pass through 

 it, no matter what the weight of the dome may be. 

 Under such conditions, if the dome is forcibly moved, 

 the incrusted ball will often change its relative posi- 

 tion several feet, thereby perhaps imperilling the 

 safety of the dome. David P. Todd. 



A NEW PLAN FOR THE SCIENTIFIC 

 ASSOCIATIONS OF BOSTON. 



A short time ago we referred to the difficulty 

 of obtaining a reasonable attendance at the 

 meetings of scientific societies in Boston, and 

 found one obstacle to be the comparative in- 

 frequency with which our scientific men come 

 into general contact with one another and with 

 the public. To-day we propose one external 

 remedy, which may serve in time to better this 

 state of things by multiplying the opportuni- 

 ties, and so increasing the chances of contact. 

 By it we believe that not only science, but the 

 whole community, will be the gainer. 



Our plan consists in the concentration of the 

 principal scholarly institutions of the city in a 



