708 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXI. Xo. .540. 



bark, twigs, leaves, etc., I found in this quan- 

 tity of the drift, by actual count, 1,583 seeds 

 and fruits of more than 55 species of plants. 

 These are without exception substances which 

 have been found in the stomachs of birds. 

 What a rich variety of food there is in the 

 drift heaps, and what a truly enormous quan- 

 tity there must be in the cast-up material 

 ■which lines the shores of all of our waters. 

 Besides the vegetable matter there were also 

 several insect pupse and a few living chry- 

 somelids and weevils. 



The following seeds and fruits were con- 

 tained in a half pint of drift collected along 

 Northwest Branch, Montgomery County, Md., 

 March 19, 1905: Tulip-tree (262), pigweed 

 (199), purslane (145), cowbane (124), elder- 

 berry (108), witch grass, etc. (98), oats (75), 

 black mustard (74), common ragweed (51), 

 sedges of genus Carex (44), buttonweed (39), 

 pale persicaria (38), Polygonum spp. (35), 

 lamb's quarters (31), spotted spurge (31), 

 blackberry (28), great ragweed (21), green 

 foxtail (18), yellow sorrel (18), beaked rush 

 (17), yard grass (17), white ash, (12), moun- 

 tain laurel (10), rice cut-grass (9), pokeweed 

 (8), sedges beside Carex (8), black bindweed 

 (7), Pennsylvania persicaria (6), aster (5), 

 alternate-leaved dogwood (4), basswood (4), 

 tubers of sedge (4), wild turnip (3), cockspur 

 grass (3), broad-leaved dock (3), kinnikinnik 

 (3), water oak (3), summer grape (3), green 

 ash (2), touch-me-not (2), broad-leaved arrow- 

 head (2), poison ivy (2), Paspalum sp. (2), 

 water plantain (2), cocklebur (2), nightshade 

 (2), corn cockle (1), bloodroot (1), scarlet 

 sumac (1), spiderwort (1), beggar's ticks (1), 

 mulberry (1), pine (1), spatterdock (1), sour- 

 gum (1). W. L. McAtee. 



Biological Suevet, 

 Washington, D. C. 



an undescribed alternaria affecting the 



APPLE. 



An apparently undescribed species of AUer- 

 naria was found on a single specimen of 

 apple a year ago while the writer was investi- 

 gating apple rots at the Michigan Agricul- 

 tural Experiment Station. On coming to this 

 place the same fungus was found to be one of 



the most common causes of rot in apples in 

 the state of Colorado. Professor W. Paddock, 

 of the Colorado Experiment Station, had al- 

 ready done some work with this fvmgus. 



The disease manifests itself by attacking 

 the blossom end of the fruit, causing a de- 

 cayed area of a very dark brown color. This 

 area may remain quite small or it may gradu- 

 ally enlarge until the whole fruit is involved, 

 after which the decayed specimens dry down 

 to a shrivelled, hard mass. The fungus ap- 

 pears to affect different varieties to an un- 

 equal degree, some apple growers having re- 

 ported that it is almost impossible to secure 

 ripe fruit of certain kinds because of the at- 

 tacks of this disease. In other cases it has 

 been found associated with a blackened con- 

 dition of the seed cavity in ripe fruit, the 

 carpels being much discolored on the inner 

 side. This condition may also be accom- 

 panied by a kind of core rot due to the in- 

 vasion of the flesh around the carpels by the 

 fungus. 



Inoculation experiments are being carried 

 on with a view to determine other possible 

 hosts, as well as the characteristic effects of 

 the fungus on the apple. 



The fungus is apparently carried through 

 the winter on portions of the flowers and fruit 

 that were attacked by the fungus during the 

 preceding season and which are still attached 

 to the trees. Reports indicate that the fungus 

 can be readily held in check by spraying with 

 Bordeaux mixture. B. 0. Longyear. 



Agricultural College Experiment Station, 

 Fort Collins, Colo., 

 January 18, 1905. 



ON THE use in SURGERY OF TENDONS OF THE 

 ARDEID.E AND GRUID.E. 



The subject of sutures and ligatures and 

 their proper sterilization and use has long 

 been an important subject in the realm of 

 modern surgery. Various materials have from 

 time to time been recommended, many to drop 

 by the wayside, and we find even in the ma- 

 terials of the present day, namely, catgut, 

 kangaroo tendon, silk, silkworm gut, horse 

 hair and silver wire, great difference of opin- 

 ion in the minds of surgeons as to their use. 



