NOTES AND ABSTRACTS. 



501 



of Venezuela. The petals and sepals are deep red, but the bracts, 

 stalk, and lips are pink. S. undulata is difficult to distinguish from 

 S. marginata. It comes from New Granada, and is found at an 

 altitude of 2200 feet. The petals and sepals are brown, and the 

 labellum is violet red. 



S. WaUisii occurs in New Granada and Peru about 4000 feet above 

 the sea. The flowers are yellowish-brown, with white lips. 



Chauno-Schomburgkia.- — S. Galeottiana is a native of Mexico and 

 Yucatan, and closely resembles 5. tibicinis, but the flowers are brighter. 

 S. Humboldtii is a large-flowering variety from Venezuela. 5. lepi- 

 dissima has a stem 3! feet long, with dark red flowers. S. Sanderiana 

 is perhaps identical with the above variety. 5. tibicinis, from Central 

 America, has a long stem bearing panicles of large flowers. The 

 petals and sepals are waved, brownish-red in colour, with white lips, 

 and are edged with red. S. Thomsoniana, a native of the West 

 Indies, has small yellow flowers and a red labellum. S. campeacheana, 

 a native of Central America, is probably a natural hybrid of S. undulata 

 and 5. Thomsoniana. Schombocattleya spiralis is the only known 

 hybrid obtained from the pollen of Schomburgkia. — 5. E. W. 



Schools of Agriculture and Domestic Economy in Wisconsin. 



By A. A. Johnson (U.S.A. Dep. Agr. Office of Exp. Stns., Bull. 242. 

 1 map, 5 plates). — An account of the Agricultural Trade Schools in 

 Wisconsin. On page 6 we read " These schools . . . have for their 

 sole object the educating of farmers' boys and girls who do not wish 

 to take an extensive college course, but who are anxious to get that 

 form of training which will be most useful to them when they take 

 charge of the home farm or the farm home." 



Each school is described and photographic illustrations are given. 

 The curriculum is also stated. 



Pages 19-24 give statistics relating to the cost of maintenance 

 and number of students in attendance, together with the law relating 

 to these schools. — W. W. 



Seeds of Compositae and other Orders, Germination of the. By 

 Hans Bocker (Beih. Bot. Cent. Bd. 29, Abt. 1, Heft 1, pp. 21- 

 143 ; with 23 figs.). — In this paper, the author gives a very full account 

 of experiments in the germination of fruits and seeds of those species 

 in which there are two or more kinds of fruit and seed. But besides 

 this, which is the main subject of his researches, there are many 

 interesting observations regarding the differences in percentage 

 germination in light and in darkness, and of seeds freed from the 

 pericarp as compared with others in their natural state. 



Some fifty-three plants were fully examined, of which those most 

 interesting to horticulturists will probably be Calendula, Catananche, 

 Chrysanthemum, Galinsoga, Layia, Rhagadiolus, Sanvitalia, and 

 Zinnia. 



Three Cruciferae and three Chenopodiaceae (Atriplex and Oxyris) 

 were also examined. 



