150 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



LItchi. By J. E. Higgins (U.S.A. Exp. Stn., Hawaii, Bull. 44; 9 figs.).— 

 The Litchi is a native of China. It prospers in a deep, moist alluvial soil and 

 needs an abundance of manure. The Litchi is easily raised from seed, which 

 germinates quickly. As the seeds soon lose their viability, they should be 

 preserved by enveloping them in a mixture of damp sphagnum and powdered 

 charcoal and keeping them in a tin tube. Propagation is more usually effected 

 by layering, or by grafting on the Longan {Euphoria longana). The seedlings 

 have b. m known to fruit in five years, but frequently twenty years are required 

 before they come into bearing. The fruit is liable to attacks by the larvae of 

 the moths Cryptophlebia UUpida and Archips postvittanus. The remedy is 

 spraying with lead arsenate. The roots of the trees are frequently attacked 

 by mealy bug. 



The Litchi is also subject to erinose due to a species of mite (Eriophyes). 

 Spraying with a solution of 10 oz. of nicotine sulphate, and i| lb. of whale oil 

 in 50 gallons of water is an efficient remedy. — 5. E. W. 



Lupines as Poisonous Plants. By C. D. Marsh, A. B. Clawson and H. Marsh 

 (U.S.A. Dep. Agr.,Bull. 405 ; 10 figs.). — Many sheep have been killed by eating 

 lupines, as the alkaloids present in the lupine are poisonous. The alkaloid is 

 not a cumulative poison, so sheep are able to eat a certain amount of the plant 

 with impunity, but when hungry sheep are grazed on fields where lupines are 

 abundant danger arises. Well-fed sheep would incur no ^risk in such a 

 pasture. — 5. E. W. 



Maize for ripening in England. By Prof. R. C. Punnett (Gard. Chron. 

 Jan. 11, 1919, p. 13; with fig.). — Records of successful crops grown in 1914 

 and succeeding years. The strain used being raised by Prof. Biffen from two 

 kinds, called Gehu and Eighty-day White. Of other varieties tried, Yellow 

 Flint yielded the heaviest crop. Recommends the trial of such maizes by 

 smallholders. — E. A. B. 



Manganese, Occurrence in Insect Powders. By C. C. McDonnell and R. C. 

 Roark {Jour. Agr. Res. xi. pp. 65-76, Oct. 19 17). — It has been reported that 

 manganese occurs in the flower-heads of Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium of 

 both Dalmatian and Japanese origin, but not in the flower-stems. The authors 

 show that it occurs also in the flower-stems and that its occurrence is therefore 

 no guide to the detection of adulteration. — F. J. C. 



Manures, Decomposition of Green and Stable. By R. S. Potter and R. S. 

 Snyder (Jour. Agr. Res. xi. pp. 677-698, Dec. 191 7). — The general conclusions 

 are that (1) addition of lime causes more rapid decomposition (and therefore 

 greater availability) of soil organic matter ; (2) the addition of stable or green 

 manure (oats and clover) to the limed soil causes the more rapid decomposition 

 of the total organic matter, but the addition of lime lessens the decomposition 

 of the added matter considered alone ; (3) all the manures tended to conserve 

 lime ; (4) the addition of stable manure did not increase the rate of decomposition 

 of green manure in unlimed land and only slightly in limed land ; (5) there 

 is not a great difference in the rate of decomposition of green manure added dry 

 in a finely pulverized condition, and that added in a relatively coarse state. 



F. J. C. 



Maurandia Purpusii T. S. Brandegee. By S. A. Skan (Bot. Mag. t. 8697 ) 

 Feb. 1917). — Discovered by Mr. Purpus in Mexico, and introduced through 

 Darmstadt to Kew 1912. A tuberous perennial, perhaps hardy in dry situations, 

 with ascending or prostrate stems, 3-4 feet long, triangular leaves about 1$ in. 

 long and solitary axillary flowers, bright rose purple about i\ in. long and about 

 an inch across at the slightly two-lipped mouth. — F. J. C. 



Megacarpaea polyandra Bentn. By O. Stapf. (Bot. Mag. t. 8734 ; 

 November 1917)- — Cruciferae. Native of the Himalayas. A hardy perennial 

 which, however, does not flower very freely in this country. Its nearest ally 

 is M . bifida, but the two species are easily distinguished by their leaves, the 

 segments of which are toothed in M . polyandra and entire in M. bifida. In- 

 florescence a large panicle, flowers yellowish white, fruits winged, tawny when 

 ripe. — L. C. E. 



Masembryanthemum Pillansii De Wild. By N. E. Brown (Bot. Mag. t. 8703 ; 

 March 19 17). — Native of South Africa. An undershrub, will grow well under 

 conditions suitable for other members of the genus. M. Pillansii can be dis- 

 tinguished from all other members of the genus by its long spathulate petals. 

 The outer petals are purple with a white filiform claw, the inner petals are white, 

 filiform, sharply incurved over the stamens. — L. C. E t 



