NOTES AND ABSTRACTS. 



133 



OnoSma tenuiflorum. By J. Britten (Jour. Bot. 526, p. 346; 

 10 1906). — A reclamation of this name, dating from 1797, for 0. rupestre 

 of 1808. — G. S. B. 



Ophrys museifera var. vireseens. By E. A. Rolfe (Jour. Bot. 

 535, p. 282; 7/1907). — A note on an exceedingly rare variety of the 

 Fly Orchis from Wye, Kent. — G. S. B. 



Oranges : Decay whilst in Transit from California. By 



G. Harold Powell and others (U.S.A. Dep. Agr., Bull. 123; March 

 1908 ; 9 plates). — This bulletin gives the result of inquiry into the decay 

 of oranges during transit from California to the East, the loss being 

 estimated at from 500,000 dollars to 1,500,000 dollars annually, the 

 output latterly being from 25,000 to 32,000 cartloads, i.e., from 6,000,000 

 to 11,000,000 boxes, having a gross value of from 25 to 32 million 

 dollars annually. The common blue mould, Penicillium glaucum, was 

 always found to be associated with decaying oranges. This fungus has 

 always been considered as saprophytic, but the inoculation of sound 

 oranges with the spores of this species has, without exception, resulted 

 in the characteristic decay. Investigation has shown that the decay 

 has followed through mechanical abrasions of the skin. Most of these 

 injuries are invisible to the inexperienced eye. The most common forms 

 of injury were caused by the clippers in cutting the fruit from the tree. 

 If the fruit is packed promptly after picking, and is shipped at once 

 in a cool temperature, the decay may not develop in transit. The tempera- 

 ture changes slowly in transit. In a car in which the fruit is cooled to 

 40° F. or lower before shipment the temperature remains nearly constant, 

 if the car is re-iced regularly in transit. — M. C. C. 



Oxalis, Yellow-flowered Species Common to Europe and 

 America. By B. L. Robinson (Jour. Bot. 527, pp. 386-391 ; 11/1906).— 

 A critical comparison of three species : 1. 0. cornictdata, the commonest 

 species of Continental Europe, the British Isles, and the eastern United 

 States, the 0. stricta of most English and Continental writers, known 

 as a weed and of doubtful origin ; 2. 0. stricta, indigenous in North 

 America, but apparently introduced in Devonshire, Jersey, and France, 

 the 0. corniculata of most English writers, and 0. Navieri of France; 

 and 3. 0. repens, tropical and sub-tropical in a wild state, and as a weed 

 in greenhouses, the 0. comiculata of the Continent. — G. S. B. 



Paeonia MlokosewitSChii. By W. Watson (Bot. Mag. tab. 8173).— 

 Nat. ord. Banunculaceae, tribe Paeonieae. Caucasus. Leaves biternate, 

 3-4 inches long ; flowers 4-5 inches diameter ; petals eight, roundish, 

 sulphur-yellow.— G. H. 



Paracaryum racemosum. By J. Britten (Jour. Bot. 526, p. 343 ; 

 10/1906). — A reclamation of this name, according to the Vienna rules, 

 for Cynoglossum angustifolium. — G. S. B. 



Peach, A new, * Jessie Kerr.' By Charles Baltet (Rev. Hort. 

 March 1, 1908, p. 101). — This American peach is highly recommended 



