NOTES AND ABSTRACTS. 



271 



the manure in relation to plant food. He remarks that the horticulturist 

 who buys artificial manures but does not look carefully after the liquid 

 manure from stables and cattle sheds, nor studies the best mode of 

 application, is not practising economy, as he buys at great cost the chemical 

 ingredients which he might have at a trifling outlay of time and labour. 

 It is everywhere noticeable that, since artificial manures can be obtained 

 with facility though at considerable expense, there is a tendency in 

 gardens to neglect the natural manures because more laborious in 

 application than the artificial manures. — W. G. 



Maples, Chinese. By A. Henry (Gard. Chron. No. 837, p. 21, 

 Jan. 10 ; No. 839, p. 62, Jan. 24 ; and No. 842, p. 100, Feb. 14, 1903).— 

 In this paper is given an annotated list of 24 Chinese species of Maple, 

 but the author says : " The above list by no means exhausts the Chinese 

 Maples ; other species occur in the north of China and in the coast 

 provinces, and I had only an opportunity of seeing part of Mr. Wilson's 

 dried specimens." 



The list is divided into the following sections : " Simple-leaved species ; 

 species with tri-lobed, five-lobed, five to seven lobed, and trifoliate leaves." 

 Many of these species are in cultivation in Messrs. Veitch's nursery at 

 Coombe Wood, besides those Maples proper which all belong to the genus 

 Acer. Two species are described under the genus Dipteronia, a very 

 nearly allied genus. — G. S. S. 



Mendel's Methods of Plant-breeding-. By C. C. Hurst (Gard. 

 Chron. No. 838, p. 33, Jan. 17, 1903 ; and No. 840 p. 76, Jan. 31, 1903).— 

 This paper, which describes Mendel's methods of experimenting in hybrid- 

 isation, was read before the International Conference on Plant-breeding 

 and Hybridisation, New York City, September 30, 1902. It appears that 

 the first hybrid plant raised by hand that has been recorded was a cross 

 between a Carnation and a Sweet William, which was raised by T. Fair- 

 child at the Hoxton Nurseries ; since then numberless crosses have been 

 made between different plants. As long ago as 1866 G. Mendel published 

 at Brunn some remarkable experiments he had made in crossing distinct 

 races of Pisum ; his work, however, did not attract much attention in the 

 scientific world until the year 1900, when it appeared in the Journal of 

 the Royal Horticultural Society. Mr. Hurst says : " It seems to be tco 

 early yet to regard Mendel's principles as of general application to plants 

 and animals. At the same time Mendel's experiments are a great advance 

 on what has been done before, and will probably prove a stepping-stone 

 towards the final solution of the problems of inheritance. For the 

 present it may be wise to suspend our judgment and wait for further 

 facts." An account is given of Mendel's methods. — G. S. S. 



Mistletoe. Anon. (Le Jard. Feb. 20, 1903, p. 51).— It is observed 

 that, although State edicts have been issued in France for the destruction 

 of Mistletoe by landowners, no attempts are made to check its spread in 

 the State forests, where it is doing much damage to the trees. — C. W. D. 



Mole Cricket of Porto Rico. By O. W. Bennett (U.S.A. Exp. 

 Stn. Porto Bico, Bull. 2, 9/1902; 1 fig.). — This insect (Scapteriscas 



