632 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Centaurea dealbata {Journ. Hort. June 11, 1903, p. 514). — A 

 useful dwarf, hardy herbaceous plant, with pink flowers and ornamental 

 leaves, silvery beneath, recommended for mixed borders — with a life- 

 sized engraving. — C. W, D. 



Cereus Greggii. By W. W. (Gard. Chron. No. 867, p. 93, fig. 43 ; 

 Aug. 8, 1903). — This extraordinary Cactus is remarkable for its large 

 carrot-like root, which attains the length of 18 inches, and a diameter 

 of 8 inches, with a weight of 12| lbs. The writer says : ' A Cactus with a 

 large tuberous root is an anomaly, reserve food material being almost 

 invariably, in the plants of this order, stored in the succulent stems, the 

 root system being comparatively small." This species has been lately 

 imported from Arizona, and appears to be rare, but may be found in 

 Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Two specimens are now at Kew. 



G. S. S. 



Ceylon Patanas, Botany Of. Part 2. By J. Parkin and H. H. W. 

 Pearson {Journ. Linn. Soc, Bot. vol. xxxv. p. 430, pis. 11 & 12). — The 

 authors, in the introduction, say : "In a former paper (vol. xxxiv. p. 300) 

 some account was given of the grass-lands, locally known as ' patanas," 

 which cover a large part of the surface of the montane region of Ceylon." 

 The patanas are of two kinds, wet and dry ; the former are as a rule 4,500 

 feet above the sea, and the dry below that altitude. " Judging from the 

 characters of the soil and climate of the two regions, the plants of the 

 ' dry ' patanas might be expected to show a greater xerophytic tendency 

 and a more marked protection against insolation than those of the ' wet ' 

 patanas. With a view to verifying these deductions the subaerial parts of 

 eighty species, all Dicotyledons except two, have now been submitted to 

 anatomical examination." The results of this examination are given in 

 a table showing the thickness of the various layers of cells, the number of 

 stomata, &c. This is followed by a general summary of the anatomical 

 characters of the leaf, a comparison of these characters in the plants 

 from the ' wet ' and ' dry ' patanas, remarks on the structure of erect and 

 semi-erect leaves, special points in the anatomy of the leaf bearing on 

 xerophytism, additional points of anatomical and physiological interest, 

 and a general summary. In their concluding remarks the authors say : 

 "In a former paper it was stated that 'the flora of the patanas as a whole 

 is composed of plants which, generally speaking, present characters which 

 bend to reduce transpiration and to protect delicate parts from the in- 

 jurious effects of intense illumination.' This view, the result of field 

 observations, is sufficiently borne out by the anatomical characters, herein 

 recorded, of those plants which have been available for examination." 



G. S. S. 



Charlock (Brassica sp.), Destruction of (Qw. Agr. Joum. xii. p. 

 816, May, 1903). — One of the most troublesome weeds the wheat farmer 

 in Queensland has to contend with is a member of the Cabbage family. 

 Experiments have been made and recorded of various sprays which have 

 been employed for the destruction of Charlock. A machinist has now- 

 invented a spraying machine which covers a width of 24 feet with its 

 movable arms. The results obtained by spraying with the "Straw- 



