644 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



other species begin to germinate in a few days, and even though grown on 

 sterile sand the seedling may attain a size of ten inches and live a month. 

 Cuscuta europcea is distinct from the rest. It only begins to germinate 

 after two or three months, and even after the lapse of ten months the 

 germination of new seeds proceeds slowly. Without respect to the time 

 of sowing, the month of March has been found to produce more germinated 

 seeds than any other month. Cuscuta europcea, grown on sterile sand 

 produces a tiny seedling which soon dies unless transferred to a medium 

 with some food-material, most of the quickly-germinating Dodders have a 

 nitrogenous endosperm, while Clover Dodder and Cuscuta cnropcea have 

 both a very minute starchy endosperm. The author discusses the relation 

 between germination on the one hand, and the endosperm and hardness of 

 the coat on the other. 



The second paper deals with the origin of two large-seeded Dodders 

 which in recent years have become very destructive in Europe. Cuscuta 

 racemosa, an extremely common weed- seed in samples of Chilian Red 

 Clover in Europe and Britain, is a native of South America, but not of 

 North America, It is becoming common in samples of French Red Clover 

 from Provence. Cuscuta arvensis is at present extremely common in 

 Hungarian Red Clover. It is a native of North America, and although 

 it is rarely found in samples from the United States or Canada, it was 

 probably introduced into Hungary from those countries. — W. G. S. 



Dogtooth Violets (Joum. Hort. September 19, 1903, p. 242).— It 

 may not be generally known that these are amongst the easiest and most 

 satisfactory bulbs to grow in the grass. Plant 6 inches deep where grass 

 is not rank in growth. — C. W. D. 



Dormant Seeds (Journ. Hort. October 8, 1903, p. 327). — A case is 

 given of an excavation through a pasture-field in Hertfordshire where the 

 ground contained many Roman remains. Scarlet Poppies, Henbane, and 

 Rape, plants hitherto absent, came up in abundance. The subject has often 

 been discussed. — C. W. I). 



Draba Gilliesii. By Sir J. D. Hooker (Bot. Mag. tab. 7913).— Nat. 



ord. Crucifcrce, tribe Alyssinece. Native of Chili. A perennial tufted 

 plant, 1-10 inches long. Flowers \-\ inch diameter, white. — G. H. 



Dry-rot Problems. By C. v. Tubeuf. (Nat, Zcit. Land- Forst. i. pp. 

 89-104 ; 1903). — An extremely useful paper, because it suggests possible 

 lines of investigation on obscure points in the life-history of this destructive 

 fungus. The late Robert Hartig regards the dry-rot fungus (Mcrulius 

 lachrymans) to be (like the domestic mouse, &c), a native of human 

 habitations, rarely found except where there are buildings in which timber 

 is used in the construction. It is important to know whether this fungus 

 occurs in freshly felled timber, because if it does it can be introduced 

 into new buildings with the timber. The number of authentic records of 

 its being collected at any distance from dwellings is remarkably few ; this 

 paper records not more than a dozen cases in Germany in the nineteenth 

 century. Professor Tubeuf requests mycologists to let him have any 

 specimens of the dry-rot fungus collected in conditions free from con- 



