NOTES ANI> ABSTRACTS. 



711 



bitter, but animals are fond of them. They keep well, not being subject 

 to rot.— W. C. W. 



Solomon's Seal (Joum. Hort. September 17, 1903, p. 265).— This 

 is recommended as an excellent subject for early cultivation in the green- 

 house and conservatory. Besides its ornamental qualities, the flowers 

 are very fragrant. — C. W. D. 



Soot Fungi on Cultivated Plants in German East Africa, Some 

 injurious. By P. Hennings (Not. Kowig. Bot. Berlin, Bel. IV., pp. 80-82 ; 

 August 80, 1903). — Short notes on certain new Pcrisporiacece and Gap- 

 noeli icece, viz. Limacinia tangensis Henn. on Mangos, Palms, &c. ; 

 Zukalia Stuhlmanniana Henn. on Cocos, PJumix, and Zingiber aceez ; 

 Pleomoliola Hyphcenes Henn. on Hyph&ne ; and Asterina Stuhlmanni 

 Henn. on Pineapples. — H. M. W. 



Sorghum Poisoning* (Sorghum vulgare) (Qie. Agr. Joum. xiii. 

 p. 59, -July 1903; xiii. p. 93, Aug. 1903). — Sorghum has been grown 

 for many years for fodder purposes, and frequent deaths are reported to 

 have occurred amongst dairy stock, attributed to this cause. In 1902 Mr. 

 Henry Tryon stated that he had discovered that the plant in question, 

 during a certain period of its growth, naturally contains prussic or hydro- 

 cyanic acid. This question has since been investigated by Dr. W. Max- 

 well, Director of the Queensland Sugar Bureau, and he has proved 

 incontestably that Sorghums, Millets, Amber-cane, Kaffir Corn, Maize, &>c, 

 all contain the poison from the earliest stages up to the ripening of the 

 seed. In Egypt it is well known to the Arabs that the green portions of 

 the young plant, known as ' Dhurra,' are poisonous, and during this period 

 the plantations are protected in order to prevent cattle from feeding on 

 the immature growth. The poison is most intense when young plants, 

 1 foot high, or less, are kept without water for a long time. Here follow 

 descriptions of the experiments, their chemical relations and nomenclature 

 with final observations on " The Cyanogenetic Constituents of Plants." 



M. G. G. 



Sorg"hum Poisoning". By Dr. Maxwell (Qu. Agr. Joum. xiii. p. 473, 

 Nov. 1903). — In further experiments one series of plantings was 

 allowed to grow without any special manurial assistance, and another 

 series was manured with nitrate of soda. The experiment was made in 

 order to see if the supply of additional nitrogen to the soil affected the 

 amount of prussic acid incorporated in the growing plant. The results, 

 according to repeated analyses, have shown that the supply of available 

 nitrogen increases the amount of poison that the Sorghum and other 

 plants are capable of making and storing up within their composition. 

 These facts fully bear out the statement that Sorghum and similar plants, 

 when grown on rich soils, would be more liable to contain highly danger- 

 ous amounts of the poison than when grown on soils poor in nitrogen. 

 Prussic acid has been found in quantities varying from a mere trace up to 

 the danger point. So far, however, only Panicum muticum comes 

 anywhere near the Sorghum plant in the dangerous content of the poison, 

 and several, including Sugar-cane and Paspalum, so far as they have been 

 tested, being completely free from prussic acid.— M. G. G. 



