NOTES AND ABSTRACTS. 



725 



side to the other. Sprinkle the solution on with a common watering-pot, 

 and at the same time keep shovelling the grain over and over. When the 

 kernels are all wet the treatment is finished. The grain should not be 

 treated very long before planting, or it will start growing. After treat- 

 ment it should be allowed free circulation of air, so that it will dry 

 quickly.— M. C. C. 



Wild Rice : its Uses and Propagation. By Edgar Brown and 

 Carl S. Scofield (U.S.A. Dept. Agr. Bur. PI. Ind,, Bull. 50, 1903; illus- 

 trated with seven half-tone plates). 



Wild Rice (Zizania aquatica) is a valuable product, as it is almost the 

 chief farinaceous food of the North American aborigines, especially the 

 Ojibwas, and also serves to fatten myriads of wild fowl in the eastern half 

 of the States. Attempts to sow it artificially have generally failed owing 

 to its not germinating. This pamphlet gives the result of experiments on 

 this subject, and it has been found that the best way to ensure success is 

 as follows : 



Firstly, to place the order for seed early, before the Wild Rice harvest 

 has taken place, so that it may be shipped immediately. 



Secondly, to keep the seed moist, whilst travelling or stored, either in 

 barrels of water constantly changed, or in wet packages of moss or 

 excelsior, properly ventilated. 



Thirdly, to sow as soon as possible, preferably in autumn, in a suitable 

 depth of water, not stagnant, nor yet so swiftly running as to wash away 

 the soft mud beneath. — C. H. C. 



Willows. By R. P. Brotherston (Gard. Chron. No. 855, p. 305 ; 

 May 16, 1903). — These trees are known by a great variety of names in 

 this country. These and the many uses to which the wood, &c, is put 

 are given very fully in this article, and many old customs and traditions 

 in connection with these plants are mentioned. The cultivation of the 

 Osier in this country appears to have been first tried just a hundred years 

 ago ; previously they had been imported from Holland. — G. S. S. 



Wire Netting 5 for Strawberries and Peas (Joum. Hort. October 

 29, 1903, p. 400). — Coarse wire netting, 3-inch mesh, arched over 

 Strawberries so that the flowering stalks grow through it, supports the 

 fruit and saves it from the soil. A method for utilising similar netting 

 where pea rods are scarce is explained. The writer has adopted the plan 

 successfully for half a century. — C. W. D. 



Woodlot, The. By Henry Solon Graves and Richard Thornton 

 Fisher (U.S.A. Dep. Agr. Bur. Forestry, Bull. 42). — This handbook is 

 mainly intended for the use of owners of woodlands in Southern New 

 England, and contains chapters on planting, pruning, woodland protection, 

 injuries to timber, and reproduction. Practically the whole of the New 

 England forests are under sixty years' growth, which means that the entire 

 area has been cut over at least once, the owners generally felling their 

 timber as soon as it is fit for the market. Generally speaking, these 

 forests are composed of hard woods, such as Oak, Chestnut, Maple. 

 Hickory, attd Ash, though in Rhode Island the White Pine abounds along 



