NOTES AND ABSTRACTS. 



165 



including bees visiting the flowers, special stress is laid upon the necessity 

 of eradicating the blight in large districts rather than by single efforts in 

 individual orchards. The treatment consists in inspecting the trees 

 during winter, removing all affected growths by cutting below the point 

 of infection, afterwards disinfecting the cut surfaces and tools with an 

 antiseptic solution. Trees in which the trunk is affected are to be com- 

 pletely destroyed. All the sprouts and fruit spurs on the trunk and main 

 limbs are to be removed, and cultivation and irrigation resorted to as little 

 as possible, since rapid growth is conducive to the spread of the disease. 

 Unfortunately " the inability, disinclination, or actual refusal of some 

 growers to do the work at times convenient to our limited force of 

 inspectors, or in some cases to do it at all," seriously interfered with the 

 systematic and thorough accomplishment of the work. Some 700,000 

 trees have been inspected individually so far, and in Sacramento County 

 3*8 per cent, had to be condemned. — F. J. C. 



Pear-Melon, The. By P. Baccarini {Bull. R. Soc. Tosc. Ort. 7, 1906 

 p. 193). — This fruit appears in the Italian markets in the winter not in- 

 frequently. It comes from the Peruvian Andes, and is there grown in 

 several varieties at an altitude of 2,000 to 2,400 metres (6,600 to 7,900 feet). 

 The natives call it Pcpino or Pcpino de terra, Pepo, &c. It appears to be 

 common in the markets of Chili, Peru, and Bolivia. Ancient travellers 

 all sing its praises, but warn Europeans against eating it in too great 

 quantities as it produces colic and visceral troubles. It is a half-shrub, 

 with branches rooting at the base, probably stoloniferous, with lanceolate, 

 entire, pubescent leaves, and very floriferous. The " Journal des Observ. 

 Phys. et Mathem.," Paris, 1714, described and figured it first ; then 

 Aiton, a little later in the " Hortus Kewensis," gave it the name of 

 Solanum muricatum. The figure given by Heritier in "Stirpes Nova?, 

 &c," Plate cvi., agrees exactly with the imported form. Lowe found it 

 cultivated in 1867 in the Canaries in great abundance, and described it 

 under the name of Solanum insigne in the " Journ. Hort. Soc." i. p. 178. 

 In his manual, "Flora of Madeira," he states that he introduced it 

 there from the Canaries. Webb and Berthelot, the natural historians 

 of the Canaries, make no mention of it. It is not unlikely that this 

 subtropical plant could be grown in the maritime region of Italy. 



w. c. w. 



Peperomia : the Morphology and Seedling Structure of the 

 Geophilous Species of ; together with some views on the Origin 

 Of Monocotyledons. By Arthur W. Hill (Ann. Bot. vol. xx. October 

 1906, pp. 395-427; 2 plates). — The comparative examination of the 

 morphology of the geophilous Peperomias, by the author, brings to light 

 some points of exceptional interest. At the conclusion of the paper 

 theoretical considerations of wide bearing are discussed. 



The early history of the embryo follows the usual course, but in 

 germination there are striking aberrations from the dicotyledonous type 

 common to the majority of species, for the seedling is in appearance 

 monocotyledonous. One cotyledon remains more or less enclosed in 

 the seed and performs the function of absorption, the other supplements 

 this reserve supply by performing the function of carbon assimilation. 



