NOTES AND ABSTRACTS. 



strongly II. rujufiis of our gardens, but the average weight of the 

 tuber clusters — some 8 or 1) lb.— produced by single spring-planted 

 tubers appears extraordinary. In tho second article numerous cooking 

 recipes are given. — C. T. 1). 



Hoodia Currori. By N. E. Brown (Hot. Mag. tab. 8186). — Nat. ord. 

 Asclepiadaceae ; tribe Stapelieae ; Angola. A bushy succulent perennial, 

 2 2.J, feet high ; stem with L8 rows of spine- tipped tubercles; flowers 2-4 

 or more together; corolla ;>', 5 inches diameter, saucer-shaped, pinkish fed 

 with ochreous-tinted rays on the central part. O. II. 



Hypodermic Injection in Plants. Anon. (Qard. Ckron. 

 No. 1045, January 5, 11)07). Experiments have boon made by M. J. M. 

 Simon, with a new of restoring vigour to decaying fruit trees, by 

 injecting certain nutritive fluids into their tissues, with considerable 

 success. The method of procedure is to place a vessel containing the 

 fluid, about G feet from the ground, near the tree: from this a pipe 

 connects with a tube which is forced into the tree just above the level 

 of the soil. By this means the liquid is subjected to a certain amount of 

 pressure. It mingles with the sap, and is carried to aJJ parts of the tree. 

 Cabbages, cauliflowers, and potatos have been treated much in the same- 

 way with similar results. — (J. S. S. 



Incuspidaria dependens. By T. A. Sprague {Sot. Mag, tab. 

 8115). — Nat. ord. TiUaceae; trine Elaeocarpeae ; Central Chile, A small 



tree, 20 HO feet high. Leaves obovate or elliptic;; flowers I \> inches in 

 the axils ; petals oblong, three-toothed, white. — (J. LI. 



Indigofera arrecta, On the Cause of ''Hardness" in the 

 Seeds Of. By C Bergtheil ami \). B. I My (Ann. IU>1. vol. xxi. January 

 1JJ07, pp. •>! 00; 1 plate). Certain members of the Leguminosae are 

 known to possess seeds provided with an excessively hard coat, which 

 does not allow of the penetration of water, and consequently prevents 

 germination from taking place. The authors have investigated the case 

 Of Indigofera arrecta, and find that the outermost covering of the seed 



consists of a substance which is probably intermediate in nature between 



cellulose and cuticle, and which is impermeable to water. 



An increased percentage of germination can be obtained by scarifying 

 the seeds or by treating them with a solution of concentrated sulphuric 

 acid. The action of the scarifying is doubtless to remove a portion of 

 the resistant covering, and thus to allow penetration of water.- A. I). (J. 



Insecticides, Results of Experiment Station Work with. 



iiy B. V. Wilcox (U.S.A. I Jap. Ayr., Office of K.rp. Sin,., Hep. L9O0J 

 pp. 289-280). An account is given of work in the various < -iperiment 

 stations with insecticides. The lime-sulphur-salt wash, frequently 

 referred to in these abstracts, is most used against seal* in ects with 

 almost uniformly good results, and is recommended in some cases against 

 the attacks of some fungi, such as apple seal;, .vc. The results of 

 experiments with crude oils and kerosene, diluted and mixed with other 

 substances, are much more at variance than those obtained with the lime- 



8 b 



