ABSTRACTS. 



1157 



of foliage is due in some cases rather to cessation of root- function than 

 of foliar vitality.— C. T. D. 



Grafting\ Specific Variations caused by. Anon. (Gard. Chron. 



No. 832, p. 409 ; Dec. 6, 1902).— In the " Revue Horticole " of Sept. 1, 

 there is a very interesting article by M. Grignan on this subject, much 

 of which is reproduced in the article of which this is an abstract. The 

 writer of the article says, speaking of the paper by M. Grignan which 

 "we reproduce, hoping that some of our cultivators may be disposed to 

 repeat the experiments for themselves and to chronicle the results " : " It is 

 needless to say how much practical importance attaches to these experi- 

 ments. They afford another illustration of the urgent necessity for an 

 experimental garden where such researches can be carried out in a manner 

 that is not practicable in purely business establishments." An account 

 is then given of the result of various grafts made by a M. Daniel, and 

 of some made by Herr Lindemuth, head gardener of the Royal University 

 Garden at Berlin, which are of the most interesting description. This 

 subject is again alluded to on p. 419, in a paragraph headed " Effects 

 of Grafting," in which a note by M. Daniel in the " Comptes Rendus " is 

 quoted, giving an account of some of his experiments, and particularly 

 of grafting Scopolia camicola on the Tomato. — G. S. S. 



Grape, Hybrids {Amer. Gard. 1902, pp. 767, fig. 160, 29/11/1902; 

 p. 833, fig. 173, 27/12 /1902).- Mr. Nelson B. White of Norwood, Mass., 

 after fifty-two years' work in the hybridisation of Grapes, has succeeded in 

 blending together no less than five species, viz. : Vitis Labrusca, V. vul- 

 2)ina, V. Linsccomii, V. rupestris, and V. vim/era. Two distinct groups 

 of hybrids have resulted : (1) the ' Five Nations,' which are especially 

 suited to the production of w T ine ; (2) the 1 New Era,' especially selected 

 for table purposes. Fig. 173 shows a genealogical tree of the 'New Era ' 

 group with two parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents, and 

 two of the great-great-grandparents, and of these only one seems to 

 have been repeated. It would be interesting, from the Mendelian point 

 of view, to know how many of the eight original ancestors can be traced 

 in the present group, and in what characters. — C. C. II. 



Grape Pollen, A Study of (N. O. Booth in Amer. Gard. 1902, 

 pp. 767, 768, 29/11/1902 ; pp. 784, 785 ; 6/12/1902).— A very interesting 

 paper presented to the International Conference on Plant- Breeding at 

 New York City, September 30 to October 2, 1902. The investigations 

 were carried out on the lines of original research and field experiments 

 combined (a happy combination) by Professor Booth at the State Experi- 

 ment Station, New York, the object being to determine the reasons 

 why certain varieties of Grapes are self-sterile. After elaborate laboratory 

 tests and field experiments it was found that the chief reason of self- 

 sterility was "a lack of viability or potency in the pollen itself." There 

 are apparently no " distinct classes of self-fertile and self-sterile forms, 

 but all gradations exist from one extreme (pseudostaminate) to the other 

 (pseudopistillate)." It is suggested that the Grape is " now in a state of 

 evolution from an assumed older hermaphrodite form to forms which are 



