NOTES AND ABSTRACTS. 



I 7 I 



White Pine under Forest Management. By E. H. Frothingham (U.S.A. 

 Dep. Agr., Bull. 13, February 24, 1914). — Of all the trees of eastern North 

 America, white pine best combines the qualities of utility, rapid growth, heavy 

 yield, and ease of management. Its former abundance and the cheapness and 

 varied usefulness of its lumber made it an important factor in the development of 

 the States in which it grew, and even of regions far outside of its natural 

 range. 



The history of white-pine lumbering begins with the first settlement of the 

 country. In 1623 mills were set up in New York, and by 1635 white pine was 

 being exported from New England. At that early date little was known as to 

 the available supply, even in the country close to the shipping points, and in 1650 

 fears were expressed in New England that the timber would soon be exhausted. 

 For more than two centuries, however, the white-pine forests of the Eastern 

 States yielded an ever-increasing output of lumber. The Louisiana Purchase 

 in 1803 opened up in New Orleans a profitable market for the white pine of 

 south-wesjtern New York and north-western Pennsylvania, and immense rafts 

 of logs were floated down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers from the region about 

 the headwaters of the Allegheny. — A. D. W. 



Wire-worms in the Vegetable Garden (Queensland Agr. Jour. p. 377 ; 

 June 1 91 4). — Wire- worms sometimes destroy beds of lettuce, endive, cauliflower, 

 &C; The best way to get rid of these pests is to trap them: Cut up some carrots 

 and beets, and stick the pieces into the ground all over the beds to be protected. 

 When these are taken up on the following day, it will be found that the worms 

 have eaten their way into them. The traps should be lifted with a trowel, 

 because many wire-worms will be found in the soil around them. The only 

 crop which the wire- worm has an objection to is mustard ; if, therefore, a crop 

 of mustard be planted on land infested by the worm, it will perish from starvation. 



C.H.H. 



Wool and Leather Wastes. By E. J. Russell (Jour. Bd. Agr. xxi. pp. 1087- 

 1092 ; March 1915). — Wool waste or shoddy is more abundant this year than 

 usual, owing to the increased output of woollen cloth from the Yorkshire mills. 

 Its decomposition is not effected in one season but the results of its addition 

 to the soil are evident for two or three. Its application is beneficial to all 

 ordinary crops on both light and heavy soils. The usual rate of application 

 is 10 cwt. to the acre (7 lb. to the square rod), and its nitrogen content (upon 

 which its value is based) varies from 2 per cent, to 15 per cent., the former 

 containing much dirt and cotton waste. It can usually be purchased in Yorkshire 

 at 45. to 5s. the unit of nitrogen, and to this the cost of carriage, which is rather 

 high, must be added. 



Leather waste is very resistant to decomposition, and its value as a fertilizer 

 is almost nil, though it is to be feared that it is used after grinding by 

 unscrupulous dealers in making compound manures, for it may contain up to 

 7 per cent, of nitrogen. It -may be readily recognized in compounds by 

 the tendency it has to float on water and swell up. — F. J. C. 



Woolly Aphis : a Japanese Formula for its Destruction (Queensland Agr. Jour. 

 July 1914, p. 40). 



Rape-seed oil . . . . . . • 3l pints. 



Sulphur . . . . . . . . i£ oz. 



Turpentine . . . . . . 7I oz. 



The rape-seed oil should be boiled alone for a very short time, followed by 

 adding the turpentine slowly, stirring continually until they are thoroughly 

 mixed. Stir in the required amount of well-crushed sulphur. Use a strong fire 

 and allow to cool, when the mixture assumes a darkish colour. Paint the attacked 

 parts of the trees. This wash can also be recommended for use in the control of 

 other aphides and the destruction of their eggs. — C. H. H. 



Xenia. By Abrial (Rev. Hort. d'Alg., No. 3, March 1914, p. 99). — Foche 

 has given the name of Xenia to facts which do not concern heredity, but which 

 are fundamentally of the same nature as Telegonia. Cases of Xenia are perhaps 

 more numerous than is generally supposed. Some authors deny the facts 

 altogether, while others cite some which are perhaps not exactly conclusive. 

 It is probable that the pollen germinating on the style of a plant of a different 

 genus, species, or even variety may, by its development in the tissues of the 

 plant, modify the neighbouring cells, and thus even the whole female organ, that 

 is the pericarp. At maturity, if the modifications due to the strange pollen on 



