NOTES AND ABSTRACTS. 
421 
bears large white flowers with purple spots. Double Hollyhock, salmon yellow. 
Gloxinia-flowered Salpiglossis, height 2^ to 3 feet, very floriferous red velvet 
flowers. Anemone-flowered China Aster, petals cream white, centre cream 
yellow. Cyclamen ' Perle de Saint Germain mauve,' fimbriated flowers re- 
sembling a Cattleya. MyosoHs ' Elegant,' double pink blooms which remain 
in flower a long time. Perpetual-flowering Carnation ' Kubis,' bright red. 
Begonia semperflorens ' Le Cygne,' bears groups of white flowers'' with slightly 
waved edge. Dwarf Hybrid Petunia, compact habit and large flowers. 
Perpetual-flowering Carnation ' Papa Auda,' scarlet flowers on stiff stalks. 
Veibena ' Manteau de Pourpre,' rich violet purple. China Aster ' Marechal 
Joffre,' compact, semi-dwarf habit, bearing numerous small single flowers of a 
red-purple colour with a golden disc. 
Vegetables : Early Turnip ' Croissy,' white roots, 8 inches long. Early Pea 
' Roi des Gourmands,' curved pods. Potato ' Gros de Gatinais,' large cropper, 
rich in starch. Dwarf Haricot 'M^tis beurre,' yellow pods, is gathered green. 
Beetroot 'Module red globe.' Cabbage 'Copenhague,' solid round heads on 
short stalks, early. Butter Bean 'Bountiful,' long green pads, not stringy. 
Tomato ' Soleil levant,' scarlet, smooth skin, does not crack. Cardoon ' Blanc 
am6Hore/ thornless, blanches quickly. Early Pea ' Serpette Merveille ' is an 
improvement on ' Serpette Express.' — S. E. W. 
Nuphar polysepalum Engelm. By T. A. Sprague {Bot. Mag. t. 8852, Sept. 
ig2o). — This yellow-flowered water-lily is a native of mountain lakes of Colorado, 
and has larger flowers than any other Nuphar and nine instead of six petaloid 
sepals. It is of slow growth and apparently di£&cult to establish, though it has 
now flowered at Glasnevin. — F. J. C. 
Odontoglossum cristatum Lindl. By R. A. Rolfe {Bot. Mag. t. 8809 ; 
Sept. 1919). — Discovered by Hartweg when collecting for the R.H.S. in Ecuador 
about 1840. Introduced later by Linden. It is a more slender plant than 
O. crispum, and has yellow flowers about two inches across, with brown spots and 
flushed with brown at ends of segments. — F. J. C. 
Olives, The Ripening and Pickling of Calif ornian. By R. W. Hilts and R. S. 
HoUingshead {U.S.A. Bur. PI. Ind., Bull. 803, Jan. 1920, pp. 1-24 ; 5 plates). — 
The results of the investigations indicate that the best index of maturity for 
olives both fresh and pickled is the percentage of oil in the fruit. The minimum 
oil content of 17 per cent, is offered as a tentative standard for maturity for 
' Mission ' olives and other common varieties except the ' Manzanillo ' (minimum 
15 per cent.), the ' Ascolano,' and the ' Sevillano.' Because of the great variations 
in the composition of olives of the same variety grown in different localities, it 
is never practicable to set up definite and fixed minima for oil in mature olives, 
and the proposed standards must be applied with caution. The detection of 
gross frauds of immature olives being pickled aiid coloured to resemble ripe 
olives may be determined by using these tentative standards. — A. B. 
Onion Diseases and their Control. By J. C.Walker {U.S.A. Bur. PI. Ind., 
Bull., pp. 1-24 ; 12 figs.). — The various fungus diseases of the onion may be 
divided into those diseases met with in the beds, e.g. smut, mildew, leaf-mould, 
fusarium, root-knot ; and those important in storage and in transit, e.g. neck rot, 
soft rot, fusarium, black mould, smudge. In addition there are various diseases 
due to insect pests. 
Onion smut {Urocystis Cepulae) appears as the seedlings come above the ground, 
and causes brown to black blisters to form in the scales or leaves, and black 
powdery masses of spores are then produced. Most of the seedlings die in two or 
three weeks. If they can become 4 inches high they may survive, and if trans- 
planted may develop into bulbs. The control measures include destruction by 
fire and treatment of soil with formaldehyde solution. 
Onion blight (mildew) forms a furry violet mass on leaves and stem, and 
may spread over the whole plant, especially in damp weather. The c usal 
organism is Peronospora Schleideni), and is an external parasite. The control 
measures include suitable rotation of crops and efficient drainage. 
Leaf- mould {Macrosporium parasiticum) is of minor importance. Fusarium 
rot {/'. spp.) attacks field plants but develops rapidly in storage onions. Root- 
knot is due to attacks of eelworms {Heterodera radicicola) and may be generally 
avoided by suitable crop rotation. 
Storage Diseases. — Neck rot caused by Botrytis spp. is most destructive and 
widespread in storage onions. The fungus is a mould which reproduces by 
