NOTES AND ABSTRACTS. 



769 



moth, but a fungus disease of the former has been unwittingly imported 

 which has been cultivated and distributed artificially, and seems likely 

 to work more destruction upon the moth than the parasites. — A. P. 



Budding- Fruit Trees. By F. Eochau {Garle7iflora, vol. lix. 

 pt. X. pp. 229-230). — ^When a tree has been grafted with an inferior 

 variety, recommends budding on spots from which the old buds have 

 been removed. When the buds begin to grow the upper half of the 

 branch is cut off.— /S'. E. W. 



Bud Rot of Coconut Palm {U.S.A. Dep. Agr., Bur. PI. Ind., 

 Circ. 36). — It is not yet known what causes this disease; very different 

 reports are given by different investigators. It may be due to bacteria. 

 Considerable damage has been done in many coconut plantations. 



L>. M. G. 



Bulbophyllum virescens {Bot. Mag. tab. 8327).— Nat. ord. 

 Orchidaceae ; tribe Epidendreae. Java. Herb epiphyte; leaves ovate- 

 oblong, 6-8 inches long; flowers large and showy, in 8-10 flowered 

 umbels; sepals spreading, cordate-acuminate, tapering, 4-5 inches in 

 length, pale green, with brownish veins and nerves; petals 1| inch 

 long, f inch broad at base, pale green ; lip f inch long, with a purple 

 base. — G. II. 



(Bunt) Stinking Smut and Fung'icides. By G. L. Sutton and 



E. G. Downing {Agr. Gaz. N.S.W. vol. xxi. pt. v. 382-397).— 

 At. Cowra Experimental Farm the best preventive of bunt in 1909 

 proved to be pickling the grain before sowing in a solution of copper 

 sulphate and salt. The solution is prepared by allowing common salt 

 to remain in a 2 per cent, solution of copper sulphate for two hours 

 at a temperature of 140° F. The clear liquid is poured off the undis- 

 solved salt, and the grain is immersed in the solution for five minutes. 

 Fergusine, a proprietary article, also proved to be efficacious. Bordeaux 

 mixture, salt water, and formaHn did not yield good results. — S. E. W. 



Bunt and Fung'icides. By G. P. Darnell-Smith {Agr. Gaz. 

 N.S.W. vol. xxi. pt. ix. pp. 751-756; 3 figs. 1 phte).—Tilhtia 

 tritici or caries and T. levis or foe fans, commonly known as bunfc, are 

 developed from spores in four stages— viz. the spore sends out a 

 delicate germ tube or promycelium, from which eight branches 

 (conidia) are produced. The conidia are united in pairs by a short cross- 

 tube; then the pairs produce a sac, from which thread-like hypha 

 arise, which penetrate the wheat grain and absorb the starch, and 

 again produce the primary spores. Treatment with formalin or with 

 copper sulphate, followed by lime, does not impair the germination 

 of the seed; but treatment with a 2 per cent, solution of copper sulphate 

 alone does kill or impair the vitality of the wheat.— 5'. E. W. 



VOL. xxxvi. 3 E 



