556 JOURNAL OF THE EOYAL HOKTICULTUEAL SOCIETY. 



was found by Miss D. R. Wilson on the fringe of a wood near Sherborne, 

 Dorset, and sent to Kew. 



It presents a very rare kind of ^metamorphosis : namely, the metamor- 

 phosis of the lateral or paired sepals into spurred organs, of which the 

 limb is unlike the lip. Nearly all parts of the three-spurred flower are 

 more or less modified, in response, apparently, to the chief modification. 

 The kind of deviation which this orchid shows has been designated false 

 or irregular peloria, because the parts concerned belong to different whorls : 

 that is to say, two of the spurred organs belong to the sepal series, and one 

 to the petal series. — B. B. 



Podophyllum, Leaves of (Bot. Gaz. vol. xlvii., No. 6, June 1909, 



pp. 438-444). — Mr. T. Arthur Harris has investigated biometrically the 

 two leaves found on the flowering stem of P. peltatum. The degree of 

 lobing was selected for examination and two sets of 400 and 339 pairs 

 respectively were obtained from different localities. The coefficients of 

 variation were between 11-30 and 14*43 and the leaves were therefore 

 rather less variable than leaf characters in general. 



The correlations (number of lobes on lower and on upper leaf) were, 

 for one series -428 and for the other -468, which resemble the homotypic 

 relationships found by Pearson and others for various leaf characters. 

 The lower leaf has on an average one lobe more than the upper one. 



G. F. S.-E. 



Potato Culture {U.S.A. Dep. Agr., Maine, nil; June 1909).— A 

 manual of potato culture prepared for the use of farmers in the State of 

 Maine, where potatos form an increasingly important crop. The points 

 touched on include soil, crop rotation, seed, method of planting, manures, 

 cultivation, and disease. Great care in the selection of seed is advised, 

 and diagrams are given showing how to cut the potatos for setting. It 

 is even suggested that the extra labour involved in marking the most 

 flourishing plants among the growing crop to be retained for seed will 

 prove profitable in the long run. — M. L. H. 



Potato Scab Treatment with Formalin in "Spraying Potatos 

 against Blight and the Potato Beetle." By E. P. Sandsten and J. G. 

 Milward (U.S.A. Exp. Stn., Wisconsin, Bull. 168; Nov. 1908).— Where 

 potatos are grown on a limited scale, the seed may be sacked in burlap 

 sacks and soaked, before cutting, in the following solution for 1^ hours : 

 formalin (40 per cent, solution) 1 quart, water 30 gallons. Where it is 

 desired to treat the potatos on a larger scale, the following is more 

 applicable : Crate the potatos, and place in a room of known dimensions, 

 which can be securely closed and fastened. Place 24 ounces of potassium 

 permanganate in a large dish-pan, and pour upon this 4 pints of formalin 

 solution (40 per cent.). Close the room tightly, and leave the potatos 

 exposed for about thirty-six to forty-eight hours. The formaldehyde gas 

 is liberated, and kills the scab fungus without injuring the sprouting 

 power of the seed. The above-mentioned proportion of materials is given 

 for 1,000 cubic feet of space. The proportion should be varied, of course, 

 when a larger space is used. In the rest of the bulletin potato blight and 

 spraying machinery is illustrated and described. — C. H. H. 



