392 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



the Scrub Pine is one of the most useful of its family for planting on 

 waste poor lands where few other trees could succeed. The timber is 

 of little value, commercially speaking, and although used for railway 

 and other purposes, the principal use is as fuel. For charcoal and 

 pulpwood it is also in use. — A. D. W. 



Sedum, Description of a New, from Mexico. By Eaymond 



Hamet {Not. Konig. Bot. Berlin, vol. v. No. 49, pp. 277-278; June 

 1912). — A detailed description in Latin of this new perennial species 

 of Sedum, which is named Sedum Adolphi. The specimens described 

 were grown in the Dahlem Botanic Garden from seed sent by 

 Purpus from Mexico. This species, although very closely allied to 

 S. allardoide and S. Treleasei described by J. N. Eose, is yet quite 

 distinct from these. — R. B. 



Seed and Size of Fruit. By T. A. Harris {Bot. Gaz. pp. 396- 

 414, May 1912; 1 fig.). — The author has carried out a laborious 

 biometrical research on the number of ovules, of seeds, and the size 

 of fruit of Staphylea. Pollination is a stimulus to the development of 

 the ovary. The coefficients of correlation show that there is a very 

 substantial interdependence between the number of seeds and fruit 

 length in both Cercis and Staphylea. He finds by biometrical investi- 

 gation no relationship between the number of ripe seeds and number 

 of ovules, nor between length of pod and number of ovules. Nor is 

 a mechanical stretching of the pod apparently admissible. The 

 correlations of length of pod and number of seeds with number of fruits 

 on an inflorescence or with position of pod on inflorescence are slight. 



One cannot explain the correlation (length pod with number of 

 seeds) by favourable nutrition or innate vigour — i.e. by the individuality 

 of the plant. 



He therefore concludes that in both Cercis and Staphylea the length' 

 of the fruit is an effect of the number of seeds. — G. F. S. E. 



Seed Development. By T. A. Harris {Beih. Bot. Cent. Bd. 28, 

 Abt. i. Heft 1, pp. 1-16; 1 fig.). — The author has examined over 

 8000 fruits of Staphylea trifolia, and in this paper gives biometrical 

 tables regarding number of pods to each inflorescence, number of ovules 

 in each loculus of ovary, number of ripe seeds in each loculus. He 

 also examines the effect of the position of pod on the inflorescence in 

 bringing about a greater or less number of ripe seed. 



He finds that so far as this research is concerned, the relative, 

 as well as the actual, number of seeds developing seems to be very 

 little dependent upon either position of the inflorescence or number of 

 fruits developing in each inflorescence. 



There is a slight negative correlation for number of fruits and 

 number of seeds developing, but position on the inflorescence seems to 

 have no sensible influence on the capacity of the fruit for maturing its 

 seeds. 



Fertility and fecundity are not always so easily influenced by the 



