NOTES AND ABSTRACTS. 



637 



reduced the supply of American cotton that any cotton, however 

 indifferent, was sure to fetch a good price, and Algerian growers were 

 no longer at the pains to select the pure Hardy variety. Again, after 

 he had devoted himself tO' the work of the experimental garden for 

 twenty-six years, Hardy was superseded and replaced by a commercial 

 company, under whom the distribution of pure seed at once ceased. 

 The duty of providing a race of plants which shall be absolutely suited 

 to the cultural and economic conditions of the colony is again being 

 recognized by the Government, and this article is a description of the 

 efforts which are being made in this direction and of the experiments 

 in hybridizing and grafting cotton which are being made. — M. L. H. 



CPane-Fly, The Smoky. By James A. Hyslop {U.S.A. Dep. 

 Agr., Bur, Entom., Bull. 85, pt. vii. ; Oct. 1910; 7 figs.).— The larvse 

 of the Smoky Crane-fly {Tipula infuscata Loew.) do much damage 

 to pastures, hayfields, and clover. They are commonly known as 

 " Leather Jackets," and they suck the juices of the roots and devour 

 the plant tissue. The female fly deposits about 300 eggs, and the 

 larvse are frequently found in enormous numbers, as many as 

 200 having been counted in an area a little over 1 foot square. 



Only one parasite is known, but many birds eat the eggs, larvee, 

 and adults. Probably the best way of treating an infested field is to 

 plough the sod under in early autumn, and either sow corn or leave 

 it fallow the ensuing summer. — V. G. J. 



Creatine and Plant Growth. By J. J. Skinner (Bot. Gaz. 



vol. liv. No. 2, pp. 152-168; Aug. 1912). — Creatine and its anhydride, 

 creatinine, are found in soils, and also occur plentifully in animal pro- 

 ducts, wine, meat, &c. 



The author used wheat seedlings grown in solutions of various 

 proportions of calcium, acid phosphate, sodium nitrate, and potassium 

 sulphate. To' 132 cultures, fifty parts of creatinine per million were 

 added in sixty-six cases. The average increase in growth amounted to 

 9 per cent. Without other nitrogen the increase amounted to 36 per 

 cent. With 8 ppm. of NH3 creatinine produced 17 per cent, increase 

 in green weight, but with higher proportions of NHg the increase sank 

 to 8 per cent. 



The plants supplied with creatinine do not respond so markedly 

 to added nitrate (which seems to show that the plant can obtain nitrogen 

 from this material). 



Similar increases were shown when creatine was used. — G. F. S. E. 



Dandelions, Spraying" to Eradicate, from Lawns. By G. T. 



French (U.S.A. Exp. Stn., New York, Bull. 335, March 1911).— 

 In some parts of the United States the method of spraying lawns 

 with a solution of iron sulphate to eradicate dandelions is successful, 

 but in New York, after experiments, it cannot be recommended. 



G. H. L. 



