NOTES AND ABSTRACTS. 



253 



persistent flowering species, capable of bearing many degrees of frost, 

 can be accommodated. The flowers, which are abundant, are over an 

 inch in diameter, of a pretty mauve tint with a yellow disc, and are 

 produced almost throughout the year in a cold house, and all through 

 the spring and summer in the open. Culture easy, and can be raised 

 either by seed or cuttings. — C. T. D. 



Fern Breeding-, Selective. By Chas. T. Druery {Gard. Mag., 

 Febmary 5, 1910, No. 2936).— Details of the results obtained by 

 sowing spores of carefully selected varieties are given, and the 

 parentage of many well-known and very beautiful plants now grown. 



E. B. 



Formalin, the Effect of, on the Vitality of Seed Grain. By 



E. Stewart and J. Stephens (U.S.A. Exp. Stn. Utah, Bull. 108; 

 April 1910). — These experiments were undertaken in consequence of 

 complaints by farmers that : 



1. The formalin treatment injured the germinating power of the seed 

 to such an extent that the crop yield was seriously affected. 



2. The formalin treatment was not effective in destroying smut 

 spores. 



3. If for any reason the planting of the treated seed was delayed, 

 it had a tendency to spoil. 



4. The formalin sold in the State of Utah had a tendency to lose 

 its strength. 



5. The formalin sold in the State was not up to the standard. 

 They are said to have resulted in the following conclusions : 



1. The formalin treatment is effective in preventing the loose and 

 covered smut of oats, the covered smut of barley and bunt of wheat. 



2. The formalin solution, even as dilute as one pound of formalin 

 to sixty gallons of water, reduces somewhat the vitality of the seeds of 

 wheat, oats, and barley. 



3. Oats are more resistant to the influence of formalin than wheat 

 and barley are. 



4. The best strength of solution to use is one pound of formalin 

 to fifty gallons of water. 



5. The seeds may safely be treated for one hour in a solution of 

 one pound to fifty gallons of water. 



6. If the treated seed be thoroughly dried, it may be safely kept 

 for at least six weeks after treatment. — M. L. H. 



Fruits, Accelerating- the Ripening- of (Gard. Mag., January 15, 

 1910, No. 2933, pp. 48).— Professor A. E. Vinson, of the Arizona 

 Experimental Agricultural Station, has succeeded in ripening the fruit 

 of date palms in less than three days. It was known that Arabs 

 applied cloths moistened with vinegar to bunches of dates in order to 

 " sweeten up " unripe fruits. Sprays of fruit subjected to a vapour 

 of acetic acid at a temperature of 45^0. for twelve to fifteen hours 



