NOTES AND ABSTRACTS. 
219 
branchlets often being a foot or more in length. Trees on exposed, drier slopes 
have very much shorter twigs. 
The wood of drooping juniper is a clear yellowish-brown, with a rather thick 
layer of nearly white sap-wood. It is moderately hard and heavy, straight- 
grained, and very narrow-ringed. 
Freshly cut wood has a strong cedar odour. Seasoned heart-wood is very 
durable, and has been extensively used locally for mine timbers and to a limited 
extent for fence posts. — A. D. W. 
Cypress, The Southern. By Wilbur R. Mattoon {U.S.A. Dep. Agr., Bull. 
272, September 27, 1915). — In the amount of lumber produced in 1913 cypress 
ranked sixth of the conifers. On account of the durability of the heart-wood 
and its moderate softness, which makes it easily worked, cypress is a wood of 
high value. 
Cypress trees not uncommonly reach an age of over a thousand years, a height 
of from 120 to 130 feet, and a diameter above the basal swell of from 8 to 10 feet. 
Cypress is very persistent in growth, and is one of the few conifers which success- 
fully sprout from the stump. 
The total cut of cypress lumber in 191 3, exclusive of lath and shingles, was 
1,097,247,000 board feet. Since shingle and lath are made from the slabs and 
other kinds of " mill waste," and poles and ties are usually cut from small sizes 
not considered in the original estimates, the relation of cut to the total standing 
timber is unaffected by the lack of any figures for the smaller products. 
It is resistant to decay when in contact with moisture. 
It is used extensively for outside finish of buildings. On account of its 
freedom from taste and great durability it is used for tanks, vats, tubs, and 
wooden buckets in water storage, creameries, breweries, bakeries, and dye 
works, distilleries^ and soap and starch factories. In the construction of green- 
houses, where wood is subjected to extremes of heat and moisture, cypress is 
used probably more than any other wood. It is also a leading wood for pumps, 
laundry appliances, caskets, and coffins. Cypress is extensively used through 
the south in the construction of picket fences, which there remain the standard 
form of yard fence. 
In the moist hot climate of the South, split cypress shingles have outlasted 
all other roofing materials commonly used, except the best grade of slate and 
tiles. While the ordinary sawed shingle is very durable, the relatively high value 
of cypress wood has resulted in cedar taking the lead as shingle material. 
A. D. W t 
Damping off of Coniferous Seedlings, The Control of. By C. Hartley and 
R. G. Pierce {U.S.A. Dep. Agr., Bur. PI. Ind., Bull. 453, Jan. 1917, pp. 1- 
32 ; 5 figs.). — The damping off of seedlings of coniferous plants is caused by the 
fungus Pythium de Baryanum Hesse, but Fusarium monili forme Sheldon, and 
Corlicium vagum var. Solani are often met with. 
The disease causes much loss to nurserymen, and is primarily due to faulty 
cultivation. The importance of well-drained and aerated beds cannot be too 
much insisted upon in any control measures. Since the alkalinity of the soil 
favours the disease, the addition of lime or wood ashes should be carefully regu- 
lated. Soil disinfection, however, is by far the best method of combating damp- 
ing off ; and of these the most satisfactory are copper sulphate, zinc chloride, 
formaldehyde, sulphuric acid, etc. From the results obtained it is entirely 
possible and practicable to control this disease by soil disinfection. — A. B m 
Diamond-Back Moth, The Life-History of {Plutella maculipennis). By H. C. 
Marsh {Jour. Agr. Res.x. pp. 1-10, July 1917 ; 2 plates). — The diamond-back 
moth {Plutella maculipennis, Curtis) is widely distributed in the United 
States . The larvae are slender green caterpillars which attack numerous species 
of Cruciferae, and cause much damage to cabbage, cauliflower, rape, and turnip. 
The life cycle from egg to adult is completed in from 16 to 47 days. 
Though this pest develops rapidly and is capable of considerable damage, 
it is usually held in check by parasites (ichneumons and Microplitis), and it may 
also be readily controlled by use of a spray of Paris green (2 lb.), soap (2 lb.), and 
water (100 gallons). — A. B. 
Douglas Fir Pitch Moth. By Josef Brunner {U.S.A. Dep. Agr. t Bull. 255, 
July 22, 1915)- — The Douglas fir pitch moth much resembles, especially when 
in flight, certain wasps and flies. 
The ground colour of the insect is black, with rich orange-red spots on the 
thorax, and with all the segments, except the last, banded with the same colour. 
