548 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Artanema longifolium Natke. By S. A. Skan (Bot. Mag. t. 8687; Nov. 
1916). — Scrophulariaceae (Gratioleae). Native of Tropical Asia and Tropical 
Africa. A herb of which the lanceolate leaves are used in Lagos as a vege- 
table ; of erect habit, and bearing racemes of dark purple flowers. — F. J. C. 
Artichoke, Jerusalem. By M. E. (Gard. Chron. May 4, 191 8, p. 183).— Deals 
with the names of this vegetable, and decides that Topinambour was a corruption 
of Toupinamboux, a name given by the French to some natives of the Isle of 
Maragnon, Brazil, in 1613, the only connexion between the two being an 
approximately simultaneous introduction to France. Girasole is here given as 
the origin of the appellation Jerusalem. — E. A. B. 
Asparagus, Rhizoctonia Disease of. By B. T. P. Barker and C. T. Gimingham 
{Ann. Rep. Agr. Res. Stn. y Long Ashton, 1917). — Soil treatment against the 
attacks of Rhizoctonia violacea var. Asparagi upon the roots of Asparagus were 
carried out with promising results ; complicated, however, by the fact that the 
host plant occupies the soil for several years. — F. J. C» 
Astragalus. By H. Blin {Le Jard. vol. xxxi. p. 175; 1 fig.). — The roasted 
seeds of Astragalus galegiformis may be used as a substitute for chicory for 
mixing with coffee. Equal quantities of coffee and Astragalus form a good 
mixture. — S. E. W. 
Bacterial Blight of Barley. By L. R. Jones, A. G. Johnson, and C. S. Reddy 
(Jour. Agr. Res. vol. xi. No. 12, pp. 635-644 ; 4 plates). — The authors find that 
bacterial blight of barley is very widespread and causes considerable loss. The 
causal organism is a monotrichous rod, yellow in culture, and has been named 
Bacterium translucens n.sp., and assigned the number 211*2222532 in the Chart 
of American Bacteria. Inoculation experiments show that the disease is readily 
induced on barley by spraying with water containing this organism. It, however, 
does not appear to attack oats, rye, wheat, or timothy. 
The organism obtains an entrance through the stomata and passes along the 
intercellular spaces, producing small water-soaked areas which form yellow to 
brownish translucent blotches. Similar lesions may appear later upon the 
glumes, but the chief injury is apparently on the foliage. Soon an exudate 
appears as cloudy drops which harden into yellow resinous granules, or spread 
over to form grey flaky films. This exudate and translucent appearance of the 
lesions are the characteristics of this disease, and distinguish it from the Helmin- 
thosporium disease. 
The bacterium attacks the chief types of barley ; that is, 2 row, 6-row, and 
erect 6-row varieties, though there is a considerable range of varietal suscepti- 
bility to the disease. 
Control measures have yet to be worked out, but seed disinfection and 
avoidance of attacked seed are suggested. 
A short bibliography is appended. — A. B. 
Beans, SclerotiniaBlight of. By J. A. McClintock (U.S.A. Exp. Stn., Virginia, 
Bull. 20, pp. 417-428, July 1 91 6 ; 3 figs.). — In the autumn of 191 5 a disease 
causing blight in beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) was observed in Tidewater, Virginia. 
The disease developed after a few days of hot damp weather and attacked stems, 
leaves, and pods. The fungus isolated was found to be the same as that which 
causes blight in lettuces ; and reproduced by conidia and sclerotia, which can 
winter for some considerable time in the soil. Experiments with five varieties of 
beans demonstrated that Bountiful Stringless Green-Pod Wax, Celestial Golden 
Wax, and Extra Early Black Valentine were more resistant to the Sclerotinia 
Libertiana (Fckl.) than the Extra Early Red Valentine and Extra Early Refugee, 
Burning the diseased plants, and deep ploughing, and suitable rotation are 
suggested as control measures. 
Sclerotinia Libertiana can attack lettuce, cucumbers, egg-plants, as well as 
beans. — A. B. 
Belladonna, Some Effects of Selection on the Production of, Alkaloids In. 
By A. F. Sievers (U.S.A. Dep. Agr., Bull. 306, Oct. 15, 1915).— Earlier investiga- 
tions have established that a wide range of variation exists in the alkaloid content 
of belladonna plants. Results of further experiments are given to show that 
first-generation plants from seed of cross-pollinated selected individuals display 
the characteristic of the maternal parent with regard to alkaloid productivity. 
This was generally true at all the localities where the experiments were carried 
on, but there was a considerable difference in the general quantity of alkaloids 
produced at the different stations. Nothing definite, however, developed to 
