5l6 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
sizes of particles as adopted by the Agricultural Education Association. A 
chemical analysis of the soil did not throw much light upon the origin of the 
characteristics which distinguish it from south of England soils of similar (glacial) 
origin, and it was therefore decided to make separate chemical analyses of the 
six mechanically separated fractions. A comparison of the chemical com- 
position of corresponding fractions of northern and southern soils shows at once 
that the fractions agreeing in the size of their constituent particles are chemically 
very different. The three coarser fractions of English soil contain over 94 per 
cent, of silica, and consist mainly of powdered silica. The similar Craibstone 
fractions contain 85 per cent, of silica at the most. On the other hand, they 
contain up to 13 per cent, of alumina as compared with 3 per cent, in the English 
fractions, and they also con tain much more potash and lime. (For example, in the 
" coarse sand " fraction the Craibstone soil has 1*79 CaO and 1*78 K s O, as against 
•4 and -8 respectively in the English fractions.) It is observed that a similar 
difference holds between certain Welsh and American drift soils on the one hand 
and the English drift soils on the other. It is a difference which should be 
carefully borne in mind in comparisons of the two types of soil. The difference 
is assigned by the authors to the English soils having undergone a much more 
profound chemical weathering, while the Scotch soils consist of original granitic 
minerals, mechanically ground, with only superficial chemical alteration. 
It is noteworthy that, as in the case of some Welsh soils, the Craibstone soil, 
though fertile, contains absolutely no lime as carbonate. — /. E. W. E. H. 
Soil Temperatures as Influenced by Cultural Methods. By J. Oskamp 
(Jour. Agr. Res. v. pp. 173-184, Oct. 1915). — The data discussed in this paper 
were obtained from an apple orchard on a clay-silt soil under (1) tillage with cover 
crop, (2) straw mulch, and (3) grass. The maximum and minimum for each 
week during which the experiment lasted are given, and the result shows that 
under a system of clean cultivation with a winter cover crop extreme diurnal and 
annual fluctuations in soil temperatures are experienced ; and that straw mulch 
reduces these fluctuations to a marked extent, as does grass, though to a less 
degree. — F. J. C. 
Soils of Massachusetts and Connecticut, with Special Reference to Apples and 
Peaches. By Henry J. Wilder (U.S. A . Dep. Agr., Bull. 140, 73 pp. ; xxi plates). — 
An extremely interesting study of adaptability of varieties to certain soils, a 
study as yet in its infancy, but showing great promise for the future. — E. A. Bd. 
Solanum grandiflorum. By Max Garmer (Rev. Hori. June 16, 191 6 ; one 
illustration). — Description of this, the largest-flowered Solanum and a very hand- 
some, robust plant. Flowers blue, fading to light violet. — C. T. D. 
Sophora macrocarpa (Bot. Mag. t. 8647). — Chile. Nat. Ord. Leguminosae, tribe 
Sophoreae. Tree of small stature. Leaves pinnate, 6 inches long. Racemes 10- 
flowered. Corolla 1 inch long beyond calyx, yellow. — G. H. 
Sophrolaelia x 'Psyche' (Bot. Mag. t. 8654). — Garden Hybrid. Nat. Ord. 
Orchidaceae, tribe Epidendreae. Herb, epiphytic, pseudo-bulbs clustered, 1- 
foliate. Leaves 3-5 inches long. Flowers orange-yellow, i£ inch across. 
Sepals (yellowish below) and petals lanceolate and slightly recurved. — G. H. 
Spray-fluids, The Fungicidal Properties of Certain. By J. Vargas Eyre 
and E. S. Salmon (Jour. Agr. Set. vol. vii., part 4, pp. 473-5°7)- — Tne fungi- 
cidal action of alkaline sulphide solutions has been variously attributed by 
different observers to the free alkali which they contain, to the free sulphur which 
they deposit in a finely divided state, and to the oxidation of the sulphur. More- 
over, the literature of the subject does not afford definite information as to the 
strength at which the solutions have been found to be fungicidal. As a 0-38 per 
cent, iron sulphide fluid has been recently adopted, in Oregon, as a standard 
summer spray for apple and rose mildew, an examination of that fluid was 
included in the present investigation. The plants used were one- or two-year- 
old hop seedlings bearing " powdery mildew," and gooseberry bushes infected 
with American gooseberry mildew. Careful determinations of the exact chemical 
composition of the spraying materials used — namely soft soap, saponin, liver of 
sulphur, yellow ammonium sulphide, colourless ammonium sulphide, colourless 
ammonium hydrosulphide, lime-sulphur, iron sulphide, and caustic soda — were 
made. The following results were obtained : — (1 ) Soft soap and saponin have 
no fungicidal action. (2) A 1 per cent, solution of caustic soda usually kills the 
mildew, but at the same time severely scorches the leaves. (3) A 4 per cent. 
