56 
Winifred E. Brenchley. 
Wheat and Papaver Rhceas. 
The poppy laboured under the disadvantage of growing on a 
heavy soil instead of on the light sandy medium with which it is 
usually associated. Nevertheless, when grown alone, good fruiting 
plants with well-developed roots were produced, the average 
height of the clumps per pot ranging from 32—38 cms., 
the total number of heads per pot from 30—51 (average 
46). When grown with wheat very poor development was 
made, and in many cases the clumps failed to grow 
at all. The fruiting heads were very small and poor, only 3—7 
(average 5) being formed per pot, and the average height of the 
clumps was rather low, ranging from 23—31 cms. In one pot all 
the poppies failed except three tiny plants of 3 cms. high. The 
roots in all cases were very poor, and so small that sometimes they 
were not found when the soil was overhauled. The dry weights 
clearly show the depreciation of growth in the presence of wheat* 
Wheat developed better with poppy than by itself, the average 
weight of the plants being nearly double in the first case ; the roots 
were good and fibrous in all the plants. When grown alone the 
average height per pot was 48—55 cms., the total number of ears 
in the six pots being 45, of which only 23 were fully developed and 
free from the sheath. When mixed with poppy the average height 
per pot was greater, 56—65 cms., and by half the number of plants 
practically the same number of ears were formed—42 altogether, of 
which 36 were fully developed. The dry weights bear out the 
observations made on the growing plants, as the total weight of wheat 
in the mixed pots is not very much less than that of twice the 
number of plants grown alone. 
Wheat and Alopecurus agrestis. 
Alopecurus agrestis or Black Bent is a denizen of heavy soils, so 
that it was not handicapped in operations against the wheat by a dis¬ 
advantageous substratum, as was the poppy. Nevertheless, it was not 
able to hold its own. When grown alone the roots were good and well- 
developed, and each pot produced 57-78 fruitingspikes,391 altogether 
—an average of 8 per clump. When grown with wheat the roots were 
very variable, ranging from well-developed roots almost equal to 
good wheat roots down to very poor scrubby specimens. The 
height of the clumps was hardly affected, 32—43 cms. as against 
35—41 cms. when grown alone. 7—28 spikes were formed per pot, 
total 108, an average of 4*5 spikes per clump, showing a marked 
