There is a scarcity printed information in reference to the degree of difference in the resiliency and density of various plant fibres used as filling materials by upholsterers. The filling capacity of such materials is important because if two fibres are equally resilient and have similar characteristics in many other respects an upholsterer would be more interested in the one with a greater filling capacity if the price were the same per pound. In the present study major differences in the resiliency and filling capacity, as studied in a small experimental press, between different fibres were determined. Differences due to grades or in the method used in preparing an individual fibre to loosen it up or the method of shredding leaf fibres were not determined.

The number of fibrous or hair roots per 2-cm section of the roots, and the weight per unit section of the roots of four varieties of spring wheat differing in yield at the Northern Great Plains Field Station, Mandan, N. Dak., and believed to differ in drouth resistance, were determined for different soil levels to a depth of 36 inches in 1933 and 1934. Diameter measurements of the roots of Ceres and Hope were taken at three soil levels. The number of seminal roots per plant penetrating to a depth of 3 feet or more was also determined which, multiplied by the number of hair roots per root, may be regarded as an index of the number of hair roots per plant. Ceres and Reliance were found to have slightly more hair roots per unit section of root than Marquis and Hope and they likewise appeared to have a larger number of hair roots per plant. The differences were greater than can be explained by random errors, but nevertheless were not entirely consistent at different soil levels. The data are regarded as indicative only of a relation between yield under conditions of drouth and numbers of hair roots per unit length of root and per plant. Differences in diameter and weight of roots per unit length were observed but little evidence was secured to indicate a relation between these differences and yield or drouth resistance.

The hydrocyanic acid content of various parts of the sorghum plant was determined in material grown in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Virginia in 1936 and 1937. The HCN content of sorghum leaves was 3 to 25 times that of the corresponding stalks of plants that had reached the boot stage. Heads and leaf sheaths were low in HCN. Upper (younger) leaves contained more HCN than lower (older) leaves. The proximal half of the leaf was higher in HCN than the distal (older) half. The HCN content of leaf blades was six times that of the midribs. The HCN content of stalk internodes decreased progressively downward, the lower (older) internodes containing only small quantities. Axillary (side) branches were much higher in HCN than the older main stalks and in most cases tillers (suckers) were higher in HCN than the older main stalks of the same plants.

1. By the application of the mold method the individual surface area of 17 chickens of approximately one month of age were determined and formulae evolved for the prediction of the surface area. The value for K in the Meeh formula was found to be 11•2, while by the method of least squares a formula equivalent to S = 36•31 W ⁴⁵⁷ was obtained. 2. The basal heat production of one-month-old chickens, when expressed per square meter of body surface, was found to be 891 calories per day. If the formula of Mitchell for estimating- the surface area is applied, the basal heat production becomes 1,085 calories per day. 3. It appears that the highest basal metabolism in chickens is reached between 3½ to 4½weeks.

The infiltration capacities of several Illinois soils were determined at 14 locations. The results indicate that at three of these locations the soils have high infiltration capacities and at 11 of the locations they have low infiltration capacities. There are a number of factors which may cause the infiltration capacities of soils to vary, but the dominant factor seems to be the physical character and condition of the soils themselves. The main purpose of this project is to secure information that will be of value in characterizing soils and in soil and water conservation. However, to characterize a soil on this basis more determinations than have been made are necessary. Furthermore, it seems that these determinations should be made at locations selected to give the range covered by the soil type in question, rather than at locations where the soil is considered "typical," as is frequently done.

Renovation of permanent grasslands in Wisconsin is a method of pasture improvement involving the establishment of such dry- weather legumes as alfalfa (Medicago sativa), sweet clover (Melilotus alba and officinalis), and red clover (Trifolium pratense) in thinned pasture sods without plowing. Portions of 30 widely distributed bluegrass pastures in western and southwestern Wisconsin were renovated in 1929, 1934, 1935, and 1936. In 1937, the populations of species regarded as weeds were determined in the renovated areas and in adjacent areas of equal size not renovated. The 27 renovations of 1934 and 1935 reduced the total weed populations 85.7% in 1937, and likewise a reduction of 91.0% and 73.0% resulted from one renovation in 1935 and one in 1936, respectively. Nine years after the renovation of a 4-acre area of another pasture the total weed population was 93.6% less than that of the adjacent area of 4 acres not renovated. Ragweeds (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) and horseweeds (Erigeron canadensis) were the most generally prevalent species. In 30 pastures, renovation reduced ragweeds 85.7% and similarly horseweeds were reduced 92.1%. Where high percentages of the total weed populations of the nonrenovated portions of the 30 pastures consisted of ragweeds, the percentages of horseweeds were low and the negative correlation coefficient between such percentages was -78.

Dwarf varieties of sorghum adapted to combine harvesting must have sturdy stalks and peduncles to prevent the heads from breaking over. Many selections, particularly from milo-kafir crosses, have shown high tendency for the production of weak peduncles. The term "weak neck" has been designated to describe this condition. The cause of the malady has not yet been determined. The affected tissues become disintegrated and so weakened that the heads break over. The break occurs most frequently at the base of the peduncle. The sorgos and strains of Blackhull kafir show high resistance to "weak neck," while the milo and milo derivatives having milo characteristics often show high susceptibility. "Weak neck" is not yet of wide occurrence on farms because the varieties grown are for the most part resistant to the disease. The distribution of varieties susceptible to "weak neck," however, will increase the prevalence of the disease. Late planting on a well-prepared seedbed tends to reduce the prevalence of "weak neck" in susceptible varieties. More complete control may be expected from plant breeding methods.

The observed seasonal progression and annual variations in the cold resistance of field-grown winter wheats during a 6-year period at Lincoln, Nebr., together with associated variations in the environment, were utilized in a study of the more obvious weather factors contributing to field hardening. Two apparently distinct hardening stages were recognized in this work. During November and early December high daily temperature maxima in conjunction with high radiation appeared to be most conducive to hardening. High temperatures with low radiation or high radiation with low temperatures were least effective. High temperatures and radiation were effective only in increasing hardening under the influence of shortening days, however. Rather xeric conditions also appeared to favor hardening. This suggests that maximum hardening at this period results from a radiation-temperature balance reacting with day-length and drought influences to give maximum accumulation of organic reserves. Subsequent exposure to sustained low temperatures resulted in further progressive increases in hardiness for about 3 weeks. This low-temperature hardening reaction seemed always to effect maximum hardening for the season, the actual level apparently being determined by the efficiency and duration of the preceding growth-hardening stage. Controlled experiments showing a reduction in hardiness under the influence of reduced light intensity are reported.

Bunt nurseries of hard red winter wheat were grown for 1 to 6 years at 10 experiment stations in the Great Plains states and at Kearneysville, W. Va., St. Paul, Minn., and Logan, Utah. Each nursery contained 50 varieties and strains of winter wheat grown in duplicate rows. The inoculum used was a composite of collections of T. levis and T. tritici obtained from fields selected at random throughout the state in which the test or tests were made. No variety or selection proved to be bunt-free at all stations, but a large number may be classed as resistant. Oro, Martin, and Hussar, and Minturki to a limited extent, contributed factors for resistance, in hybrid lines, to the races of the bunt organism used in these tests except those collected in Montana. The four above-mentioned varieties were susceptible when inoculated individually with certain races present in Montana and other wheat-growing areas. Bunt-resistant reactions determined by experiments in which bulk inoculum is used should be considered as preliminary evidence only, and such tests should be supplemented by others in which the known races of Tilletia are used individually. Only 10 of 50 wheats tested proved to be resistant to the so-called "dwarf" smut race of T. tritici prevalent in the vicinity of Logan, Utah, and in the Gallatin Valley of Montana. Factors for resistance to this race are present in Martin, Hussar, Ioturk, and Relief.

The breaking point of the outer glume of a wheat spikelet, when broken off, was between 0.1 and 0.2 mm above the inside base. The proportion of lignified tissue in the base of the glume is practically the same in the early dough stage as at maturity. The areas of greatest lignification were near the edges of the glume base. This is important because the edges are broken first when the glume is forced outward. The varieties more resistant to shattering were found to have the greater proportion of lignified tissue at the breaking point of their outer glumes. Among varieties similar in shattering resistance differences in lignification could not be determined because of variability among individual glumes. Longitudinal sections of the glume showed that the lignified band at the inner epidermis did not continue above the breaking point so prominently in varieties susceptible to shattering as in the resistant varieties. The enlargement of the grain in a spikelet during the dough stages often causes a buckling at the breaking point of the outer epidermis of one or both glumes. This may explain the fact that in an individual wheat spike the outer glumes of spikelets containing very plump grains often are removed more easily than from spikelets with smaller kernels. Although the measurement of lignification provides a better understanding of shattering, it is concluded that a direct measurement of the tenacity of mature glumes would be a better determination of shattering resistance.