In her initial paper on “Buried Weed Seeds” (this Journal (1918), IX, 1), Dr W. E. Brenchley, in commenting on the occurrence of seeds at a depth of 9 in. below the surface of the soil, suggests that such seeds may be washed through crannies, or carried down by worms.

During the past year we have carried out at the Welsh Plant Breeding Station experiments along the lines of those of Dr Brenchley, but confining our attention to different types of grassland. We have, in the case of certain stiff clay soils, obtained seedlings from samples taken 10–14 in. beneath the surface. In samples, however, taken from peaty, hill-soil, lying beneath natural associations of Molinia, of Nardus, of Fescue-Agrostis and of Calluna, few seedlings have arisen in each case from depths lower than 3 in. The latter soils are remarkable for containing extremely few earthworms, and the suggestion was provided that these animals are instrumental to a quite considerable degree in burying seeds deeply in the ground.

1. Depreciation of carcass weight during dressing procedure was greater in male than in female rabbits of similar age.

2. The composition of rabbit flesh was found to be markedly different in males and females.

3. The greatest difference was in the fat content. Females having approximately 4 per cent, more fat than males in the “young” group, and approximately 6 per cent, more in the “adult” group.

The authors wish to thank Prof. Raymond T. Parkhurst for his assistance during the experiment, and Dr C. Crowther for help with the manuscript.

In collaboration with my assistants, O. Ulvesli, M. Husby and K. Breirem, I have been working for the past 7–8 years with problems as to the vitamin requirement of calves, young cattle and growing pigs. The purpose of my investigations was to discover, if possible, the practical significance of the vitamin hypothesis in its bearing on agricultural practice. It is a well-known fact that the indiscriminate application to farm animals of results obtained with small laboratory animals is not warranted—the requirements of each species of animals must be tested separately. As a starting point it was necessary, therefore, to consider first, whether or not farm animals exhibit the same susceptibility to vitamin deficiency as the small laboratory animals, and secondly, whether or not our commonly used feeding stuffs for farm stock contain enough vitamins to avoid any deficiency symptoms.

1. Hard winter wheat was grown under natural conditions from September, 1930, to June, 1931 (both inclusive). The ash, oils and fats (ether extract), moisture, sugar, starch, hemicelluloses, total nitrogen and the growth of the plants were determined every fortnight. Grains were also analysed twice during their development.

2. The data (for the plants) seem to indicate that there was less moisture during early growth (in winter) and at the time of maturity.

The investigations described in this paper show that:

1. The nitrogen contained in purified preparations of humic acid obtained from Rothamsted soils cannot be eliminated by methods which would be expected to remove simple nitrogenous impurities.

2. The distribution of the nitrogen in the products of hydrolysis of these preparations of humic acid by hydrochloric acid, as determined by the Van Slyke method, is similar to that found in the hydrolysates of proteins.

3. A mixture of egg albumen and artificial humic acid from lignin resembles soil humic acid in regard to the effect of various methods of treatment on its nitrogen content. In both cases, the greater part of the nitrogen is not removed by the action of proteoclastic enzymes.

1. From an examination of the compounds remaining in solution when humic matter is removed from alkaline extracts of Rothamsted soils by acidification, it is concluded that 30–40 per cent. of the nonhumic nitrogen is present in the form of peptides (proteoses, peptones and polypeptides), with 5 per cent, of free amino nitrogen and 12 per cent. of ammonia. The peptides are largely colloidal, and precipitated by basic lead acetate and by phosphotungstic acid. The remaining 40–50 per cent. of the non-humic nitrogen is mainly precipitated by basic lead acetate and is mainly non-basic.

The present communication deals with the results of quantitative investigations into the action of thermophilic cellulose-splitting bacteria on the fibre of a number of typical feeding stuffs. The primary object was to ascertain whether such measurements could form the basis of a quick in vitro method for estimating the digestibility of the fibrous constituent of feeding stuffs and, in addition, could lead to a method for following the process of lignification in herbage and in forage crops.

The usefulness of soil analyses depends largely on the ease with which they may be compared with one another and, to this end, more or less successful attempts have been made to replace the ordinary columns of figures by a suitable graph, so that “he who runs may read.”

Sugar-beet seed germinates unsatisfactorily, largely because the true seeds are enclosed in tough woody coats. Experiments at Cambridge have been carried out to test whether treatments of the seed, which remove some of the coat, are beneficial. The general results indicate that such treatments are commercially sound, especially when seeding conditions are dry. Treatment with strong sulphuric acid, which can only be carried out by seed merchants, is effective: it accelerates and increases germination, giving a greater plant population at harvest, and this normally leads to larger yield. Increases up to 2 tons of unwashed beet per acre have been obtained.

The work recorded in this paper forms part of the general investigation on nutrition in relation to disease recently outlined by Orr, Macleod, and Mackie(1).

1. From the results of calcium and phosphorus balances on laying pullets, it is shown that the pullets displayed a diminution of the calcium and phosphorus in their droppings over a period of about 2–3 weeks before laying, and a correspondingly increasing retention of these elements.

2. Egg laying was correlated with a relatively heavy voiding of phosphorus in the droppings, involving a temporary negative phosphorus balance. This confirms and amplifies the results of other workers on this subject. The nature and meaning of the phenomenon are discussed.

1. The action of the following sulphur compounds on the conidial stage of the hop powdery mildew (Sphaerotheca Humuli) has been examined:

Sodium sulphite, prepared by direct solution or by the neutralisation of solutions of sodium metabisulphite and applied with either 0·5 per cent, gelatine or 0·5 per cent. Agral I as the spreader, proved fungicidal at a content of 0·25 per cent, sulphur, and non-fungicidal at a content of 0·16 per cent, sulphur. The solutions, at these concentrations, caused injury to the leaves, which is not prevented by the neutralisation of solutions of sodium metabisulphite by calcium hydroxide instead of sodium hydroxide.

1. The paper deals with the yields of seed cotton grown under irrigation in the Sudan in the seasons 1929–30, 1930–1.

2. Interactions of four factors were studied in all possible combinations. The factors were: four sowing dates, three spacings, three water duties, and nitrogen application.

1. It is shown that the plasticity of a soil, as measured by the flow-plasticity test, is correlated with soil temperature and moisture. Although the measurement is made on a paste of the soil made smooth by working the mass of soil with water, and then forcing it through a fine sieve, the flow plasticity of the paste still depends on the climatic history of the soil from which it is prepared.

2. The soil has, in general, a higher plasticity in cold and dry weather and a lower plasticity in warm and wet weather. These results seem to confirm the conclusions of Vinokurof about seasonal fluctuations in the quantity of highly dispersed particles.

This enquiry has emphatically shown the high protein character of young grass, and this fact undoubtedly constitutes the outstanding feature of the scheme. Herbage of from one to three weeks’ growth is a rich protein forage; its dry matter has a range of from 20 to 30 per cent. protein.

Oats have never been used widely in this country for feeding to pigs. Their relative unpopularity for this purpose is attributable to their content of fibre, which, on account of the fibrous husk surrounding the kernel, is high compared with that of the other cereals. This prejudice is, in the main, perfectly logical, since the pig's digestive system is not designed to deal with foods of a fibrous nature. The most successful rations for growing and fattening pigs contain no more than 4–5 per cent. of fibre, this amount being necessary to facilitate the passage of the food residues along the intestinal tract. Higher amounts than this, however, are known to lead to a reduction of the efficiency of the ration. In a study of the influence of fibre on the utilisation of pig rations, Robison(1) noted a continuous decline in growth rate as the percentage of fibre in the ration was increased up to 9 per cent., the amount of food required for 1 lb. of live-weight gain displaying meanwhile a corresponding increase.

The growth-promoting properties of maize, when fed to pigs in conjunction with the proper supplements, have long been recognised. Unfortunately, on account of its detrimental influence on the fat of the pork or bacon, the liberal use of maize in the rations, particularly the finishing rations, of porkers and baconers is to be deprecated. This impairment of the quality of the fat is attributed to the influence of the oil constituent, of which maize contains usually from per cent., compared with but per cent. in barley.

The determination of sodium by Barber and Kolthoff's and Kahane's methods has been investigated with special reference to their suitability for the determination of exchangeable sodium in soils. Bray's modification of Barber and Kolthoff's method, involving 48 hours’ standing, was found to give a poor separation from even small amounts of potassium salts, leading to high results for sodium. Kahane's method was more convenient and gave very satisfactory results, precipitation being complete in 30 min. It is a great improvement on the older classical methods which involve the separation and weighing of sodium and potassium chlorides.