Statistical experiments were made to ascertain the effect of variations in applied soluble phosphate on the growth of Milan Strap-leaved Purple Top Turnips in a light gravel soil already containing sufficient available phosphate, and in a fen soil possessing an inadequate supply of available phosphate, as aggregates for growth.

No adverse effect on yield, calculated as fresh or dry matter of tops, roots, or whole plants, was suffered in either soil at any of the stages of growth considered at the highest concentrations of soluble phosphate, unlike the behaviour of this turnip when grown in a pure sand containing no clays or humates, where there was a narrow optimum range of phosphorus at a low concentration. The gravel soil occupied an intermediate position, however, between sand with its low optimum range of soluble phosphorus, and fen soil, where positive response to increasing concentrations of soluble phosphorus approached the ‘normal’, and thus there was a range of phosphorus at low concentration tending to a maximum yield followed generally by a greater numerical yield at the highest concentrations of phosphorus.

At the seedling stage in gravel soil variation in applied phosphate had absolutely no statistical effect on yield, moisture content of tops, roots and whole plants, and the ratios, for fresh or dry matter, Top/Root, Root/(Whole plant) and (Whole plant)/ Top.

1. Treatment of seed beans with an organomercurial dressing has been shown to have little or no effect on growth and yield.

2. Experiments have shown that the emergence of ‘weevilled’ beans is markedly less than that of sound beans for both winter and spring sowings.

3. It is suggested that the reduced emergence of weevilled beans is due to beetle injury of the seed and not to invasion by soil organisms.

In this paper are presented the results of an investigation into the composition and digestibility of fodder cellulose. This product was manufactured from wheat straw by the method employed in the making of paper. Wheat straw was boiled with 5·9% caustic soda solution for 7 hr. under a pressure of 70 lb./sq.in. The alkaline liquor was then run off, and the residual cellulose, after being washed with water until free from alkali, was pressed, dried in electric ovens at 100° C. and finally obtained in the form of a coarse meal. It contained, on the basis of dry matter, 79·82% of crude fibre, 16·22% of N-free extractives (mainly xylan), 0·36% of crude protein, 0·49% of other extract and 3·11% of ash. Its content of total cellulose (‘true’ cellulose plus associated cellulosan, as defined by Norman & Jenkins, 1933) amounted to 97·4% on the moisture and ash-free basis.

Digestion trials were carried out with both sheep and pigs. The daily ration of the sheep consisted of 800 g. of chaffed meadow hay, 600 g. of fodder cellulose, 100 g. of linseed cake, 60 g. of molasses and 18 g. of a mixture of equal parts of common salt and precipitated tricalcic phosphate. Although the fodder cellulose formed as much as 38% of the total daily food, no difficulty was experienced in securing clean and ready consumption.

The fodder cellulose used in this investigation was prepared from wheat straw by the factory process described in the preceding communication. It was dried and milled, so that the resultant material was light and fluffy in character, with the fibres well frayed. This was considered to be important, since the physical state of the cellulose might exert a considerable influence on the ability of the intestinal bacteria to bring about its fermentation and breakdown.

It was shown in the preceding paper that the fodder cellulose, on the basis of dry matter, contains 79·8% of crude fibre, of 85·1% digestibility, and 69·2% of ‘total digestible nutrients’. The present feeding trial has demonstrated that the figure for ‘total digestible nutrients’ obtained from the results of the pig digestion trial is a true measure of the productive value of the fodder cellulose for growth and fattening in bacon pigs, provided that the product is fed in a finely divided condition and in intimate admixture with the meal forming the rest of the ration.

1. Lactation was studied quantitatively in a heterogeneous stock of laboratory mice, in order to find out whether the milk production of mice could be satisfactorily evaluated from measurements of the growth of the young; and, if individual differences were proved to be readily detectable, to find out to what extent these differences were heritable.

2. The total weight of the litter suckled, at 12 days of age, was found to provide a convenient measure of milk production.

3. Since the amount of milk given by a mouse is greatly influenced by the number of young suckled, allowance for differences of litter size was made by means of an index of performance which expressed the amount of milk given by a mouse at a particular lactation as a percentage of the average amount given to litters of that size. The index of performance thus evaluated the response of the mouse to a standard stimulus and gave no indication of the maximum productivity of the mouse.

Some disorders causing chlorosis and necrosis of the foliage of oil palms from three West African estates have been investigated by spectrochemical analysis of the dry leaflets for potassium, calcium, magnesium and manganese.

Statistical examination of the chemical analyses of leaflets from fronds of different ages, and from different positions along the frond, shows that it is important to sample and analyse separately at least upper, middle and lower fronds from each tree. Little is gained by analysing separately samples from different positions along the length of the frond.

The ‘bronzing’ diseases are tentatively ascribed to deficiency of potassium. One palm is probably a case of combined magnesium and potassium deficiency. One disease, ‘lemon frond’, cannot be attributed to a deficiency of any of the elements determined.

The differences in mineral composition of the leaflets between palms from the three estates are greater than those due to the diseases and a further survey is proposed to determine the range of variation of composition of healthy trees and the levels below which deficiencies set in.

The purpose of this note is to present the results of the analysis of a series of experiments for the existence of interactions between treatments tested and blocks. It is implicit in all modern designs which involve confounding and/or fractional replication that such interactions are negligible compared with the effects and interactions which the experiments are designed to estimate. The matter has been discussed from the theoretical point of view in a recent paper on confounding and fractional replication (Kempthorne, 1947). This note will consist of a short statement of the problem and the results of an examination of a series of experiments on sugar beet which provide information on the point in question.

1. In Part I of the paper details are presented of a new technique for the study of oxygen availability to bacteria added to soil. In essentials the technique consists of adding a washed suspension of bacterial cells together with excess of suitable oxidizable substrate to air dried, sieved soil contained in Warburg vessels. The rate of oxygen uptake is looked upon as a function of the aeration conditions within the soil. The results can be expressed by means of a conventional figure called the aeration factor (or A.F.).

2. In Part II with the use of the technique it has been shown that two physical properties of soil which influence oxygen availability under the experimental conditions of the technique are (a) moisture content of the soil, (b) the amount of break-up of the soil crumbs. Since the A.F. measures the resultant effect produced by these factors it may be regarded as an index of soil aeration.

1. A manometric technique for the assessment of soil aeration, described in a preceding paper by Webley (1947), has been used for comparing the effects of the incorporation into soil of alginic acid (as the ion) and other organic materials on soil airwater relationships. Some of the shortcomings of the technique, as well as its advantages are described.

2. The addition of sodium alginate to a soil improves its crumb stability and its water-holding power. It is shown that the addition of 0-1 g. sodium alginate to 100 g. of the air-dried standard soil used in this work has a gross effect equivalent to an increase in the water-holding power of soil of 11%. The effect of the alginate rapidly increases to a maximum with increase of the concentration of the alginate. The incorporation of the relatively insoluble calcium alginate has but little effect on the soil airwater relationship. It is suggested that alginate confers hydrophilic properties on soil by its combination as an ion with one or more constituents of the soil particle, thereby presenting new surfaces with high water-holding powers.

3. Incorporation into soil of cellulose acetate, methyl cellulose or of carboxymethyl cellulose improves its water-air relationships.