Page:Science vol. 5.djvu/141

 Fbbri-art 13, 1885.]

��while silTer-skinned;' It ia also a little leis earl;." It may be Doted. further, that the Messrs. Landrelh uf PIiilade1phl& declare their ' extra earl; Bloomadale pearl,' which is reioarkablj flattened in form to bo ilie earliest of all onions.

lu twenty so-calleil varieties of the luriiip, the a\ial diameter <s noted aa less than, or e<|ii!il lo, the transrerse diameter. Of these, one is called ' very early,* nine are called 'early,' one is called ' rallier eariy,' and five are called ' half early.' In fourteen Tarieties the axial dlitauce is noted as greater than thA traosvene diameter. Of these, one is called -lata.' one 'a little late,' one 'medium,' Ave are called

��being ' very much flattened,' Is said to be ' unques- lionabty The earliest of Iiivnlps.' The ' rouge de Milan,' called 'very flat,' is pronouneed 'one of the earliest.' In the majority uf the long-rooted turnips tb« seuon ot maturity is not noted. — a fact In itself auggcBiive; fur the more depressed forms would linrdly be noied as 'early,' if Ihey were not earlier than

It may be objected lo this hypothesis, that a root or bulb that grows In a ruun<l or flattened form would naturally sooner acquire the requisite size tor table use than one that grows long and slender, and that Ibis fact alone is not sufflcieut Ut indicate a physiolo);ical leUUon between Uie form of the root and its time of maturity. The time of the flrst bloom, and the Brst ripe seed in different varieties, mark deSnits stages of derelopment, which, we may assume, are less depend- iit upon the Influence uf selection. If, there- fore, we find that the time of bloom and of seed ma- turity bear a relation to the form of the root, we have additional evidence in favor of our hypothesis. We have gathered from records of the slntlon such dnla as hear upon the point, with the results noted In the following table; —

��Should further evidence establish this bypoiheaiti we have a valuable gnide for selecUon in producing new varieties. We may not only hope to increase our earlier varieties by selecting the more flattened roota; but by rendering the roots of the earliest long vari- eties short through selection, or possibly through influence of cross- fertilization, we may reasonably hope to secure earlier varieties than have as yet been obtained. For example: the 'early long scarlet' radish, though It has a lung slender root, Isscorcdy less early than the 'early scarlet turnip-routed.' It would appear, therefore, that in this variety we have a, parent for an earlier radish than Is at present known. The roots of this variety vary considerably In thlch- nesa as compared with the length. By selecting for seed through a series uf generations thf! roots having the greatest proportional diameter, we may hope to promote earllness. Experiment* in this line are already In progress at our station.

Kmmett S. Goff.

a.y. «griculnir»l oiijerlmenljUillon.

���ft^n the radishes, those hare la-en called ' lon^-runt- n« diameter. In the beot and carrot the division M nec«(«arlly more arbitrary, but the shortest-rooted _....__ "urere called regpeclivuly ' turnip-shaped ' and __. It la evident that, the figures given in the
 * In which the axial diameter exceeded the trans-

Ale ■tutsln the hypothesis, so far as they go. Ob- lations made In the station garden upon many irietlea of beet, carrot, onion, radish, and parsnip, lllcKte. that, In general terms, the degree of earllness I pisportioiiate f the degree of ' flatiiexs' of the pot, Ihougb eicepllotis are not very

��Domes mounted c

��'balls.

��tiiig of

��The diipf ubjection urgod against the n; rolotory cloraes un cannon-balls Is the d perlenced In keeping the halls at equal distances apart. If the dume is much used, this objection be- comes a serious one; and no dome fo large that it wouhl require more than four balls should be mounted in this manner. If the sill and the bedplate of the dome arc eo wet] built that they retain their figure •enslbly perfectly, and the track is kept thoroughly clean, the balls will ordinarily not be found to change their relative position very much, except during the winter seasun. At this time of the year, and under favorable conditions of temperature, the fine snow which is often driven into the observatory, under- neath the dome, will. If allowed to remain in the track, form an ic; coatlngover the balls aa they pass through it, no matter what the weight of the dome may be. Under such conditions, it the dome Is forcibly moved, the Incrusted ball will often change Ita relative posi- tion several feet, thereby perhap imperilling the safety of the dome. D.».tid P. Tomi.

��A NEW PLAN FOR THE SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATIONS OF BOSTON.

A HHOKT litne ago we refeiTed to tbo difficiilly of obtitiDiug a rcnaonabie attendiiDcc at the mcelings of scientific societies in Boston, and found one obstacle to be the compjirulive iii- freqiieucy with which onr ecientiSc men come into general contact with one miotherand with the public. To-day we propose one esternal remedy, which may serve in time to lietter this state of things by multiplying the opportuni- ties, and so increasing the chances of txjntaet. By it we believe that not only science, but the whole coniniunity. will be the gainer.

Our plan consists in the concentration of the principal scholarly institntiona of the city in a

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