✍ Scribed by H.N. Michael
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
The treatment of the subject is logical and the presentation stimulating. The quoting of the actual words of the researchers adds greatly to the interest of the illustrative material. Students will surely profit from a reading of the volume and the experienced chemist, plant supervisor or development engineer will undoubtedly find suggestions of value.
G. E. PI.YI'TENGU.L. GROWTH OF PLANTS. TWENTY YEARS' RESEARCH AT THE BOYCE THOMPSON INSTITUTE, by William Crocker. 459 pages, illustrations, 16 )< 23 cm. New York, Reinhold Publishing Corp., 1948. Price, $10.00. This book reports on the major and minor projects that have been conducted by the staff of the Boyce Thompson Institute since its foundation in 1924. Some of these projects are still being continued. The twelve major projects are described in the first eleven chapters, and the concluding twelfth chapter is devoted to the miscellaneous minor problems of plant research.
Among the early problems approached by the Institute were the "yellows" and virus diseases of plants and the "duck food problem" which deals with winter feeding grounds of migratory wild fowl in the tide-water regions of Virginia and North Carolina. These undertakings are described in the first chapter.
Chapters II and III deal with the life span of seeds and dormancy in seeds, respectively. The ne xt two chapters are devoted to the study of the physiological effects of ethylene and other unsaturated carbon-containing gases and of lethal gases upon plant growth.
In Chapter VI, Dr. P. W. Zimmerman attacks the problem of plant hormones, a problem still under investigation at the Institute.
Researches leading to the discovery of chemicals that force buds out of their normal state of dormancy are described in Chapter VII, entitled " Dormancy in Buds."
Problems relating to the formation and structure of plant cell membranes have been approached through microscopic, chemical and X-ray diffraction analyses of cell membranes. Mrs. Wansen 1(. Farr reports these studies in Chapter VIII.
Next the growth of plants under controlled enviro/lmental conditions is described. The controlled conditions included the following: light of various intensities, quality and daily duration; artificial light with various day lengths, with controlled temperatures and humidities, and with increased concentrations of CO.o; combinations of sunlight and artificial light; growth under a full-solar spectrum and under various portions of the solar spectrum. The plants produced under these conditions were studied as to rate and nature of growth, dry and wet weight increase, chemical composition, and pigment development. Content, size, form, and anatomy of the several organs, as well as vegetative or reproductive development: were also considered.
The last two major research projects are described by Drs. Hartzell and McCallan. They deal with insecticides and fungicides, respectively.
Chapter XII presents fourteen shorter projects, most of which have been finished or discontinued. The subject matter here is diverse, dealing with such phenomena as" Diurnal and Autumn Changes in Leaves of Deciduous Plants," or" Effect of Nitrogenous and CarbGhydrate Reserves on Growth of Seedlings," et al.
Dr. Crocker's book provides a convenient critical summary of articles which appeared in the past in the various pertinent publications, as well as those that have not been hitherto published. It should prove of considerable value to further research as well as to the fields of application.
H. N. MICHAEL.
📜 SIMILAR VOLUMES