The scientific names in the German edition of Parkinson's plants of use for food, medicine etc., in Otaheite

Sydney Parkinson, aged 18, was Sir Joseph Banks' private assistant and artist on Captain Cook's first voyage around the world. Parkinson died on the voyage. Among his effects delivered to his brother Stanfield were drawings and notes which the latter published as a journal. Included in it is a chapter on the economic plants of Tahiti, and most of them are given scientific names, some of which were new. In 1941 Fosberg adopted two of them to form names which were new combinations under Artocarpus , and Inocarpus . The writer now indicates that Parkinson's names of 1773 were mononomials, hence invalid, but that in the German edition of 1774, edited by Herr "Z", the names are valid binomials. For the two plants mentioned, the authorship of the combinations is revised.     

Infection of Macrophages in Culture by Leptomonads of Leishmania donovani

SYNOPSIS. Peritoneal macrophages from hamsters were monolayered on coverslips in Leighton tubes. Twenty-four hours later these were transferred to a perfusion chamber. Leptomonads were added with fresh medium and the infection process observed with the aid of phase contrast. In the perfusion chamber free-swimming leptomonads attached to the macrophage by the tip of their flagella. Shortly after this initial attachment the macrophage extended a narrow pseudopodium around the flagellum which eventually reached and enveloped the body of the parasite. Upon complete envelopment the pseudopod containing the leptomonad was retracted into the central body of the macrophage. When first seen in the granular endoplasm of the macrophage, most of the leptomonads appeared to be surrounded by vacuoles. In most cases these vacuoles disappeared in a few minutes making it difficult to distinguish the parasite from the host cell cytoplasm.
Leptomonads also were added directly to Leighton tube cultures, and the coverslips with the adherent macrophages and parasites were removed, fixed and stained periodically during the infection process. In these preparations most of the parasites were in clumps in the vicinity of macrophages. Details of the ingestion of the clumps could not be seen, but occasionally a single organism was seen with its flagellum and part of its body enclosed by an extended pseudopod. Most of the intracellular leptomonads were in large vacuoles. Forms intermediate between elongate leptomonads and LD bodies were surrounded by smaller vacuole-like spaces. The halo-like vacuoles most frequently seen around LD bodies may have been fixation artifacts. Under favorable conditions the leptomonads transformed to LD bodies in 1–4 hours, but it was 48 hours before a population increase could be found.     

The Labelling of Glucose-6-phosphate in Pea Slices Supplied with 14C Glucose, and the Assessment of the Respiratory Pathways in Air, in 10% CO2 and in 2% O2 in N

A method is proposed for estimating the proportion of CO₂ ofrespiration derived from the PPP and the TCAC by measuring thespecific activity of the respired CO₂ and those of its precursorsin the tissue. In practice the specific activity of C-1 of G-6-Pand of the carboxyl carbon atoms of pyruvate and malate havebeen taken as the precursors. To apply this method there mustbe good evidence that these compounds are not in ‘pools’in the cell. In air in the sliced pea cotyledon 25–40% of the respiredCO₂ arose from the PPP. In both 10% CO₂ in air and in 2% O₂ in N there was a showingin the rate of respiration and a large increase in the proportionof the CO₂ deriving from the PPP. It is argued that in eachcase the cause of this was different. Key words: Carbon dioxide, Respiration, Pisum Sativum, Pentose-phosphate pathway     

Activity of Antheridiogen from the Fern Anemia phyllitidis in Three Flowering Plant Bioassays

Pure samples of the antheridiogen of Anemia phyllitidis (A_An) were tested for their ability to affect the growth of dwarf corn (d₅) and lettuce seedlings, and to influence α-amylase production by barley half-seeds. Stimulation of dwarf corn growth and barley amylase production was, on a molar basis, from 1/2 to 1/250 that given by GA_3. In lettuce, A_An had a synergistic effect with low levels of GA₃; alone, A_An was inhibitory or ineffective. Therefore, in addition to having a close chemical resemblance to gibberellin, A_An induces similar, but not identical physiological responses in flowering plants as well as ferns.     

THE EFFECT OF MANURES ON THE BOLTING OF THE BEET PLANT

In sugar beet, the effect on bolting of additions of potash manures, of superphosphate, and of the mixture of these was not significant, whether applied at the time of sowing or previously. Dung applied in the previous autumn slightly increased the number of plants which went to seed, and when applied just before sowing it had a more marked effect. An amount of sulphate of ammonia which would have approximately the same stimulating effect as the dung gave a slightly larger amount of bolting.
On red beetroot, it was possible to compare larger and smaller dressings of various coarse organic manures, and of each of these with and without dressings of sulphate of ammonia. In all cases the sulphate of ammonia and each of the organic manures largely increased the amount of bolting, and a doubling of the organic manure dressing or the addition of sulphate of ammonia to it caused a further increase. Sewage sludge gave an abnormally large amount of bolting, but it is doubtful whether this was due to the larger amount of organic matter and nitrogen applied in this manure. In general, any manurial addition causing more vigorous growth leads to an increase in bolting. There is a very large variation in the amount of running to seed in the crop of red beetroot from different parts of the same field, but the effect of the manures on the proportion which bolted was not widely different.
The general question as to the reason why beet plants should bolt more in one season than in another is discussed, and it is suggested that a check to the plants in an early stage, whether caused by dryness or waterlogging, or by low temperature, followed by a vigorous growing period may have something to do with the matter. This would agree with the experiences recorded in the present paper.