Richard A. Popham

Safranin and Anilin Blue with Delafield's Hematoxylin for Staining Cell Walls in Shoot Apexes

The following technic is suggested for staining cell walls in shoot apexes: After the usual preliminary steps through 50% ethyl alcohol, stain in 1 % safranin 0 for 24 hours. Rinse in tap water and place in 2% aqueous tannic acid for 2 minutes. After rinsing in tap water, stain for 2 minutes in 1 part Delafields hematoxylin to 2 parts distilled water and rinse in tap water. Remove excess hematoxylin with acidified water (1 drop cone. HC1 in 200 ml. water), then place slides in 0.5% lithium carbonate for 5 minutes. Dehydrate through an ethyl alcohol series, then transfer from absolute alcohol to a saturated solution of anilin blue in “methyl cellosolve” for 5-10 minutes. Wash in absolute alcohol, rinse in a solution of 25% methyl salicylate, 33% xylene, 42% absolute ethyl alcohol and clear for 10 minutes in a solution of 2 parts methyl salicylate, 1 part xylene, 1 part absolute ethyl alcohol. Transfer through two changes of xylene and mount in “clarite” or suitable alternate. The resulting preparations wi...

Mordanting Plant Tissues

Selected current ideas on the mordanting of plant tissues are presented in the hope that they will be of practical assistance, especially to the beginner. The nature of the mordanting process and the results which may be expected following mordanting are briefly described. Specific technics are presented for the mordanting of natural dyes, synthetic dyes generally, the basic synthetic dyes and the acid synthetic dyes.

The society for economic botany

President: Sir Otto Yrankel. Senior Research Fellow, Division of Plant Industries, CSII~O, Canberra, Australia. Secretary and 1968 Program Coordinator: Llewelyn Williams. Economic Botanist, Crops Research Division, USDA, Beltsville, Md. Treasurer: Miss Ruth J. Braach. 1548 Presidential Drive, Columbus, Ohio. Council Chairman: Mrs. Julia F. Morton. Director, Morton Collcctanea, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida. Local Representative: Richard A. Popham. Professor, Faculty of Botany, The Ohio State University, Columbus.

Relationship between physical characteristics and milling score of kernels of soft Wheat Varieties

Wheat varieties differ in the ease with which the kernels can be converted to flour. This fact is of considerable commercial and technological importance. Not only does the miller desire a high total flour yield, but also a good yield of patent flour and a low ash content in his product. A method of evaluating milling quality of Pacific Northwest wheat varieties by means of an experimental milling has been developed by E. F. Seeborg (10). Each variety is given a milling score derived from the following formula: milling score = 100--[(80-per cent flour yielded in milling) q50 (per .cent ash in flour--.30) q.4 (feed time in rain.--15) q.2 (65-per cent patent flour yielded) -t.5 (16-per cent moisture ,content) ]. The fact that a sizeable portion of grain is needed for an experimental milling is a problem to the plant breeder. When he develops a new wheat variety by crossing a few plants each of two previously known varieties, he must, in subsequent crop years, increase the first few grams of grain obtained from that cross until