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Extracted alfalfa saponins and leaf meal extracts from alfalfa influenced the growth rate of some fungi more than others. Of seven fungi whose growth rate was studied on media to which different concentrations of extracted alfalfa saponins or Leeben, a commercial saponin, were added, only Trichoderma viride was fonnd highly sensitive at concentrations below 1 mg of saponin per milliliter of medium.A correlation coefficient of —0.952** was found between the growth of T. viride on 2% potato‐dextrose‐agar containing leaf meal extracts from 36 F1 and S1 plant families and saponin percentage. This, together with a correlation coefficient of —0.922** between the growth of T. viride on media containing leaf meal extracts from individual alfalfa plants and saponin percentage, suggests the use of T. viride for bioassays for saponins.

White‐flowered alfalfa was equal to colored‐flowered alfalfa in attracting nectar‐collecting honeybees, but less attractive for pollen‐collecting leaf‐cutting bees. Comparisons of white‐ and colored‐flowered alfalfa for percentage of stainable pollen, nectar sugar per flower, and pollen extrusion were not significantly different. Cross‐pollination was higher for honey bees than leaf‐cutting bees (45.4%:41.2%), but seed production was higher for leaf‐cutting bees (315 g:265 g). Cross‐pollination but not seed yield was affected by the bee by variety interaction. This highly significant interaction occurred because cross‐pollination of white‐flowered alfalfa paired with ‘Uinta’ alfalfa pollinated by leaf‐cutting bees was low, but high when pollinated by honey bees. The percentage of crossing on spaced white‐flowered alfalfa plants as determined by colored hypocotyls was 54.9, with a standard error of 1.8. This compares with a value of 74.4% for hand‐crossed seed without emasculation.

Interest in the oxidation of aromatic amines has been renewed by the work of Akerfeldt (1, 2) with the in vitro oxidation of N,N-dimethyl-p-phenylenediamine dihydrochloride (DPP) by the serum of normal and schizophrenic patients. Since a survey of the literature failed to reveal any published data concerning this oxidation reaction in the case of children, we have examined the sera from 23 children hospitalized because of psychiatric illness. The group ranged in age from 6 to 13 years. There were 5 female and 18 male children.The Akerfeldt test (1) was modified slightly to yield a final solution of serum and DPP whose pH was between 7.00 and 7.15 (3). Three parameters were used in the analysis of the biochemical data. The first was the value of the slope when the optical density at 552 mgx was plotted against time. The second was the length of lag period which resulted in the majority of cases prior to the oxidation of DPP. The optical density at 552 mLt, determined 5 minutes after the addition of DPP to the serum, served as the final parameter. The length