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In recent years there has been a rapid growth in the fuel ethanol industry, increasing the need for a consistent supply of feedstock. This study was conducted to evaluate the potential of small grains in western Canada to supply feedstock to the ethanol industry. Thirty-one lines and cultivars of Canadian small grains were evaluated: eleven cultivars comprising five classes spring wheat, six cultivars of two and six row barley of feed, malting and hulless classes, eight cultivars of spring triticale and six cultivars of oat were grown at seven locations in western Canada and evaluated as feedstock for ethanol production. Starch concentrations and, for certain grains, β-glucan and pentosans were determined and used to estimate ethanol yields in L t-1 and L ha-1. On average, ethanol yield in L t-1 was wheat > triticale > barley > oat; however, for yield in L ha-1, only oat was inferior. This ranking was consistent across all locations tested. Estimates of ethanol yields indicated that certain cultivars within classes of grains were superior, such as CDC Buck, SWS 109, HY 617 and Pronghorn in the hulless barley, CWSWS, CPS-R and Triticale classes, respectively. Locations that produced the highest level of ethanol in one species tended to produce grain with the highest ethanol yields in the other species. Selection of cultivars with greater starch content, different starch quality and reduced pentosans as well as the advancements in and adoption of new fermentation technologies may lead to greater estimates of ethanol yields of small grain cereals in the future.Key words: Cereal grains, starch, pentosans, β-glucans, ethanol yield

Changing economic conditions have provided strong incentives for grain producers to choose the most profitable cereal crops to grow. We determined grain yield and water use efficiency (WUE) for winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), fall rye (Secale cereale L.), hard red spring (HRS) wheat, Canada prairie spring (CPS) wheat, amber durum (Triticum turgidum L.), and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) under no-till systems. Over 60% of yield variability existing among site/years was due to water use or evapotranspiration (ET) in semiarid east-central Saskatchewan. Mean grain yield increased by 16.3 kg ha−1 with each millimetre of increase in ET. Barley produced 3748 kg ha−1 of grain on average, or 21% higher than winter wheat, 27% higher than CPS wheat, 39% higher than rye or durum, and 50% higher than HRS wheat. Average yields differed less than 5% between winter wheat and CPS wheat, but in water-stressed environments, CPS wheat had 19 to 34% lower grain yield than winter wheat. In one of the five cases where winter wheat was seeded much later than the recommended seeding date, CPS wheat yields were 16% higher than winter wheat. With every millimetre of increased ET, CPS or barley increased grain yield by 22 kg ha−1, while winter wheat increased yield by 17 kg ha−1. Winter wheat and rye had no yield differences in general, but in more moist environments, winter wheat produced higher (up to 28%) grain yield than fall rye, and in the year when winter wheat was seeded late, winter wheat yielded 11% lower than rye. As fertiliser N increased from 50 to 100 kg ha−1, barley grain yield increased by 347 kg ha−1, and durum grain yield increased by only 5 kg ha−1. Winter wheat, fall rye and barley had greater WUE than the other spring cereals, but soil profile (0–120 cm) water in the spring did not differ among crops. In maximising grain yield and water use in east-central Saskatchewan, barley, winter wheat, and CPS wheat would provide the best options. Key words: Water-use efficiency, protein, winter wheat, Triticum aestivum, Secale cereale, Triticum turgidum, Hordeum vulgare

High levels of FFA have been a recurring problem in the seed oil of Ontario-grown, canola-quality summer rape (Brassica napus L.). Examination of seed samples from the Eastern Canadian Co-operative Cultivar Trials conducted at several locations in 1988–1993 showed significant, consistent differences in FFA levels among cultivars. In each year from 1988 to 1991 the cultivars Kristina, Delta and Westar had FFA levels that were about 40% of those of Global and the triazine-tolerant cultivars Stallion, OAC Triton and OAC Triumph. Pearson's correlations and Spearman's rank correlation between years for FFA levels of genotypes were all significant, with the exception of the Spearman's rank correlation between 1992 and 1993. Significant differences in FFA occurred among locations in southern Ontario, but location differences were not consistent across years. Cultivars grown in western Canada, however, had FFA levels between 2 and 41% of their FFA levels at the southern Ontario locations. The FFA levels of cultivars at one Ontario location were significantly correlated with the mean FFA levels of the same cultivars from all the other Ontario locations in the same year, 28 out of 34 times. Correlations were higher before the high-FFA cultivars were removed from the trials in 1991. Screening of lines in a breeding program for susceptibility to high FFA at one southern Ontario location appeared to be predictive of FFA levels at other southern Ontario locations. Selection of cultivars that have low FFA levels should reduce the FFA problem in Ontario-grown spring canola. Key words:Brassica napus, canola, free fatty acids, cultivars, stress, environment

Field studies were conducted in 1989 and 1990 to determine the FFA levels during seed development of three Ontario-grown canola-quality summer rape (Brassica napus L.) cultivars, Global, Kristina and OAC Triton, to determine the relationship between FFA and brown seeds and to assess the effect of silique position within the raceme on FFA. Seed mass increased linearly until 44 DAF in 1989 and curvilinearly until 43 DAF in 1990. Seed oil increased until approximately 32 and 31 DAF in 1989 and 1990, respectively. The concentration of FFA in seeds declined in both years until oil concentration stopped increasing, suggesting that FFA were being incorporated into triacylglycerol. During oil synthesis total FFA per seed increased and, as oil synthesis slowed and stopped, FFA decreased. The individual cultivars decreased FFA to different levels as oil synthesis slowed, with Kristina having the lowest FFA. As the crop finished ripening the FFA levels increased in Global and OAC Triton in 1989 and in all cultivars in 1990. There was a strong positive correlation between FFA and percent brown seed in 1990 (r = 0.64) and in 1991 (r = 0.88). FFA and percent brown seed were 33 and 66%, respectively, higher in seed samples from siliques located on branches than in seed samples from siliques located on the main raceme. FFA and percent brown seed were higher in seed samples from siliques on tips than in seed samples from siliques located on the basal portion of the raceme by 137 and 142%, respectively. The results indicated that cultivars differed in their ability to decrease FFA during oil synthesis and a consistent rise in mg FFA kg−1 oil occurred at the end of the seed filling period. Key words: Free fatty acids, Brassica napus, seed development, brown seed, raceme position

Spring canola (Brassica napus) seed grown in Ontario frequently exhibits elevated levels of free fatty acids (FFA) in the oil. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of various agronomic practices on FFA levels. Several field experiments were conducted in 1989 and 1990, and one experiment was conducted in 1987. FFA levels in the oil were higher in 1989 than in 1990. Two cultivars, Kristina and Global, were included in most experiments. The cultivar Kristina exhibited consistently lower FFA levels than the cultivar Global, averaging 42% less over years and treatments. Global averaged 1.31 and 0.62% FFA in 1989 and 1990, respectively. Decreasing seeding rates raised FFA levels in both cultivars in 1989 and in Global in 1990. Increasing rates of nitrogen (N) fertilizer increased FFA in Global in 1989. The removal of drought stress by irrigation during seed filling decreased FFA in Global by 46% in 1989. A combination of high N, low seeding rates, and no irrigation increased FFA in both cultivars in 1990. Delays in planting date resulted in higher FFA in 1987. The effect of these agronomic practices on yield and seed oil concentration were also reported. Applications of potassium or boron fertilizers did not affect FFA, nor did weekly applications of the fungicide, benomyl, or dosing plants with elevated levels of atmospheric ozone. The problem of elevated FFA can be diminished by avoiding excessively high nitrogen fertilizer rates and low seeding rates and by selection of low-FFA cultivars. Key words: Canola, free fatty acids, irrigation, ozone, planting date, oil content

TreviGel-500, a new polysaccharide matrix containing AgaCryl, commercially available as a powder for slab gel electrophoresis, is now being applied to the separation of DNA fragments in capillary electrophoresis. The capillary mode allows the use of one to two orders of magnitude lower mass fractions of matrix and approximately five to six orders of magnitude lower sample quantities than the slab gel electrophoresis counterpart for optimal separation of DNA fragments in the 100 to 2,000 base pair size range. In the capillary mode, this new separation matrix forms a semi-rigid gel that demonstrates enhanced selectivity for DNA fragments in the 1,000 to 7,000 base pair size range relative to alternative size-sieving polymer solutions. In addition, this matrix offers the advantages of lower toxicity than acrylamide. Comparisons are drawn between the use of this matrix in both slab gel electrophoresis and capillary electrophoresis for the separation of DNA fragments with respect to the mass fraction of the matrix in buffer, the buffer composition and sample loading or injection parameters.

I am indebted to Captain Duncan M. Henderson (Journal27, 536) for causing me to seek further than I had done previously to enable me to prove that ‘F’ in old log-books stood for fathoms and not fractions.I would quote the following authorities who all state definitely that the ‘F’ meant fathoms and that there were usually eight fathoms to a knot, at any rate in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. They are

(1980). ADMIRALS OF THE FLEET AND THEIR BATONS. The Mariner's Mirror: Vol. 66, No. 3, pp. 225-232.

The concentration of the antiepilepsy drug valproic acid (2-propylpentanoic acid) was determined in both a processed freeze dried human serum material and patient serum samples obtained from a clinical laboratory. The freeze dried material is being issued by the National Bureau of Standards as Standard Reference Material 1599. The analytical procedure developed involves organic extraction of valproic acid and an internal standard (cyclohexane-carboxylic acid) from the serum matrix; derivatization of the carboxylic acids to phenacyl esters; measurement of the analyte and internal standard species by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography. The results obtained on both types of samples compare favorably with results obtained using more conventional gas chromatographic approaches.

It is now more than thirty years since Commander W. E. May, R.N. (formerly of the Admiralty Compass Observatory), drafted this hitherto unpublished paper, recording his opinions based on a study of documents made available to him in 1947 by Messrs Kelvin, Bottomley and Baird. The documents referred to in the paper are:The Thomson v. Moore case as presented to the House of Lords in the Thomson v. Moore case (Patent Design and Trade Mark Cases, Vol. VII, No. 36.)The case of Thomson v. Hughes (Patent Design and Trade Mark Cases, Vol. VII, Nos. 9 and 22.)Report of Proof of case of Kelvin v. Whyte Thomson &. Co.Bound volume of patent specifications referred to in the last named.It is a curious habit of editors and publishers to invite well-known persons to write articles on subjects outside their normal orbit. Thus in 1874 Sir William Thomson was invited to write for Good Words an article on the mariner's compass. He took up the task and soon realized that he did not know enough of the subject to complete the article. He then began to study the compass and the final part of the article was published in 1879. Such is one of Lord Kelvin's explanations of how he came to interest himself. In 1885, in an affidavit for the Moore case, he said that he took up the study of the compass in 1871, whilst elsewhere he said that it was the necessity of writing for the Royal Society an obituary notice on Archibald Smith, who died in 1872, which first turned his attention to compasses.

The paper is divided into two parts. The development of ship-borne compasses is reviewed in Part I; in this section some of the difficulties due to bad siting, &c., are mentioned and certain solutions such as the use of repeating compasses and improved methods of correction are described. Part II surveys the development of the aircraft compass and shows how its phases of development have corresponded to those of the marine compass. Some recent forms of aircraft compass and methods of development are also described.