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The studies and preliminary screening results reported in this paper developed from an initial interest in what appeared to be mildly toxic qualities of the bulbs of the common daffodil, Narcissus pseudonarcissus, Amaryllidaceae. The literature consulted does not shed much light on the mechanisms of the toxic agent or agents, and there appear to be some inconsistencies in respect to the alkaloids extracted. Part of this may be the result of differences in method of extraction, or perhaps lack of agreement on the identity of the actual plant bulbs used as a source of alkaloids. In regard to the chemical isolation of the alkaloids subsequently studied, the closest attention to the details described in several publications did not produce the results described.

This problem was a study of plant species in the Escalante Desert, Utah, in relation to soil conditions. The plants were surveyed by the transect-plot method. The plants and soils were analyzed by percentage-frequency techniques. There is no measurable correlation between soil series and the dominant plants which occur on the soils. There is no correlation between soil types and the plants that are dominant on the soil types. There is a definite correlation between textural classes of the soil and the plants that are dominant on these classes.