Chemical Compounds & Plants Dear Rain: Allelopathy is a term in plant ecology which refers to direct or indirect harmful effects inflicted by one plant or soi_l microorganism on another plant through the production of chemical compounds that escape into the environment either during the plant's life cycle or during its decomposition. The study, of allelopathy also touch~s ·frequently on beneficial plant associations a:nd uncovers much information useful to those of us interested in companion planting. Allelopathy, by Elroy L. Rice, Academic Press, (111 5th Ave., New York, NY 10003), 351 pp., 1974, is a well-done explanation of the principles and exhaustive compilation of available research results with references. 'A recommended companion to Companion Plants by Philbrick, for the serious companion planter. Woody Deryckx TILTH Arlington, WA Forestry Research The PNW Station is the research arm of the USDA-Forest Service in the Pacific ENERGY continued from page 17 Fu~l Economy Annotated Bibliography, by American Automobile Association, -14 pp., from:· • Traffic Engineering & Safety Dept. American Automobile Association 8111 Gate House Road Falls Church, VA 22042 Lists and briefly describes: pamphlets, booklets and flyers;_magazine and newspaper articles; publications partially devoted t6 fuel economy; audio-visuals; research; AAA items and sources for ~ further information. Useful to school libraries and audio-visual departments, ~ity planning & traffic engineering agencies, consumer-environmental-- public interest organizations. Solar Heated Buildings: A Brief Survey, by W.A. Shurcliff, 172 pp., Nov. 1975, , $9 via 1st class mail, $8 via book rate, payment must accompany order: W.A. Shurcliff 19 Appleton St. Cambridge, MA 02138 This latest, 11th edition, describes 187 existing solar buildings and contains a graph showing, in_factual terms, the rapid growth of solar heating. The \' Northwest. Each year the station publishes a list of research papers which have,.appeared in print during the preceding twelve months. Most of the materiaLis esoteric (scientists talking to other scientists), but some of the publications can be useful to th0se engaged in home forest industries, home building, and other areas. The topics range from the functions of microorganisms in the forest soil to the insulation of wood frame structures for optimu~ h~at,ing and cooling. Tom Baugh Pacjfic N.W. Station P.o·.•Box 3141 Portland, OR 9~208 Northwest Public Power Association Dear Rain/Full Circle Staff: Thank you for including the Northwest Public Power Association in your Northwest Energy Directory. I have some correction·s to make in our listing. Our address is now 1310 Main Street, P.O. Box 1307, Vancouver, Washington 98660. We have two phone riumbers, (206) 694-6553 and (503) 226-0320, Portland. Our General Manager is Henry total number of houses built in 1975 exceeds th~ total number built in all years_preceding 1975 (74 in 1975; prior. to 1975, 62). By surveying owner-built, as well as·government-spc;msored construction, many comparisons of different approaches to solar heating are made. A must for anyone interested in solar energy. Solar Energy, Vol. 17, No. 5, Nov.1975, $65/yr. to libraries and institutions, inc~uded in $3O/yr. dues (students $17); bimonthly from: American Section International Solar Energy Society Smithsonian Radiation ~iology Lab 12441 Parklawn Drive Rockville, MD 20852 An excellent issue with 2 papers on the use of ~eflectors to increase solar energy col'lection, one on ways to add solar energy to existing fossil-fuel steam power plants, one on a Brace Institutedesigned greenhouse for cold regions , and welcome technical notes on Zomeworks "Beadwall" by David Harrison. In sum, well-designed reflectors can give 40 to 70% increase in light-gathering ' power for direct solar radiation in winter, and a 50% enh,ancement for diffuse ~olar energy; greenhous_e heating can RAIN Page 19 G. Curtis. And our publication is the Northwest Public Power Bulletin, which is now bi-monthly. • I have enclosed a copy of our publication and our Directory for your information. Sincerely, Tom Santee Communicarions Dir. - 1310·Main St. P.O. Box 1307 Vancouver, WA 98660 206-694-6553 We Live and B;reathe Dear Rain: Thought you'd be interes'ted to know what uses your magazine is put to. We were in Corvallis, Oregon, job hunting to no avail. My parents sent my fnail, including back issues of RAIN. So we got the idea _of writing to different environmental groups soliciting our energy. .One of our letters was to Earthmind in . Saugus, Califon:i,ia. They answered a •' warm welcome. So, hopefully, we are headed qown there. Thanks, Sam & Dave Izzo Saugus, CA be reduced 30 to 40% if the south w~ll is angled to·optimize max. transmittance of solar energy and the north wall is insulated and has a reflective inside face; and, going beyond economics, we need an "energetics" study which takes , into account not only the obviously great amounts of energy saved in a ,building using beadwall, but also 1) the BTU value of petroleum en rgy inherent in the polystyrene and that used_to form beads from amorphous chunks of that plastic, 2) the amount of electrical · energy needed to blow beads into a wall and to suck them-out again. Wind NSF-RANN Wi.nd Energy Conversion Research: Recent Publicatior,s, ask for Bulletin No. 3, June 1975, from National Science Foundation Washington; DC 205 50 An abstracted bibliography which some wind enthusiasts may.have missed if they were not on the NSF wind mailing -list. Includes Sandia Labs' vertical-axis wind turbine reports, NASA Lewis Research Center reports on the .100-KW machine, as well,,as' NSF grantee reports. Tells you where to order what. Continued on page 20
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