1917] Lipman-Gericke : Smelter Wastes and Barley Growth 557 



injuring large areas of land, we have another interesting propo- 

 sition to bring forward. L. T. Sharp and the senior author^-^ 

 have already reported preliminary pot experiments in evidence 

 of the fact that H2SO4 exerts a remarkable effect on alkali soil 

 with the result of changing the latter from an unproductive state 

 to a productive one. The probable reasons for this action are 

 discussed in the paper referred to above. Suffice it to say here 

 that field experiments which still remain unpublished amply 

 confirm the pot experiments. If this should prove to be a more 

 or less permanent effect on alkali soils which do not contain too 

 high a percentage of salts (from 0.6 per cent to 0.8 per cent), 

 then we could solve the other and really serious phase of the 

 smelter question, namely, the smelter gases. Chemical engineers 

 of note, including F. G. Cottrell of the Bureau of Mines, have 

 often stated to the senior author that the chief reason that SO. 

 fumes from the smelters are not made into H^SO^ is because 

 there would be no use for such tremendous quantities of that 

 acid. If, however, we should be able to apply H2SO4 to many 

 alkali soils with good effect that objection would vanish. If, 

 therefore, the smelters will only produce the acid cheaply 

 enough, as they now seem inclined to do, we shall be able to 

 banish much costly litigation, let the smelter industry develop 

 untramelled, give the smelter companies compensation for oxid- 

 izing the SOo, and last but not least, put large acreages of 

 barren land into good crop-producing condition. 



This proposition sounds almost chimerical, but much thought 

 and work on it have convinced us that it is well justified by 

 facts, and we believe that the condition just described will speed- 

 ily come to pass. We mention the SOo problem here only in 

 passing, since much fuller discussion of our experiments with 

 H2SO4 on alkali soils is to appear in later papers. Suffice it to 

 say, that we believe we have in it and in the experiments above 

 discussed strong evidence of methods for controlling the smelter 

 nuisance without injuring the industry' or the farmer, and, 

 besides, much evidence on tlie true effects of solids of smelter 

 wastes on barley grown in soils. 



124 Univ. Oal. Publ. Agri. ScL, vol. 1, p. 275. 



