Pkoceedings of Seventeenth jSTokmal Institute O'J 



NOTES ON SOME RECENT STATION BULLETINS 

 F. H. Hall 



These notes are in no way intended to be a complete review of 

 the work of the experiment stations in the United States for the 

 past year; but merely to call attention to some pieces of work 

 which have a bearing on New York agriculture. The summaries 

 given should serve merely as texts for full discussion of the topics 

 mentioned. 



No notes are given on publications of the stations in New York 

 State, as the matters therein presented will undoubtedly be 

 brought to the attention of the institute by the investigators. 



bacteriology 



Nodule bacteria. (Ky. 184.) From studies and cultures the 

 author regards the bacteria producing nodules on alfalfa, clover, 

 vetch and garden pea, cowpea, soy bean and garden bean as dis- 

 tinct and not interchangeable for the purpose of promoting nitro- 

 gen assimilation by these crops. 



Comparative efjf'ect of phosphates and sulphates on soil bacteria. 

 (Wis. Research 35.) Studies were made of certain chemical 

 changes in culture media, in soil solutions and in soil as influenced 

 by the development of bacteria therein, and of the effect on these 

 changes produced by the addition of the chemicals, in pure form, 

 which are the effective ingredients in fertilizers. 



The investigators conclude that the addition of mineral fertil- 

 izers to soils causes an increase in the production of ammonia and 

 carbon dioxide, and in the number of bacteria. They say : " The 

 results of this work suggest that possibly the increased crop pro- 

 duction of a soil resulting from the application of soluble phos- 

 phates is in part due to the promotion of bacterial activity. On 

 the one hand, by the increased ammonification and consequent 

 conversion of ammonia into nitrates, more nitrogen becomes avail- 

 able for rapid plant growth. The increase in carbon dioxide favors 

 the solution of the insoluble minerals of the soil and thus helps to 

 render available those mineral constituents needed for plant food." 



