Lysimeter Experiments 69 



in each set were filled with soil of a different type from those in the other 

 sets. The soil was kept free of vegetation. The annual removal of 

 potash (K2O) in the drainage water varied with the type of soil, rising 

 from a minimum of 8 pounds per acre to a maximum of 67 pounds. The 

 lime (CaO) varied from 70 pounds to 582 pounds, and the magnesia 

 (MgO) from 13 pounds to 53 pounds. These losses were from soils to 

 which no fertilizer had been applied. 



The experiments included the application of sulfate of potash, which was 

 used at the average rate of about 308 pounds per acre annually. In the 

 case of two soils this application did not increase the quantity of 

 potassium in the drainage water, but, on the other hand, materially 

 decreased it. There was an increase in the potassium in the drainage 

 water of the other six soils, but the quantities varied greatly, showing, 

 as the author remarks, large differences in the fixing power of these soils. 



The potash applications increased the removal of calcium in most 

 of the soils to a rather slight degree, but in a sandy soil potassium sulfate 

 caused the calcium to more than double in the drainage water. In one 

 soil the removal of calcium was depressed by the potash. Magnesia 

 followed closely the course of lime in respect to its response to applications 

 of potassium sulfate, but in the main the effect was less marked than 

 with lime, and in the case of two soils the removal was decreased. 



Bases in drainage water from field soils 



Goessmann, Haskins, and Smith (1899) report analyses of drainage water 

 from eleven 0.1-acre plats of land which were drained by tiles running down 

 the middle of each plat at a depth of from 3| to 4 feet and terminating 

 in an open well from which the water could be drawn for analysis. No 

 attempt was made to keep a record of the flow. On certain plats potas- 

 sium was applied as muriate, and on others as potassium magnesium 

 sulfate, together with other chemicals. The application of potassium 

 salts was found to increase the quantity of calcium in the drainage water, 

 and in most cases, but not in all, the muriate occasioned a greater loss 

 of lime than did the sulfate. Magnesium also was leached in larger 

 quantity from the plats receiving the potash salts. 



Drainage water was collected from tile drains under a plat of 4.81 

 hectares of land, and analyses were reported, by Creydt, Von Seelhorst, 

 and Wilms (1901). The tiles were 15 meters apart and 1.25 meters 

 deep. The soil was a loam overlying a clay loam. Drainage was col- 



69 



