320 STATE BOARD OP AGRICULTURE. 



HATCH FUND. 



Fui'ther work has been carried on during the year in a study of the 

 iiiauufacture of concrete drain tile. The object sought is a tile which 

 will not allow water 1o percolate through the walls. It has been found 

 that this coiulition can be obtained very satisfactorily when the sand and 

 gravel are graded according to Fuller's curve. Still better results are 

 obtained Avhen the sand and gravel are graded according to Fuller's 

 curve and 10 per cent of cylinder oil is added to the water before mix- 

 ing the concrete. Tile made in this way an<l then properly cured are 

 practically impervious. This work will be ready for i)ublication soon. 



Work has been done during the year on the composition of and 

 methods for analyzing lime-sulphur solutions. This work is still in prog- 

 ress and no conclusions are yet available. 



A short paper giving the details of a method for estimating calcium 

 and strontium in the presence of phosphoric acid and small amount of 

 iron was published in the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chem- 

 istry. 



All of the work under this fund has been done by Mr. Winter. 



ADAMS FUND. 



Leave oC absence for one year was granted to Mr. Robinson at the be- 

 ginning of the year for advanced study at the University of Michigan 

 where he received the degree of Ph. D. at the recent commencement ex- 

 ercises. Mr. Kobinson has directed the work under this fund during 

 the year and the following report is submitted by him : 



"The manuscript of the bulletin dealing with tlie work done by Dr. J. 

 E. Harris under Project 2b, 'Adsorption in relation to soluble fertilizer 

 salts,' has finally been completed. An article describing this work will 

 also appear shortly in one of the chemical journals. 



"The investigation under Project 2ba, 'The organic nitrogenous com- 

 pounds in peat soils,' have been continued along the lines previously 

 laid out. The study of the various forms of nitrogen in peat soils has 

 yielded positive results and more Avork has been done on the application 

 of the methods of analysis perfected in this work to the analysis of other 

 organic materials used in the manufacture of fertilizers. 



"The study of the effect of liming peat and muck soils, mentioned in 

 the last report, has been continued and some interesting results have 

 been obtained. 



"The preliminary experiments on the first problem taken up under 

 Project 2e, 'Adsorption in relation to osmosis in soils' have been com- 

 pleted and a manuscript describing them is ready for publication. Work 

 on the second stage of the problem is progressing favorably and nearly 

 enough data for a second publication are available." 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



One hundred and ninety-flve samples of a miscellaneous nature were 

 analyzed during the year, and in addition, a large number of marl and 

 limestone samples have been examined as to their value for ai>plying 

 to acid soils. 



Mr. AVinter was ai)i)ointed referee on insecticides for the Association 

 of Official AgricultJiral Chemists and other members of the staff have 

 collaborated on methods of analysis along other lines. 



