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TAXONOMY, VASC. PLANTS 



[BoT. Absts., Vol. IX, 



composts of manure decreased the loss of organic matter by fermentation although increased 

 bacterial numbers were maintained. Citrate-soluble phosphate approximately doubled 

 where sulphur was added. On Plainfield sandy loam the yield of oats was as great where sul- 

 phur compost was applied as where the treatment included rock phosphate. In greenhouse 

 trials sulphur increased the yield of clover and of the Cruciferae and in field plots increased the 

 yield of seed in barley. Sulphur appears to function as a fertilizer both by oxidation to the 

 nutrient sulphate and by producing an acid condition favorable to the production of available 

 phosphate. It remains to be proved whether the efficiency of sulphur is any greater when it 

 is composted with rock-phosphate and manure than when these materials are added simul- 

 taneously to the soil. — W. J. Robbins. 



556. Walton, J. H. Report of the Imperial Agricultural Bacteriologist. Sci. Rept. Agric. 

 Res. Inst. Pusa 1919-20:109-113. 1920.— Areportof progressin thestudy of (l) nitrification of 

 cow and sheep manures and various oil cakes, both in pot cultures and field plots, and (2) the 

 nitrogen fixing power of various soil microorganisms. — Winfield Dudgeon. 



557. White, J. W. Lime requirement of Pennsylvania soils. Pennsylvania Agric. Exp. 

 Sta. Bull. 1C4. S6p.,6fig. 1920. — This bulletin is a summary of a lime-requirement survey of 

 Pennsylvania. The results are discussed in terms of CaCOs, or limestone required in pounds 

 per acre to produce an alkaline soil to the depth of 7 inches as determined by the 

 Veitch method. The survey includes a study of 1474 samples of soil taken from 50 counties 

 and represents all of the soil series of agricultural importance. Seventy-two per cent of the 

 soil areas in Pennsylvania were found to be acid, while 85 per cent of the river bottom soils 

 of the state were acid. The average lime requirement of limed soils was found to be 1,749 

 lbs. per acre as compared to 3,105 lbs. where no lime had been used. No definite relation 

 exists between the lime requirement and the texture of the soils. — The growth of clover and 

 alfalfa in relation to the lime requirement of Pennsylvania soils is shown in the table. 



A classification of the important soil series of the state is included. — C. R. Orton. 



558. Wilson, B. D. Nitrogen in the rain-water at Ithaca, New York. Soil Sci. 11: 101- 

 110. 1921. — With an average yearly rainfall of 29.31 inches between May 1, 1915, and May 

 1, 1920, the soil received annually 12.51 lbs. of nitrogen per acre. Of this amount 11.5 lbs. 

 was in the form of ammonia and 1.01 in the form of nitrates. The rainfall during the spring 

 and summer contained more nitrogen than that of the fall and winter. — W . J . Robbins. 



TAXONOMY OF VASCULAR PLANTS 



J. M. Greenman, Editor 

 E. B. Payson, Assistant Editor 



(See in this issue Entries 14, 86, 113, 233, 234, 345, 380, 461) 



