No. 2, March, 1921] SOIL SCIENCE 209 



FERTILIZER RESOURCES 



1414. Anonymous. The nitrogen problem; by-products. [Rev. of: Anonymous. Min- 

 istry of munitions of war. Munitions inventions department. Nitrogen products committee. 

 Final report. VI + 357 p. H. M. Stationery office: London, 1919.] Nature 105: 201-202. 

 1920.— See also Bot. Absts. 7, Entry 1417. 



1415. Anonymous. The manufacture of synthetic ammonia and production of nitrates. 

 Nature 105: 312. 1920. — Note on beginning of work by the government. See also Bot. 

 Absts. 7, Entry 1417. (The Nitrogen problem. Nature 104: 533.)— 0. A. Stevens. 



1416. Anonymous. Basic slag and its use in agriculture. Nature 105: 183-184. 1920. — 

 A discussion organized by the Faraday Society, held Mar. 23. Slag produced by Bessemer 

 process has a marked effect on pastures, and British agriculturists could use 300,000 to 400,000 

 tons a year. The open hearth process which is likely to supersede the Bessemer yields two 

 slags, both poorer in phosphates. — 0. A. Stevens. 



1417. Anonymous. The nitrogen problem. [Rev. of: Anonymous. Ministry of muni- 

 tions of war. Munitions inventions department. Nitrogen products committee. Final 

 report. VI + 357 p. H. M. Stationery office: London, 1919.] Nature 104: 533-535, 568-570. 

 1920. — Committee estimates post-war supply of fixed nitrogen potentially available is likely 

 to show an increase of 30 to 40 per cent upon pre-war production, almost wholly due to devel- 

 opment of synthetic processes. Demands of war set aside needs of agriculture to the great 

 detriment of the world's food supply, causing almost universal recognition of the vital im- 

 portance of nitrogenous fertilizers. Under favorable conditions nitrogen fixation and allied 

 processes stand at a very considerable advantage as compared with non-synthetic methods 

 (based on pre-war prices). The committee recommends the establishment of: (1) calcium cya- 

 namide process to yield 60,000 tons per annum, (2) synthetic ammonia (Haber) process up to 

 minimum of 10,000 tons of ammonia per annum, and (3) ammonia oxidation plant, in con- 

 junction with the synthetic ammonia factory, to jdeld 10,000 tons of 95 per cent nitric acid or 

 its equivalent in nitrates. The investigation of other fixation processes is recommended. — 

 0. A. Stevens. 



1418. Jenkins, E. H., and E. Monroe Bailey. Fertilizer report for 1919. Connecticut 

 (New Haven) Agric. Exp. Sta. Bull. 217: 53-106. 1919.— Analyses of 339 brands of fertilizers 

 offered for sale in the state are given. — Henry Dorsey. 



1419. Russell, E. J. The manufacture of artificial fertilizers. [Rev. of: Lloyd, Strauss 

 L. Mining and manufacture of fertilizing material and their relation to soils. VI + 153 p. 

 D. Van Nostrand Co. : New York. Crosby, Lockwood and Son, London. 1919.] Nature 105 : 

 4-5. 1920. — Reviewer considers the two chapters on pebble phosphate and hard-rock phos- 

 phate fairly good. Other chapters contain much that is poorly selected or antiquated. — 

 0. A. Stevens. 



1420. Thorne, Chas. E. Basic slag vs. acid phosphate. Ohio Agric. Exp. Sta. Monthly 

 Bull. 55 : 141-147. 1920. — A comparison of the two materials as a source of phosphorus. 

 Basic slag was found to be a useful carrier of phosphorus, but the claim made that it is 

 superior to acid phosphate is not justified. — R. C. Thomas. 



