CHEMISTRY 



During the year the chemists have accomplished the usu.il 

 amount of analytical work, mostly of soils and irrigating water, for 

 the farmers of the State. Research work has been restricted to the 

 study of alkali, both in the field and in the laboratory by means of 

 the auxograph. In this connection a large number of graphs have 

 been made showing the influence of alkali and of soil solutions on 

 the swelling of colloids. During the summer months we were forced 

 to discontinue this line of work because of the disturbing efliect of 

 high temperatures. The annual analyses of the Salton Sea Water, 

 made in co-operation with the Carnegie Desert Laboratory, and 

 incorporated in the annual report of this department for several, 

 years past, have been discontinued, because it was believed that the 

 chief facts to be learned from the work had been discovered. Only, 

 occasional analyses of the water will be made as the sea continues 

 to dry up. Much work was done on perfecting apparatus for 

 pasteurizing and ripening dates, requiring the services of the assist- 

 ant chemist at the Tempe Date Orchard for several weeks. In- 

 struction and laboratory practice in soils have been given in the, 

 College of Agriculture, and much time has been devoted by the 

 chemist to matters of curriculum and registration of agricultural 

 students. 



THE TEMPE DRAINAGE DITCH 



In the Twenty-seventh Annual Report a series of six monthly, 

 analyses of the water from the new Tempe Drainage Ditch wus 

 tabulated. Eleven additional analyses are now available and urc 

 presented in the following table, together with those previously 

 reported : 



