ABSTRACTS OF REPORTS OF EUROPEAN INVESTIGATIONS. 



Chemical analyses of soil, J. Sebelien {Landui. Versuchs-Staiionen, 38, 

 2). 342).— This is a i>a[)ei- read before the section for aoricultnral chem- 

 istry and experiiiieiiting at the meeting of naturalists [Naturforsclier- 

 VtrsammJung) in Se|»tember, 1890, at Bremen. A series of experiments 

 was begun in ISGO on the experimental fields of the government agri- 

 cultural high school at Aas, ISTorwaj^, to observe the effects of a one- 

 sided application of fertilizers in the continuous culture of the same 

 plant for a term of years. These experiments wore concluded iu 1889, 

 having extended over 21 years. 



Barley was grown on nine plats, seven of which rei eived ammonium 

 sulphate, sui)erph()sphate, and potassium sulphate, singly, two by two, 

 and all three combined, the other two remaining unmanured. Each 

 year the amount of each of the important fertilizing ingredients re- 

 moved from the soil with the crop of barley was calculated from Wolft's 

 tables, and a one sided replacement was made of the amount of one 

 or more of these ingredients removed the previous year, following the 

 phi a laid down for the different plats iu the first year's application. 

 Thus, to the plat which had received nitrogen as ammonium sulphate 

 tlie first ,vear, the total theoretical amount of nitrogen removed in the 

 crop each succeeding year was restored iu the fertilizer, but not the pot- 

 ash and [(hosphoric acid; and to the one which had received superphos- 

 phate and potassium sulphate the first year, the calculated amounts of 

 l)l!osi)horic acid and potash removed were restored. The results of the 

 21 years' experiment showed the following: 



(1) A one-sided a[)plication of nitrogen gave a noticeable increase in 

 the croj) o\er the nnlertilized plats. 



(2) The application of potash exclusively gave no larger crops than 

 \vliere no feitilizer was used. 



(3) The three i)lats which received two of the important elements of 

 plant food each all gave increased crops over the uumanured plats. 



(4) The plac to which the "complete fertilizer" was applied showed 

 a ve"v consideiable increase over all other plats. 



Regarding the proportion of grain to straw, the use of no feitilizer 

 or of potash alone teiuled to increase the proportion of straw to grain; 

 610 



