726 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



rff/rt Times is fjuoted as authority for the statement that calcium carbid is 

 produced on a large scale in the United States, the industry being controlled by 

 two companies, the most important of which is located at Niagara Falls. It 

 is also stated that in 1910 the United States exported 25,933,670 lbs. of carbid 

 valued at $733,574. The largest producer and exporter of this material for 

 which statistics are available is Norwaj'. 



The use of calcium carbid for the preparation of calcium cyanamid for 

 fertilizing purposes is said to be extending, but it is pointed out that cheap 

 water power is essential for the most profitable production of the carbid and 

 for the manufacture of the calcium cyanamid, and that the two processes 

 should bo carri(!d on in close proximity. 



The fertilizing value of the potassium silicate in phonolite, M. Geldmacheb 

 (Ztschr. Angew. Chem., 25 (1912), No. 7, pp. 292, 293).— The author is of the 

 opinion that the potassium silicate in phonolite has considerable fertilizing 

 value, but believes that further investigation on this point is necessary. 



A chemical solution of feldspar {Sci. Amer., 105 (1911), No. 7, p. 136; abs. 

 in Internut. I7ist. Agr. [Romel, Bui. Bur. Agr. Intel, and Plant Diseases, 2 

 (1911), No. 8-10, p. 1996). — It is stated that by heating finely ground feldspar 

 with calcium chlorid, which can be obtained as a cheap by-product of soda 

 making, and some limestone, the potash can be extracted as the soluble chlorid, 

 the residue being suitable for calcination for use as cement. One ton of feld- 

 spar can be made to yield by this process 190 lbs. of potassium chlorid worth 

 $4.50. and 5 or 6 bbls. of cement worth as much more. 



Potash salts from seaweed, G. V. Green and H. S. Johnson (Chem. Engin., 

 15 (1912), No. 2, pp. 55-60). — A study of the chemical composition and distil- 

 lation products of samples of Atlantic sea grass and of Ncreocystis Icntkeana 

 collected at two different dates during the winter of 1910-11 on the Pacific 

 coast is reported. 



On the basis of the average composition of the whole Pacific seaweed it is 

 estimated that a ton of dry material will yield about 600 lbs. of potassium 

 chlorid of 80 per cent purity, worth $12, and 2 lbs. of iodin worth $4. This is 

 a much lawer value than that estimated by Balch," who concluded that a ton 

 of thoroughly air-dried kelp should be worth about $25, but included in this a 

 certain value for volatile and nonvolatile distillation products. The author, 

 however, found the distillation products from the 3 kinds of weed examined 

 by him to be worthless. 



Further investigation of the subject on a large scale is considered neces- 

 sary before drawing conclusions as to the probable commercial success of the 

 treatment of Pacific seaweeds. 



Effect of ig'nition on solubility of soil phosphates, G. S. Fraps (Jour. 

 Ind/iis. and Engin. Chem., 3 (1911), No. 5, p. 335). — The effect of igniting min- 

 eral phosphates, such as may occur in the soil, for 10 minutes at a low red heat 

 was studied, and it was found that this treatment increased about 10 times the 

 solubility of the phosphoric acid of wavellite, dufrenite, and variscite in fifth- 

 normal nitric acid and rendered these phosphates almost completely soluble in 

 12 per cent hydrochloric acid. 



The author concludes that " ignition of the soil will probably render inorganic 

 phosphates soluble in acid, and therefore is not a method for estimating organic 

 phosphoric acid. Ignition of the soil renders considerable quantities of iron and 

 aluminum oxids soluble in acid." 



The sulphur requirements of crops in relation to the soil and air supply, 

 E. B. Hart (Ahs. in Science, n. ser., 35 (1912), No. 898, p. 427). — This is an 



o Jour. Indus, and Engin. Chem., 1 (1909), No. 12, p. 777. 



