SOILS FEETILIZEKS. 519 



duetiou of small ponds by fertilizing and other means as a supplementary 

 industry to farming. 



Sewage disposal in the United States, A. Winslow (Wasscr u. Abtcasscr, 

 2 (WOO), Xo. Ji, pp. lYJ-1.58; aha. in Chcm. Ztg., S't (1910), Xo. 25, Rcpert., p. 

 102). — This article discusses briefly the present status in the United States of 

 intermittent filtration with and without septic treatment, contact and trickling 

 beds, broad irrigation in the arid regions, chemical precipitation and disinfec- 

 tion of sewage, experimental investigations of sewage problems and the general 

 outlook for sewage disposal. 



^^'ith regard to sewage irrigation it is stated that the first sewage farm in 

 the arid region was established at Cheyenne, Wyo., in 1883, and that there are 

 at i>reseut a score or more such farms in operation, mainly in Colorado, 

 Montana, Nebraska, and California. Probably the most successful of these 

 farms is that at Pasadena, Cal., which was established in 1887. This farm, 

 which contains 300 acres of land, successfully disposes of 800,000 gal. of sew- 

 age per day and produces valuable crops of English walnuts, barley, wheat, 

 hay, pumpkins, and corn. The cost of operation is about $8,000 a year against 

 a revenue from the sale of crops of nearly $12,000. 



SOILS— FERTILIZERS. 



The principles of soil management, T. L. Lyon and E. O. Fippin {Xew York 

 and London, 190'J, pp. XX XHl-\-.j31, pi. 1, figs. 151). — This is the fii'st volume 

 of a Rural Text-book Series coordinate with the Rural Science Series issued 

 under the same auspices. The latter series was " designed primarily for 

 popular reading and for general use," the former is intended " for class-room 

 work and for si)ecial use in consultation and reference. It is planned that the 

 Rural Text-book Series shall cover the entire range of public school and college 

 texts."' 



The book contains a huge amount of well selected and up-to-date material, 

 but its special value as a text-book would seem to consist largely in the sys- 

 tematic and logical treatment of the subject. It deals with the principles of 

 soil technology and treats the subject strictly from the standpoint of plant 

 I)roduction. In it " the authors have attempted to discuss the soil in all its 

 relations to plant production, developing the interdependence of geological, 

 chemical, bacteriological, physical, and industrial relationships in such a way 

 as to give the student a gi'asp, albeit a brief one, of the entire subject in its 

 many bearings. In its treatment, the book considers, first, the soil as a medium 

 for root development ; second, as a reservoir for water ; third, as a source of 

 nutrients; fourth, as a realm of organisms; fifth, in its relation to air; sixth, 

 its relation to heat ; and the relation of man to the soil follows as a conse- 

 quence and conclusion." 



The value of the book is increased by a detailed outline and table of contents 

 and a carefully prepared index. 



Soil surveys {Aor. Jour. Cape Good Hope, 35 (1900), Xo. 6. pp. 67-}-679).— 

 This is a part of the presidential address of C. F. Juritz before section 2 of the 

 South African Association for the Advancement of Science at Bloemfontein in 

 September, 1909, in which the organization of a systematic survey under the 

 auspices of the South African Union is advocated. The results of such work 

 in the United States are cited as illustrating the need and value of such a 

 survey. Preliminary work along this line in Cape Colony is also briefly 

 referred to. 



On the method of investigation of the microbiological properties of the 

 soil, A. Krainskii (Zhur. Opuitn. Agron. [Russ. Jour. Expt. Landw.) , 10 (1909), 



