SOILS FERTILIZERS. 6 1 Y 



Yellow laterite and its parent rock, E. C. J. Mohr {Bui. Dept. Affr. Indes 

 Neerland., 1909, No. 28, pp. 1-12, pi. 1). — Chemical studies of unaltered andesite 

 and of the yellow crust forming on the surface of this type of rock under the 

 influence of weathering are reported. 



Soils in the vicinity of Brunswick, Ga. : A preliminary report, H. IT. Ben- 

 nett {U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. trails Circ. 21, pp. 21). — This is a report of a pre- 

 liminary survey of this region with a view to ascertaining its crop adaptations 

 and capabilities. It describes briefly the agriculture, climate, and typical soils 

 of the area. The latter include Portsmouth loam, fine sand, clay, and mucljy 

 loam, Coxville fine sandy loam, Amelia fine sand, Congaree clay and mucky 

 sandy loam, and peat. 



The Portsmouth series of soils are " the poorly drained dark gray to black 

 lands of high organic matter content ; . . . the well drained gray to nearly 

 white deep sandy lands of low humus content are classed as Amelia ; the gray 

 to dark gray types underlain by plastic clay of mottled yellow and red color 

 belong to the Coxville series ; and the river bottom lands belong to the Congaree 

 series." The crop adaptations of the different soils are noted. 



Soils of the Kirghiz Steppe, N. Tulaikov {Pochvui Kirghizskoi Stepl. 

 Moscotv, 1907, pp. 95; rev. in Zhur. Opuitn. Agron. {Russ. Jour. Expt. Landw.), 

 9 {1908), No. 3, pp. 628-630). — The characteristic soils along the proposed 

 railroad from Aktubinsk to Semipalatinsk are described, the main types 

 included being chernozem, chestnut, light gray, sandy, and alkali soils. The 

 latter are grouped in three classes, (1) those formed from salt-bearing rocks, 

 (2) those occurring in the beds of dried up lakes, and (3) those occurring in 

 river valleys. The lake bottom soils contain considerable amounts of salts 

 (1.8 to 5.3 per cent), largely chlorids. The amount of soluble salts in the 

 river valley alkali soils varies widely but is sometimes as high as 19 per cent, 

 chlorids and sulphates being the predominating constituents. Carbonate alkali 

 rarely occurs. 



[Analyses of soils], W. R. S. Ladell (Natal Agr. Jour., 13 {1909), No. 5, 

 pp. 656, 657). — Chemical analyses of 26 samples of soils from different parts of 

 Natal are reported. 



Evaporation from water and soil surfaces, E. C. J. Mohr {Bui. Dept. Agr. 

 Indes Neerland., 1909, No. 29, pp. 12, figs. 2). — The relative rate of evaporation 

 from water and soil surfaces was studied with a series of cylindrical zinc 

 dishes 3 cm. deep and having a surface area of 100 sq. cm. Some of the 

 dishes contained soils of different kinds. Each received 200 cc. of water and 

 all were exposed to the free air and weighed from time to time to determine 

 evaporation. 



The results show that evaporation was uniformly higher from a water sur- 

 face than from the surface of either a wet or only moist soil. At the beginning 

 evaporation was greater from the soil and later became still greater, but 

 finally decreased until it was less than from the water surface. 



A study of the production and movement of nitric nitrogen in an irri- 

 gated soil, R. Stewart and J. E. Greaves {Utah Sta. Bui. 106, pp. 69-96).— 

 The results of investigations on this subject during the years 1903 to 1907, in- 

 clusive, are reported in this bulletin, with a brief review of the work of other 

 investigators along similar lines. 



The investigations were carried on on the station farm on which the soil is of 

 a sedimentary nature derived from the weathering of limestone rocks of a 

 near-by mountain range. Physical and chemical analyses of each foot of the 

 soil down to a depth of 8 ft. are reported as well as determinations by essen- 

 tially the King method (E. S. R., 13, p. 229) of nitric nitrogen in extract from 

 samples of the soil from differently treated plats down to a depth of 10 ft. 



