METEOROLOGY WATER. 813 



ammonia given off by tlie soil for some weeks following the application of 

 ammonium salts to some of the wheat plats. In April, 1909, the absorption in 

 the upper and lower dishes in the wheat field was 0.29 and 0.61 lb., respectively. 

 During the ten months not affected by the manures, the average absorption in 

 the wheat field was higher in the upper than in the lower dishes." 



Im.purities in the atmosphere of towns and their effects upon vegetation, 

 A. G. RusTON and C. Crowther (Rpt. Brit. Assoc. Ado. ScL, 1910, pp. 577, 

 578). — A study of the impurities in samples of air, taken in different parts of 

 the city of Leeds and at a ix)int in the country 7i miles distant from the center 

 of the city, showed a relatively high content of suspended matter and acid in 

 the town air, both of which are carried down in the rain in suflicient quantity 

 to be distinctly injurious to vegetation. 



Some stream waters of the western United States, with chapters on sedi- 

 ment carried by the Rio Grande and the industrial application of water 

 analyses, H. Stabler {U. 8. Gcol. Survey, Water-Supply Paper No. 274, PP- 

 188). — This is "a report setting forth the results of a systematic study of the 

 waters likely to be utilizetl on the Reclamation Service projects. This study 

 was made in order to determine the influence of the salinity of the waters on 

 the growth of vegetation and the effect of suspended matter in silting canals 

 and reservoirs. [The report] contains tables giving analyses, gage heights, 

 rates of discharge, and relative amounts of substances in solution in the waters 

 of different rivers." 



Geology and water resources of Estancia Valley and adjacent pai-ts of 

 central New Mexico, O. E. Meinzer {['. S. Geol. Survey, Water-Supply Paper 

 No. 275, pp. 89, pis. 14, figs. 7). — This paper gives the results of brief recon- 

 naissance surveys of Estancia Valley, an area of about 2,000 square miles near 

 the geographic center of New Mexico, and of Encino basin, which lies immedi- 

 ately east of Estancia basin. Notes are given not only on geology and water 

 resources, but also on soils and irrigation. 



Chemical and biological survey of the waters of Illinois, 1909 and 1910, 

 E. Bartow {TJniv. lU. Buh, 8 (1911), No. 23, pp. 148, figs. 28).— This contains a 

 brief general report, notes on the organization of the Lake Michigan Water 

 Commission and the Illinois Water Supply Association, and the following spe- 

 cial articles: Composition and treatment of Lake Michigan water, the action of 

 bleaching powder in water purification, treatment of water with boiler com- 

 pounds, relation of typhoid fever and the water supplies in Illinois, analytical 

 control of water softening, nitrite destruction test for a polluted water, a con- 

 venient camera for color comparisons in Nessler tubes, additional farm water 

 supplies, a water works laboratory, and suggested disposal of drainage at 

 Tolono. 



The geochemical interpretation of water analyses, C. Palmer (U. S. Geol. 

 Survey Bui. ^79, pp. 31, fig. 1). — This bulletin is devoted to "an exiwsition of 

 the principle that natural water may be definitely characterized if the salts 

 dissolved in it are recognized not as a load but as a chemical system of balanced 

 values. The relation of silica to primary alkalinity and the persistence of silica 

 in river waters are among the topics considered." 



The treatment of drinking water with ultraviolet rays, L. Schwarz and 

 AuMANN (Ztschr. Hyg. u. Infektionskrank., 69 (1911), No. 1, pp. 1-lG, fig. 1; 

 68-91, figs. 3). — The results of numerous experiments are reported, showing 

 that ultraviolet rays are effective in reducing the germ content of water but 

 that the efiiciency of the process depends upon the original germ content of the 

 water and the thoroughness with which it is stirred during the treatment, as 

 well as upon the length of treatment. Special care must be exercised in the 



