SOILS FERTILIZERS. . 115 



standing in contact with tlio acid for 1 hour the whole is tin-own upon a driod, 

 tared lilter, and washed until free of acid. The filter and its contents are dried 

 and weighed. The loss represents hygroscopic moisture and material dissolved 

 hy the acid. 



"(2) The soil is now washed off the filtei- with dilute annuoniacal water onto a 

 small sieve of 100 meshes to tlie linear inth. tlie i)ortiou passing through being 

 collected In a beaker mnria'd at H). s..". and 7..") cin., respectively, from the bot- 

 tom. The portion wliich remains upon the sieve is dried and weighed. It is 

 then divided into 'line gravel' and 'coarse sand,' by means of a sieve with 

 round holes of 1 mm. diameter. The portion which does not pass this sieve is 

 tlie 'tine gravel." This should be dried and weighed. The difference gives the 

 'coarse sand.' If re(iuired, both these fractions cau also be weighed after 

 ignition. 



"(.'}) The portion which passed the sieve of 100 meshes per linear inch is well 

 worked up with a rubber pestle, and the beaker filled to the 8.5 cm. mark and 

 allowed to stand 24 hours. The ammoniacal liquid which contains the 'clay' 

 is then decanted off into a Winchester quart. This operation is repeated as long 

 as any matter remains in suspension for 24 hours. The liquid containing the 

 ' clay ' is either evaporated in bulk, or measured and. after being well shaken, 

 ill aliquot portion taken and evaj)orated. In either case the dried residue con- 

 sists of ' clay ' and ' soluble humus.' After ignition the residue gives the ' clay,' 

 and the loss on' ignition the ' soluble humus." 



"(4) The sediment from which the 'clay " has been removed is woi'ked up as 

 before in the beaker, which is filled to the 10 cm. mark and allowed to stand for 

 100 seconds. The operation is repeated till the 'fine sand' settled in 100 sec- 

 onds is clean, when it is collected, dried, and weighed. 



"(5) The turbid liquid poured off from the 'fine sand' is collected in a \Yin- 

 ehester quart, or other suitable vessel, allowed to settle, and the clear liquid 

 siphoned or decanted off. The sediment is then washed into the marked beaker 

 and made up to the 7.5 cm. mark. After stirring, it is allowed to settle for 12^ 

 minutes, and the licpiid decanted off. The operation is then repeated as before 

 till all the sediment sinks in 12i minutes, leaving the li(iuid quite clear. The 

 sediment obtained is the ' silt,' v,-hich is dried and weighed as usual. The li(iuid 

 (•ontains the ' fine silt ' which, when it has settled down, can be separated by 

 decanting oft" the clear liijuid, aud dried and weighed. 



"(0) Determinations are made of the 'moisture' and 'loss on ignition" of 

 another 10 gm. of the air-dry earth. The sum of the weights of the fractions 

 after ignition plus loss on ignition phis moisture plus material dissolved in weak 

 acid should approximate to 10 gm. 



"(7) It is advisable to make a determination of the ' fine gravel ' in a portion 

 of .50 gm. of the nir-di-y earth. The soil should be treated with acid, as in 1, and 

 after that is removed l)y decantation may be at once treated with dilute am- 

 monia and wash(>d on the sieve with 1 mm. round holes. The ' fine gravel ' left 

 on the sieve is then dried and weighed, and the percentage found should agree 

 with that found in 2. If it does not the result now found should be taken as 

 the true one."" 



Agricultural reconnaissance of the Uinta Indian Reservation, \y. W. Mc- 

 Lau(;hi.i.\ (Ittili s/<i. liitl. 'J.',. i>p. 23). — The area covered by the reconnaissance 

 reported in this Ijullelin includes approximately 650,000 acres of agricultural 

 land situated in the Uinta Basin about 105 miles east of Ileber and 90 miles 

 northeast of Price, Utah. The general conditions are described and data are 

 given relating to climate, water supply, and soils. 



It is stilted thiit the soils of the upi)er part of the benches are more desiralile 

 than those of the river bottoms, which fretjueutly contain injurious amounts of 



