SOILS FERTILIZERS. 121 



The utilization of fertilizers under varying rainfalls, von SeeliiorST (Scp- 

 iiidtr from .hilnb. Dent. Laiuhr. (Jc.scll.. .il (J!lO(l), pp. 61-12). — The subject is 

 discussed on the basis of lalioratory and vej^etation experiments, including those 

 of tlie autlior and otliers. Euiiiliasis is laid especially on the danger of loss of 

 nitrogen in sandy soils, and it is claimed that leguminous cover crops play an 

 iiiiixn'tant role not only as nitrogen collectors and humus formers, but as cou- 

 servers of soil nitrogen and users of water, thus liind(>ring the washing out of 

 the soluble nitrogen of the soil. 



Preservation of manure and its most profitable use, Immendorff and 

 FoRSTER i>S(:pitrate from Jahrh. Dent. Lundw. GchcU., 21 (1906), pp. Jf9-61). — 

 I'feiffer's conclusions regarding the preservation of manure (E. S. K., 14, p. 233) 

 are given and the action of manure preserved in different ways on loam and 

 sandy soils is discussed. • 



Sewage disposal in small gardens, A. F. T. Somerville (Af/r. Gaz. N. /S'. 

 Wales. II {I'.xii!}. \o. .j. pp. 27'i-276). — Simple methods of disposing of house- 

 hold sewage and wastes are ])rietiy described. 



Restoring the fertility of a run-down farm, C. E. Thorne (Mo. lid. Agr. Ho. 

 liiil.. ■') { mod). A'o. N. /(/'. 'i-2'i). — In this paper the bringing up of a run-down 

 soil by the " well-informed use of animal manures, reenforced with such fer- 

 tilizing materials as may be required to more perfectly adapt these manures to 

 the soils on which they are employed " is discussed. 



On the influence of the reaction of the manure upon the yield, K. Aso and 

 R. Bahadur (Bui. Col. Ayr., Tokijo Imp. Univ., 7 (l'.)l>6) , Islo. 1, pp. 39-^0, pi. 

 1). — An account is given of pot experiments with peas, ouions, barley, and rice 

 "to compare the effects of the (neutral) disodium phosphate with the (acid) 

 monosodium phosphate and with calcium superphosphate in presence of ammo- 

 nium sidphate or of sodium nitrate in sand culture and in soil culture." 



The conclusion was reached that " (1) the reaction of the manuring com- 

 pounds is of very great influence; (2) the combination of ammonium sulphate 

 and disodium phosphate yielded the best result iu the case of paddy rice, while 

 the mixture of sodium nitrate and monosodium phosphate produced the highest 

 yield with barley aud pea. ... As a general conclusion, however, it may be 

 iiientioned that small changes in the reaction of the maniu-e have often a 

 much greater influence on the yield than might be presumed, and that the effects 

 differ with different crops." 



Naturally occurring fertilizers and waste products, F. T. Shutt (Canada 

 E.ritt. Farms Rpis. l'J<i.',, pp. LSl-l'/d). — Analyses of marsh mud, semidecayed 

 seaweed, gypsum or land plaster, cotton waste, and flue ashes are reported and 

 discussed. 



On the oxidation of nitrogen in the high-tension flame, .7. Erode ( Veber die 

 O.rj/datiijn dcs StickiitoffcN in dcr HochspaiiiiHiKjs-flanniie. Halle: Wilhelm 

 Knapp, 1905, pp. 63, fifjs. 19; rev. in Amer. Chem. Jour., 35 (1906), No. 4, 

 p. 3-58). — This monograph discusses the theory of the process and summarizes 

 work done on the subject from the time of tlie first experiments of Bunsen and 

 Kolbe. the researches of Muthman. Ilofer. and Nernst, the author's ex])eriments 

 carried out during 1904-0 at the Technical High School of Carlsruhe being fully 

 described. The latter dealt especially with the best means of producing the 

 electric flame and with various factors affecting the oxidation efficiency. 



The oxidation of atmospheric nitrogen with reference to the manufacture 

 of nitrates and nitric acid, E. Hexock (Amer. Chem. Jour., 3'> (1906), .Ao. .J, 

 pp. S.'iH-361, figs. 6). — This is a review of this subject based upon an address by 

 O. N. Witt, to which reference has already been made (E. S. R., 17, p. 746), 

 aud u monograph by J. Erode (see above). 



