314 expertmp:nt station recoed. 



force; (3) coonection between the yield of wheat in eastern Enghiud and the 

 rainfall of the previous autumn (see p. 313), and (4) possible relationship 

 between exceptional strength of the southeast trade wind at St. Helena and 

 exceptional rainfall in England." 



The percentage of complete or juirtial success of special harvest forecasts 

 was 89 ; of the regular forecasts for the whole of the British Isles, 88. The 

 number of storm-warning telegrams justified by subseiiuent gales or strong 

 winds was 88.4 per cent. 



The work of tlie chemical laboratory of the Ploti Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Station in 1905, B. M. Welkel {Ghodlchnuii Otchet Ploty. Selsk. Khoz. 

 Opiiifii. Stantzil. 11 {1905), pp. 7S-119, 128-135). — Analyses of atmospheric pi'e- 

 cipitation and drainage waters from lysimeters and of crops and soils used in pot 

 experiments, with reference especially to content of nitrogen in different forms, 

 are reported as in previous years, with discussion of the distribution of the 

 nitrogen compounds and the nitrogen balance in the soil. The results obtained 

 were very similar to those of previous years. The pot experiments showed that 

 forage plants exert an individual influence on the rate of nitrification, esparcet 

 being superior in this respect to alfalfa. 



The experiments with barnyard manure, which were continued during the 

 year as in previous years, show that the effect of .the manure does not extend 

 beyond 3 years and is shown mainly in an increase in nitric nitrogen and 

 assimilable phosphoric acid in tlie soil. 



The value of pure water, G. C. Whipple (Engin. Rec, 54 {1906), Nos. 

 10, pp. 269-212, fi(i. 1 : 11, pp. 303-305).— The contents of this paper are briefly 

 summarized in part as follows : 



"(1) Pure water as compared with impure water has a real financial value 

 to a community. (2) This value may be measured by determining what impure 

 water costs the community. (3) There are three principal characteristics 

 which affect the value of water to the general consumer — its sanitary quality, 

 its attractiveness, and its hardness. (4) A formula is suggested for computing 

 the effect of the sanitary quality of water on its financial value to a comnmnity ; 

 it is based on the typhoid fever death rate. (5) A foi'mula is suggested for 

 computing the effect of the general attractiveness of water on its value to con- 

 sumers ; it is based on the physical characteristics of turbidity, color, and odor. 



(6) A formula is suggested for computing the effect of the hardness of water 

 on Its value to the consumers ; it is based on the use of soap in the household. 



(7) Considered from the financial aspect alone, and disregarding all hu- 

 manitarian considerations, the filtration of a polluted water supply adds vei'y 

 greatly to the vital assets of a community; hence, as a mere business proposi- 

 tion, no city can afford to allow an impure water supply to be publicly distributed. 



(8) The advantages to a community of having a water su[)plv nut only safe, 

 but also attractive in appearance, taste, and odor, are material from a financial 

 aspect ; the increased value of many waters because of the improvement in their 

 esthetic qualities alone .justifies the cost of filtration. (9) Water-softening at 

 present does not receive the attention it deserves at the hands of municipal 

 autliorities ; the economic advantages to be gained by removing the hardness of 

 water are so great that, in many cases, the saving to the ordinarv water con- 

 sumers justifies the cost of softening water." 



Quality of water in the Upper Ohio River basin and at Erie, Penn., S. J. 

 IiEwis {U. S. Geol. Survey, Water-Supply and Irrig. Paper No. 161, pp. 11^, pl" 

 6, figs. 3). — "This paper discusses the quality of water on the most important 

 tributaries of the Ohio River in Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, and 

 Maryland, and the nature of the water supply at Erie, Penn. The amount anu 



