NOTES. 399 



terests in the perfection of .1 moasure to be sui)initte(l to Congress. In this con- 

 nection a paper on the adnlteration of conunercial fertilizers was read by J. M. 

 McCandless. Instances of adulteration of fertilizers in Georgia were cited. 



A report on the testing of chemic-al reagents was submitted by the referee, 

 L. F. Kebler. U. J. Davidson submitted a report of the committee on the unifi- 

 catiou of terms. The association deferred action on this matter for one year, 

 the committee being continued. The committee on definition of plant food, 

 II. W. Wiley, chairman, cited numerous authorities and recommended that 

 plant foods be dcHiied as those substances entering the plant from without 

 and which are utilized in the metabolic activities of the plant. The definition 

 was adopted by the association and the committee discontinued. 



One of the special features of the meeting was the report of the committee 

 on revision of methods. The methods of the association are at present em- 

 bodied in two bulletins of the Bureau of Chemistry and in reports of the pro- 

 ceedings of the annual conventions. The task of revising these for publica- 

 tion in one bulletin has been left to the secretary of the association, aided by 

 a committee on revision. It is expected that this revision of the methods will 

 be published in circular form before the next meeting of the association, when 

 final action can be taken. 



The officers elected for the ensuing year are as follows : President. J. P. 

 Street, New Brunswick, N. J. ; vice-president, H. Snyder, St. Anthony Park, 

 Minn. ; secretary. IL W. Wiley, Washington, D. C. ; additional members of 

 executive committee, B. B. Ross, Auburn, Ala., and B. L. Hartwell, Kingston, 

 R. I. The place of meeting for next year was left to the executive commit- 

 tee, preference being expressed for the .Jamestown Exposition. 



Association of Official Agricultural Chemists of Australasia. — At a meeting 

 held at Sidney, New South Wales, August 20, 190G, and attended by representa- 

 tives of Queensland, Victoria, New Zealand, and New South Wales, " The Asso- 

 ciation of Ofiicial Agricultural Chemists of Australasia," to consist of " the 

 chief chemists for the departments of agriculture in the states and colonies of 

 Australasia," was formally organized on lines very similar to those of the Asso- 

 ciation of Official Agricultural Chemists of this country. The objects of the 

 association are stated in its constitution to be: "(1) To secure uniformity in 

 the methods, results, and modes of statement of analyses of fertilizers, soils, 

 feeding stuffs, agricultural products, and other materials connected with this 

 industry. (2) To afford opixjrtunity for the discussion of matters of interest 

 to agricultural chemists." 



The meeting took action ui)on forms of reports on soils for farmers, methods 

 of analysis for soils, fertilizers, feeding stuffs, wheat and flour, dairy products, 

 water, lime, insecticides, and cattle dips. Action on legislation regarding adul- 

 teration of fertilizers and other agricultural products and the fixing of stand- 

 ards was postponed, on account of the absence of representatives of some states 

 and provinces, until the next meeting, which is called for March or April, 1907, 

 in Sidney. 



A committee was appointed to " investigate means for making short flying 

 Isoil] surveys and to test the rapid methods of analysis adopted by the Ameri- 

 can Bureau of Soils." 



"The conference was unanimously of the opinion that all field experimental 

 work should be carried out in conjunction with and under the supervision of 

 the agricultural chemists in so far as relates to design and conduct of the 

 experiments themselves and the interpretation and publication of the results." 

 The extension of such work (a) by means of experiments conducted at state 

 farms and agricultural colleges, (i>) by experiments on the farms of private 



