426 EXPERIMENT STATION EECOED. 



of the iiolkitiuii on the stream; (3) tbe economical disposal of distillery wastes 

 1)1 such way that there will be no pollution of streanii^." 



As a result of practical trials evaporation of the distillery refuse, using the 

 residue for cattle feed and the distillate as water for mashing, is strongly 

 recommended. 



SOILS— FERTILIZERS. 



Soil analyses, E. A. Mann {./oin: Dvpl. A;/r. Wci^t Aiist., U, (1906), No. 2, 

 PI). 122, 123). — Thirty analyses of soils from different parts of Western Aus- 

 tralia are reported, with brief comments on the results. 



"The principal features of these analyses are: (1) The large number of 

 'acid' soils. (2) The frequent deficiency in lime. (3) The generally low per- 

 centage of total fertilizing constituents. This deficiency is often made up by 

 mechanical conditions favorable for the free penetration of the root system. 

 (4) The relatively large proportion of 'available' to 'total' phosphoric acid 

 and potash in some instances. (5) The lack of humus." 



On the composition of soils of French. Guiana, A. Hkbert (Compt. Rend. 

 Acad. Scl. [Paris], I'lS {1906), No. 1, pp. 6'-'/-67j ) .— The results of analyses of 

 G3 samples are briefly summarized, showing that the soils are very variable in 

 physical characteristics and that there is generally a sufficient supply of nitro- 

 gen and a great deficiency of phosphoric acid, potash, and lime. 



The soils of the Muganj steppe, and their transformation into alkali soils, 

 8. Sachakov iZhur. Opnitii. Agron. (Russ. Jonr. E.vpt. Luiidir.), 6 {1905). No. 

 2, pp. 176-2Ji2, figs 4; Izv. AIoscov. Selsk. Klios. Inst. {Ann. Inst. Agron. Mos- 

 cou), 12 (1906), No. 2, pp. 226-236; ahs. in Centhl. Agr. Chem., 3o {1906), No. 8, 

 p. 567). — The geological origin and chemical and physical properties of 3 typ- 

 ical soils of this region are described in detail, as well as the characteristic 

 vegetation on each. A considerable proportion of the soils is more or less im- 

 pregnated with alkali of the neutral white kind composed of chlorids and sul- 

 phates of the alkalis and alkaline earths. The distrilnition of this alkali in 

 the soil under different conditions and the influence of irrigation in causing its 

 spread are discussed, the author comitaring his observations on this subject with 

 those <)f similar character reported by llilgard. 



A contribution to the study of the sand in tropical soils, A. Van Bijlert 

 {Chem. WeeJcbL, 3 {1906), pp. J,13-J,20; ahs. in Chem. Centbl., 1906, II, No. 6, 

 p. 555). — Determinations of the amount of hygroscopic moisture absorbed 

 from a saturated atmosphere, of nitrogen absorbed from a solution of am- 

 monium sulphati\ and amount of matter insoluble in hydrochloric acid and 

 potassium hydroxid of sands and sandy soils from Java are reported. 



The author concludes in general from the data obtained that a chemical 

 study of soils is of more importance than mineralogical and mechanical ex- 

 r.mination. 



Influ.ence of cultivation of the soil on the conservation of moisture and 

 the yield of crops, D. Chouchak {Bid. Agr. Algeric et Tnnisic, 12 {1906), No. 

 12, pp. 231-2 'il, fig. 1). — An account is given of experiments in the Crimean 

 Peninsula which show that cultivated fallow contained at the end of summer 

 4 to 6 per cent more moisture than uncultivated. 



How long does lime last in the soil? A. D. Hall {Jour. Ed. Agr. [London^, 

 13 {1906), No. 6, pp. 321-330). — Data largely derived from observations at 

 Rothamsted are presented to show that the fertility of many English fields 

 to-day "is due to the liming and chalking that was done by the farmers of the 

 eighteenth and earlier centuries." 



It is shown, however, that the fertility due to this cause is being steadily 



