AGKICULTUKAL BOTANY. 028 



iiidicatt' that applii'iitions of lime resulted iu case of siieli soils in a marked 

 " nitrn.ueii liuii^'er." esiteeialiy during,' dry liot weather and with nonleguminous 

 (•roi)s. I'uder such conditions calcareous manures sliould always be accom- 

 panied by liberal applications of nitrogenous manures. 



Nitrate of soda, A. 1'i.agemann (Die Diingstoff-lnduslrii oi ihr WcJt: lUr 

 Cliilcsalpctcr. licrliii: Dcr Saatcn-, Diingcr- nud Futhinxiikt, \ I!I(k;\. pp. SO, 

 l)ls. ,i, fifjN. 20). — This is one volume of a 'large treatise on the fertilizer industry 

 of the wt)rld and is a very full account of the character and exploitation of the 

 Chilean nitrate deposits. 



Lime niter for potatoes, L. (iuANDicAU (Jovr. Agi: I'nit.. ii. so:, 12 (JDOi!). 

 Xu. .'i2, pp. //.S'.j. J/Sd). — Comparisons of nitrate and nitrite of lime (the Notodden 

 product) and nitrate of soda in field experiments at Pare des I'rinc-es in l'.)0(j 

 are reported, which show that for this crop there was practically no difference 

 in the elliciency of the different fertilizers. 



Dry fertilizer from by-products or residues from sugar works, E. Lali.e- 

 MANT {French I'atait Xo. .U!.'>.','iS, Apr. 20, lOOi; : ahs. in ./our. Sor. Clrciii. 

 Indus., 25 (1!)0(J), Xo. 20, p. 'J'.)!). — In the method proposed the damp materials 

 are made Into briquettes, which are air-dried, or dried at a moderate tempera- 

 ture in a kiln, or the material is mixed with quicklime or. roasted gypsum in 

 hnnps. 



On the use of sulphocyanids as fertilizers, II. Perotti (Staz. Spcr. Agr. 

 Jtal., ,39 (1006). \o. J, pp. l!i,3-212, fig. 1; abs. in Chcm. CcnthJ., 1906, II, Xo. 16, 

 p. 12S2). — The material used in the pot experiments here reported is manu- 

 factured in Belgium fn^m gas liquor. The sample examined by the author con- 

 tained 5.0(; per cent of total nitrogen, 1.66 per cent of ammoniacal nitrogen, 0.8 

 per cent of phosphoric acid, 2.28 per cent of potash, 1.78 per cent of lime, 23.88 

 per cent of sulphur, and 4.5 per cent of ammonium sulphocyanid. 



The results obtained with a number of crops, including wheat, oats, corn, 

 llax, etc., show that unless the sulphocyanid is pi'esent in the soil in highly con- 

 centrated solution there is little danger of injury to vegetation. The material 

 undergoes a rapid and complete transformation in the soil without loss of nitro- 

 gen. Considered as a source of nitrogen it was in these experiments somewhat 

 more economical than annuonium sulphate. It is proposed to test the results 

 of the pot experiments liy experiments in the field. 



AGRICULTURAL BOTANY. 



Botanical studies applied to agricultural plants, G. Fron {TraHe Ele- 

 incntairr <lr Miuiipiilaiionx dr liotanitjiir Applique a VEtude de riantvs Agri- 

 colcs. I'aris: ('. Ainiil. t'.nn'. i>p. ]'lI+228, figs. 137). — This work treats mainly 

 of the gross and minute anatomy of agricultural plants. It is not intended as 

 a substitute for some of the more comprehensive botanical treatises, but is 

 offered as a guide to the study of a number of types illustrative of the large 

 number of agricultur;dly important plants. 



After a rapid review on the uses of the microscope, its tec!mi(iue, methods of 

 ]irei>.'ii'ation. etc.. studies are given of a number of plant products. The author 

 then takes up the following plants which are representative of types: Onion, 

 asparagus, wheat, grape. l)ean, pea, sugar beet, hemp, fiax, mustard, cabl)age. 

 potato, tobacco, gourd, dodder, broom rape, Melanipyrum, Jerusalem artichoke, 

 carrot, parsnip, etc. Following these, studi(»s ar(> given on the structure of 

 various timbei's used in <-onstruction. im-liiding oak. walnut, beech, alder, pine, 

 spruce, etc. 



A brief bibliography of some of tlic more important literature is given at the 

 end of each chapter. 



