622 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



A close relation is sliown between the chemical ami mineralogical composi- 

 tion and the fertilizer requirements of the soils. The mountain and Piedmont 

 soils are usually better supplied with potash, lime, and phosphoric acid than 

 the coastal plain soils. The micas are the principal sources of potash for the 

 former types. The potash feldspars are much more abundant in the Piedmont 

 than in the mountain soils, and orthoclase and microcline supply most of the 

 potash in the coastal plain soils, on which the greatest response has been se- 

 cured from the use of potash fertilizer. The phosphoric acid content of most 

 North Carolina soils is small, beiug often found in the mountain and Piedmont 

 soils in the practically unavailable form of apatite, included in quartz and 

 other minerals. The coastal plain soils contain less available lime than the 

 soils of the other sections and derive their main supply from epidote. In the 

 Piedmont and mountain soils hornblende and plagioclase feldspars are found 

 in larger quantities than in the coastal plain soils. Little difference is shown 

 in the mineralogical composition of the soil and subsoil in each section. 



Fertilizer experiments in the German colonies (Diingvers. Dent. Kolon., 

 Nos. 2 {1913), pp. TI+H, pis. 5, figs. 5; 4 (1914), pp. VI+90, pis. 4, figs. 9).— 

 Experiments with different fertilizers on a variety of crops in Kamerun, Togo, 

 German New Guinea, and Samoa are reported. 



Peng'uin guano from the Falkland Islands {Bui. Imp. Inst. [So. Kensing- 

 ton], 12 {1914), A'O. 2, pp. 208-210). — Five samples of penguin guano showing 

 from 0.16 to 0.32 per cent of potash, 1.22 to 4.22 per cent of phosphoric acid 

 (largely soluble in 2 per cent citric acid), and 0.96 to 1.71 per cent of nitrogen 

 (mostly organic) are reported. 



The samples as analyzed contained a high percentage of water, 64 to 80 per 

 cent, and this in part accounts for the fact that the guanos contained much 

 less fertilizing matter than good Peruvian guano. 



Fertilizer factory for the Bahamas {Daily Cons, and Trade Bpts. [U. »S'.], 

 17 (1914), No. 158, p. 14O). — The establishment of a factory for the preparation 

 of fertilizers from loggerhead sponge and fish is suggested. 



The atmospheric nitrogen industry in its economic relations, A. Perlick 

 (Die Luftstickstoff-Industrie in Hirer volkswirtschaftlichen Bedeutung. Leipsic, 

 1913, pp. 140 ; rev. in Chem. Ztg., 38 (1914), No. 40, p. 432).— The technical 

 methods of fixing the nitrogen of the air and their industrial and agricultural 

 importance are discussed. The methods of Serpek and Haber are considered 

 as most nearly solving the nitrogen problem for agriculture. 



Influence of phosphatic and potash fertilizers on the chemical composition 

 of meadow hay, C. Dusserre {Ann. Agr. Suisse, 14 {1913), No. 4, PP- 27i- 

 273). — Data are reported which show that fertilizers containing phosphoric 

 acid, as well as those containing phosphoric acid and potash, not only increase 

 the yield but also the nitrogen and phosphorus content of the forage. From 

 55 to 74 per cent of the phosphorus was found to be combined in mineral com- 

 pounds or in phytin. 5 to 9 per cent in lecithin, and 21 to 40 per cent in nucleo- 

 proteids. The use of fertilizers doubled and in some cases quadrupled the 

 phosphorus content, the greatest increase being in the mineral phosphorus. 



Geology of the phosphate deposits northeast of Georgetown, Idaho, R. W. 

 Richards and G. R. Mansfield {U. S. Geol. Survey Bui. 577 {1914), PP- 76, pis. 

 14, figs. S).— This report briefly reviews the history of the discovery of the 

 western phosphate field and presents in some detail a discussion of the struc- 

 tural geology, particularly as related to what has been named by the authors 

 the " Bannock overthrust," of an area in addition to those reported in previous 

 bulletins (E. S. R.. 26. p. 125), comprising portions of Bear Lake and Bannock 

 counties in western Idaho, in which are located the phosphate deposits of 

 Georgetown Canyon. 



