622 EXPEKIMENT STATION EECOKD. 



coastal region of South Carolina. In order to determine the agricultural value 

 of these lands, experiments were made at the coast substation near Charleston 

 during 1909 and 1910 in tile draining and the production of different vegetables, 

 oats, corn, and cotton under applications of various fertilizer mixtures and 

 materials. The drainage system was planned and partly installed by the Office 

 of Experiment Stations. 



The results showed a marked profit from all the crops grown on the drained 

 land. Lime in conjunction with a complete fertilizer was especially beneficial. 



" The theory held by some people that the drainage of this land was imprac- 

 ticable, and that even if the water could be successfully removed the land 

 would not be productive, has been entirely overthrown by the record of the 

 past 2 years." 



Sponge spicules in swamp soils, R. O. E. Davis ( V. S. Dept. Agr,, Bur. 8oils 

 Circ. 67, pp. .'/, flg. 1). — Microscopic examinations of swamp soils of Georgia 

 showed a large number of spicules, the remains of fresh-water sponges, in the 

 surface 6 in. of soil. These spicules were found to cause irritation of the feet 

 of animals. Mavenia tmUsii was the most common of the spicules. Examina- 

 tions of other soils from different parts of the United States showed only small 

 quantities of spicules of a variable character. Applying soil free from spicules, 

 as by mixing in some of the subsoil, is suggested as the most practical means of 

 overcoming the difficulty. 



Sponge spicules in certain soils, R. O. E. Davis {Orig. Commun. 8. Internat. 

 Cong. Appl. Chem. [Washington and Neic York], 15 {1912), Sect. VII, pp. 77- 

 79). — See above. 



Present status of fertilizer investigations, F. K. Cameron {Amer. Pert., 

 37 (1912), No. 2, pp. 31-33). — This is a brief review in which it is maintained 

 that " the present status of fertilizer investigations, both theoretical and prac- 

 tical, is one of unrest and doubt." 



Some secondary actions of manures upon the soil, A. D. Hall {Agr. Gaz. 

 Tasmania, 20 {1912), Nos. 2, pp. o-'t-oD; 3, pp. 81-SJt; 4, pp. lU, U5; 5, pp. 

 182-lSS; 6, pp. 215-218). — The more important points discussed in this article 

 are summarized as follows : 



'' The long-continued use of sulphate of ammonia on soils poor in lime results 

 in the soils becoming acid. The acidity is caused by certain microfungi in the 

 soil which split up the sulphate of ammonia in order to obtain the ammonia, 

 and thereby set free sulphuric acid. The infertility of such soils is due to the 

 way all the regular bacterial changes in the soil are suspended by the acidity ; 

 instead, fungi permeate the soil and seize upon the manure. The remedy, as 

 may be seen upon the Woburn plats, is the use of sufficient lime to keep the 

 soil neutral. From the Rothamsted soils carbonate of lime is being washed 

 out at the rate of 800 to 1,000 lbs. per acre per annum, the losses being in- 

 creased by the use of sulphate of ammonia, but lessened by dung or nitrate of 

 soda. Nitrate of soda, when applied to heavy soils in large quantities, destroys 

 their texture. Some of the nitrate of soda gets converted into carbonate of 

 soda by the action of plants and bacteria, and carbonate of soda, by defloc- 

 culating the clay particles, destroys the tilth. The best remedies are the use 

 of soot or superphosphate, the best preventive is the use of a mixture of nitrate 

 of soda and sulphate of ammonia instead of either separately. Soluble potash 

 manures and common salt may also injure the tilth of heavy soils through the 

 production of a little soluble alkali by interaction with carbonate of lime in the 

 sflil. The remedy is to apply such manures in the winter or in conjunction 

 with superphosphate." 



