SOILS — FERTILIZERS. 825 



during dry seasous iu Dutch Guiana contains rather large amounts of sodium 

 chlorid, experiments were made with coffee and cacao plants grown on red 

 sandy soils in plats and in pots, respectively, to determine the amount of this 

 salt which these plants would tolerate. 



In case of the coffee plants, it was 'found that a conceutratidn of 0.1 per cent 

 showed a slight discoloration of the leaves in only one case, whereas the use 

 of water containing 0.3 per cent caused considerable injury, as was manifested 

 in the shedding of some of the leaves. A 1 per cent solution killed the weaker 

 plants and caused some discoloration of the leaves of the more vigorous plants. 



In case of the cacao plants, it v.'as found that the 2, 3, and 4 per cent solu- 

 tions had a direct injurious effect. The leaves became markedly discolored and 

 dropped off. There was only a very slight injury in case of the 1 per cent 

 solution. The 0.5 per cent solution did not injure the plants to any appreciable 

 extent. 



The availability of the nitrogen and phosphoric acid in bat guanos, P. L. 

 GiLE {Porto Rico Sta. Rpt. 1911, pp. 16-18). — Analyses of 18 samples of Porto 

 Rican bat guanos are reported and reference is made to plat experiments to 

 correlate their actual relative fertilizing value with the chemical analyses. 

 The.se samples showed nitrogen varying from 0.4 to 5.49 per cent and phosphoric 

 acid from 4.35 to 26.18 i)er cent. 



Regarding the fertilizer value of pond mud, P. KossoviCH (Zhur. Opytn. 

 Agron. {Rii.'iS. Jour. E.rpt. Landic), 13 {1912), No. If, pp. .5,i7-5.'f9) . — A compara- 

 tive study of the composition of mud of a pond situated near Orel, Russia, and 

 of the soil of the surrounding district is reported. 



The results show that the mud analyzed did not have a high fertilizer value, 

 and that its constitution was similar to that of the local soils. The calcium 

 carbonate and the magnesium cai'bonate contents of the mud were relatively 

 high (about 3 per cent combined), notwithstanding the almost entire absence 

 of these constituents in the soil, thus indicating that the pond water was not 

 derived alone from the surface water but also from waters of the calcareous 

 loess substratum. 



The high citric-acid-soluble character of the phosphoric acid of the mud was 

 significant, 0.15 per cent, or approximately ten times that of the soil, being 

 soluble, notwithstanding the fact that the total phosphoric acid content of the 

 mud was only slightly higher than that of the soil (0.32 per cent and 0.298 per 

 cent, respectively). The potash content soluble in 10 per cent hydrochloric acid 

 was 0.44 per cent for the mud as compared with 0.24 per cent for the soil. The 

 amount of water-soluble constituents of the mud was relatively high, being 0.36 

 per cent before, and 0.23 per cent after, ignition. The nitrogen content of the 

 mud was 0.27 per cent as compared with 0.345 per cent for the soil. 



Guadeloupe's use of fertilizers, F. T. F. Dumont {Daily Cons, and Trade 

 Rpts. [U. S.], 15 {1912), No. 2.56, pp. 556, 557).— Statistics of the fertilizer 

 trade in Guadaloui>e are briefly summarized. It is shown that in 1911 4,360 

 metric tons of fertilizer, valued at $293,769, were used, or an average of 109 

 lbs. per acre of cultivated area. These fertilizers were imported almost exclu- 

 sively from France and Great Britain. 



Fertilizers in Russia {Bd. Trade Jour. [London], 78 {1912), No. 815, p. 74; 

 Handel smuseum, 27 {1912), No. 24, p. 350; abs. in Internat. Inst. Agr. [Rome], 

 Bui. Bur. Agr. Intel, and Plant Diseases, 3 {1912). No. 9, pp. 1956, 1957).— It 

 is stated that there has recently been a substantial growth in the consumption 

 of chemical fertilizers in Russia, which may be attributed either to the agri- 

 cultural progress of the country or to partial exhaustion of the high fertility 

 of some of the soils, black soils in particular. The fertilizers are now largely 



