SOILS FERTILIZERS. 



717 



to a higher rate of evaporation into the air, the nioistm-e is drawn away to the 

 cokler portions of the soil beneath, wliere it is protected from the winds by the 

 top layers wliich it lias just left." 



The niovenaents of the soluble constituents in fine alluvial soil, A. J. 

 EWART (I'roc. Uoy. tioc. Victoria, n. so:, 20 (1907), No. I, po. JN-JS). — The au- 

 thor reports a series of plat e.xperinients on "(1) a leached basalt clay, shal- 

 low, overlying a very tough clay subsnil, and (2) dcej) san<l of alluvial nature, 

 overlying white sandy subsoil, with some clay," in which the effect of air- 

 blalced and quicklime, gypsum, superphosphate, bone, nitrate of soda, sulphate 

 of ammonia, and blood manure on the growth of rye and oats and on the avail- 

 ability of the soil^ constituents on manured and unmannred soils was studied. 

 The main results of the e.xperinients were as follows: 



On unmannred soil the sodium nitrate apiieared to lower the jiercentage of 

 dissolved matter during the eight months following its aiiplication. The slaked 

 lime lowered the amtnmt at first, but by the end of the year it was up to the 

 normal level again. In .-ill other cases the amount of water-soluble matter in- 

 ci-eased at first, but fell below the unmannred level by the end of the year, ex- 

 cept in the case of the gypsum, in which it remained high in sjiite of a heavy 

 loss, and of the blood manure, in which it did not fall below the amount in the 

 unmanured plat. 



The distribution of water-soluble and acid-soluble matter in the soils (1 lig. 

 exti-acted with 2 liters each of water and decinormal hydrocliloric acid) at dif- 

 ferent dates is shown in the following table: 



Matter soluble in iratcr and in dilute acid iter l-ilof/rain of soil. 



" In regard to tlie distribution of the soluble matter in the different layers, 

 the downward movement, as the result of continuous rain, and the less marked 

 upward ascent during drought, were well shown by the unmanured, slaked lime, 

 gypsum, nitrate of soda, bone dust, and superphosiihate plats, while the down- 

 ward movement was merely lessened in summer, and not actually reversed in 

 the case of the quicklime, ammonium sulphate, star phosi)liate. and blood ma- 

 nure plats. The averages for the water-soluble matter in all the i)lats are re- 

 niarlvably consistent with the conclusions mentioned, the sui'face sliowing a 

 fall and rise, S in. depth a slow fall, and the IG in. an almost similar rise by the 

 end of the year. . . . 



" The amount of matter soluble in dilute acid underwent a secondary rise at 

 the end of the year in the superficial layers in the case of the unmanured, 

 sodium nitrate, ammonium suli)hate, bone dust, and slaked lime jilats, but in all 

 other cases decreased steadily .in the surface layers of soil. The (piicklime plat 

 was exceptional in showing not only a rise in the suiiei-ficial layer in Septem- 

 ber, but also an increase in the average for the v^^hole Ki in., followed by a 

 pronounced fall in December. As regards the averages, these decreased dui-ing 

 the year in all the plats excepting the unmanured and slaked lime plats, but 

 the increases in these were very slight in amount. . . . 



