828 EXPERIMENT STATION EECORD. 



was 0.8:1. The same ratios gave the maximum yield of above-ground mate- 

 rial. For the development of the roots of barley the best ratios were 6.7 : 1 and 

 13.3 :1 and for that of the roots of corn the best ratio was 3.3 :1. 



The author also describes sand cultures with barley which did not give any 

 decided results. 



Some chemical and bacteriological effects of liming, E. B. Voorhees, J. G. 

 LiPMAN. and 1*. E. Brown (Xcw Jersey Stas. Bui. 210, pp. 7.9). — The physical, 

 chemical, and bacteriological or physiological effects of liming are brietly 

 explained, and experiments are reported to test the effect on the growth of oats 

 and crimson clover and on the development of certain groups of soil bacteria of 

 equivalent quantities of magnesian (dolomite) and nonmagnesian (oyster shell) 

 lime in the burned and carbonate state, with or without the application of 

 nitrogen (dried blood), potash (sulphate), and phosphoric acid (acid phos- 

 phate), in case of oats, and of potash and phosphoric acid only in case of 

 crimson clover. 



The experiments were made in rectangular galvanized sheet-iron boxes 12 in. 

 long, 10 in. wide, and 11 in. deep, each box containing 50 lbs. of soil. Two kinds 

 of soil were used, (1) a somewhat sandy loam used for market-garden crops, 

 and (2) a typical red shale soil rather poor in available plant food used for 

 general farm crops. 



" The crop returns showed that the application of lime reduced, in many 

 instances, the yields of dry matter, but increased, on the whole, the yields of 

 nitrogen. The bacteriological studies showed that both animonification and 

 nitrification were promoted by the previous liming of the box soils, hence it is 

 quite clear that the depression in the yields of dry matter was not due to lack 

 of nitrogen but to some other cause. The crop returns show, likewise, that 

 the depression in the yields of tlry matter was greater where magnesian lime 

 was applied than it was where nonmagnesian lime was applied. The bacterio- 

 logical methods show that, in the greater number of instances, both ammonifi- 

 cation and nitrification were promoted by the magnesian lime to a more marked 

 extent than they were promoted by nonmagnesian lime. Hence it appears again 

 that the depression in the yields of dry matter was not due to a decreased 

 supply of available nitrogen." 



The causes of the depression noted are briefly considered and are to bo more 

 fully discussed in a future publication. 



As regards the effect of the different fertilizer mixtures it was observed that 

 "the application of acid phosphate, potassium sulphate, and dried blood, in the 

 case of the oats, and of acid phosphate and potassium sulphate, in the case of 

 the clover, increased the yield of dry matter, nitrogen, and ash." The mag- 

 nesian lime proved inferior to the nonmagnesian lime, the latter slightly increas- 

 ing the yield of dry matter, considerably increasing the yield of nitrogen, and 

 decreasing the yield of ash, while the former decreased the yield of dry matter, 

 increased the yield of nitrogen in the oats and decreased it in the clover, and 

 decreased the yield of ash in both cases. 



An application of 1,000 lbs. of lime per acre was practically as efficient in case 

 of oats as an application of 2,000 lbs. In case of clover the larger application 

 gave better results. Lime in the form of carbonate produced more dry matter, 

 nitrogen, and ash than burned lime. In promoting ammonlfication the mag- 

 nesian lime was superior to the nonmagnesian lime in hare and clover soils, but 

 inferior in the oat soils. Applications of 2.000 lbs. were superior to 1,000 lbs. 

 for this purpose in the bare and oat soils and inferior in the clover soils. The 

 carbonate was superior to the oxid in bare soils and inferior in the oat and 

 clover soils. The anunonification coetticient was increased by the application 

 of minerals. Nitrification was promoted by the application of the fertilizing 



