930 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



S. R., 19, p. 524), and discusses in general tlie superpbosphate industry, pro- 

 duction in different countries, future deAelopment of manufacture, and tlie 

 supply of mineral phosphates, with especial reference to the requirements and 

 conditions of France. 



Fertilizers in Russia (Oil, Paint and Drug Reporter, 12 {1901), No. 6, p. 

 7/7; ZtscJir. Angea: Chcm., 20 {1901), No. 43, pp. 1876, 1877).— The hardship 

 and discontent due to high prices of fertilizing materials in Russia are referred 

 to and statistics of the consumption of fertilizers in that country are given. 

 It is stated that Russia at present uses about 112,903 tons of superphosphate 

 annually, of which S0,G45 tons is manufactured in Poland, 24,193 tons in Riga, 

 and 8,065 tons in St. Petersburg and Moscow. 



Phosphatic deposits of low grade (not more than 8 per cent of phosphoric 

 acid) are found in many parts of Russia, but only in the Government of Po- 

 dolia are deposits containing as much as 16 per cent of phosphoric acid found. 



Fertilizing materials, F. T. Shutt {Canada Expt. Farms Rpts. 1906, pp. 

 158-164) • — Analyses of dogfish scrap, tobacco refuse and ashes, wood, lime- 

 liiln, and muck ashes, and spent bone char are reported and their value as fer- 

 tilizers briefly discussed. In a number of samples of dogfish fertilizer from re- 

 duction works at Cause, X. S., and Shippigan, N. B., the nitrogen varied from 

 7.59 to 9.41 per cent, the phosphoric acid from 2.9 to 6.49 per cent, the oil from 

 22.81 to 32.75 per cent. The material was as a rule too coarse and rich in oil 

 to be considered as valuable as a fertilizer as the better forms of fish manures, 



AGRICULTURAL BOTANY. 



The light requirements of plants, J. Wiesner {Der Lichtffennss der Pflanzen. 

 Lcipsic, 1901, pp. VII +322, figs. 25). — This gives the results of prolonged photo- 

 metric and physiological investigations which were conducted with special ref- 

 erence to the life history, geographical distribution, and cultivation of plants. 

 After describing the various photometric methods for estimating the light re- 

 quirements of plants, the author discusses the effect of direct and diffused light, 

 the especial light requirements of plants in certain localities, such as tundras, 

 prairies, moors, etc., the varying requirements at different stages of growth, the 

 effect of light on the geographical and altitudinal distribution of plants, the 

 relation of leaf fall to illumination, relation of niycorrhiza to light, shade and 

 etiolation, light and photosynthesis, and other tojiics. 



The production of chlorophyll by plants in different light intensities, W. 

 LuBiMFNKo (Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci. [Paris], 145 {1907), No. 26, pp. 1347- 

 1349, dgm. 1 ) . — The author calls attention to the fact that plants begin forming 

 chlorophyll in very diffuse light and states that apparently no effort has been 

 made to quantitatively measure the formation of chlorophyll under varying 

 light intensity. He carried on a series of experiments on about one dozen 

 species of plants, in which the light intensity was varied from daylight to a 

 mere fraction of full illumination. 



The author gives the results of his experiments with sunflowers, oats, wheat, 

 and spruce, from wliich he concludes that the optimum illumination for the 

 production of chlorophyll is considerably below the maximum of light intensity. 



The influence of light and moisture on the composition of plants, A. 

 MuEiNOFF (Ber. Dent. Bot. GescU., 25 {1907), No. 9, pp. 507-509) .—The tabu- 

 lated results are given of experiments with T'icirt /«&« and wheat grown in 

 light and darkness and in varying amounts of moisture. The length of the 

 internodes, fresh and dry weight, and ash and nitrogen content are given, from 

 which it appears that in general plants gx'own in the light and also those grown 

 in the more abundant moisture exceed those grown under reversed conditions. 



