134 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



both ammonia and carbon dioxid in a closed flask there was a loss of 

 only 2.9 per cent of nitrogen in 5 days, but 52 per cent in 11 days. In 

 experiments in which 4 parts of urine were mixed with 1 part of straw 

 (an insufficient amount to absorb all the urine) and exposed to the air 

 during the summer (June, 1897), 58.3 per cent of the nitrogen escaped 

 in 2 days, TO per cent in 1 days, 72.6 per cent in days, and 75.7 per cent 

 in 8 days. These figures serve to indicate the great losses which may 

 occur when insufficient amounts of litter are used. 



In experiments in which litter was used in larger quantities, 1 part 

 of litter to 2 of urine, the losses of nitrogen in the open air were only 

 7.2 per cent in 8 days. In closed flasks in which arrangements were 

 made for the absorption of the ammonia and carbon dioxid 7.9 per cent 

 of the nitrogen escaped in 3 days, 31.5 per cent in 6 days, 52.6 per cent 

 in 8 days, and 59.7 per cent in 12 days. In an atmosphere of carbon 

 dioxid no nitrogen escaped from the mixture, although the larger part 

 of the nitrogen present was converted into ammonia. This is the con- 

 dition in a well-constructed and compacted manure heap. 



Potash : Its commercial and agricultural relations and a chem- 

 ical method for its accurate estimation in soil, A. T. Neale, W. 

 H. Bishop and C. L. Penny {Delaware Sta. Bui. 36, pp. 24, Jigs. 3). — 

 The economy of using potash fertilizers is discussed and it is shown 

 that in spite of " a decline iuvalues of all farm products and in spite 

 of a decline of 65 per cent in the phosphate market the muriate of 

 potash has been held for fifteen years unchanged in quality and in 

 price." In view of this fact it is recommended that those systems of 

 farming be practiced which utilize the latent potash of the soil. For 

 this purpose the old-fashioned combination of lime and clover is con- 

 sidered especially valuable. It is suggested that from Ih to 10 bu. of 

 stone lime per acre applied with an ordinary grain drill with fertilizer 

 attachment will be found as effective in many cases as the heavier 

 applications which have been hitherto applied. 



The results of an experiment with different fertilizer mixtures during 

 1894-1897 on sweet corn, crimson clover, cowpeas, oats, and red clover 

 are reported. Muriate of potash gave noticeably good results on sweet 

 corn aud red clover, and the mixture of muriate of potash and acid 

 phosphate was especially effective on cowpeas. 



Potash was determined in the first and second foot of the soil of 

 these plats by the following method: Samples of soil were ignited to 

 dull redness and pulverized until they would pass a sieve of 80 meshes 

 to the inch. Five hundred grams of this pulverized soil was placed in 

 a 2-liter Jena glass flask with 1 liter of 20.7 percent hydrochloric acid, 

 aud heated by means of steam to 100° in a rotary apparatus for 7 hours. 

 The apparatus used for this purpose is described and figured. The acid 

 solution obtained was filtered without washing, and a portion of the 

 filtrate was taken for further operation. The amount so used was found 

 by calculations based on the chlorin content of the acid solution. The 

 method of calculation is fully explained. 



