730 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



"The result of the investigation shows beyond a doubt that although some of the 

 fertilizers applied did not appreciably increase the yield of fodder corn or ear corn, 

 the quality of the product was in every case improved by the application of the 

 fertilizers, both through the larger content of valuable food constituents in the corn 

 and through the greater proportion of ears to stover in the crop from the fertilized 

 plats." 



Pot-culture tests of the productiveness of the soils of Minong 

 pine barrens in Douglas County, Wisconsin, F. H. King ( Wiscon- 

 sin Sta. Bpt. 1897, pip. 249-253, Jig. 1). — There are "in the central and 

 northern portions of Wisconsin large areas of very sandy soils which, 

 if they ever become remunerative for agricultural purposes, must be 

 made so through the application of special methods." Pot experiments 

 with samples of such soils from Miuong in Douglas County during 1895 

 and 1896 indicate that with irrigation combined with judicious fertilza- 

 tion good crops may be produced on soils of this character. The crop 

 grown in these experiments was potatoes. The soils were irrigated 

 once or twice each week during the season. The yield in the pots to 

 which well rotted manure had been added was at the rate of 275.8 bu. 

 in 1895 and 878.1 bu. in 1896. The water used by the crop was 16.39 in. 

 in 1895, 29.51 in. in 1896. 



For purposes of comparison similar experiments with potatoes were 

 made on samples of local sands. The water used, including 4.48 in. of 

 rainfall, was 20.05 in. in 1895. The yield on heavily manured soil (50 

 tons per acre) was at the rate of 605.5 bu. per acre; on soils receiving 

 only 25 tons manure, 563.5 bu. In 1896 potatoes were again grown, 

 without further manuring. The yields were 312 bu. per acre for the 

 heavy watering (40.61 in. including rainfall) and light dressing of 

 manure, and 344.5 bu. for the lighter watering (31.92 in.) and heavier 

 dressing of manure. 



Experiments of the above character were also made on the same 

 sands and on good soil with clover in 1895 and barley in 1896. "While 

 the crops produced on the sand have not been as large in all cases as 

 those produced on the good soil, they have nevertheless been fair yields 

 and nearly equal to those from the good soil when the sum of both 

 crops is compared." 



Results of studies of the higher atmosphere, G. Hermite and C. Besan^on 

 (Compt. Bend. Acad. Sci. Paris, 127 (1898), No. 16, pp. 574,575, fig. 1). — A small bal- 

 loon was sent up August 23, 1898, to an altitude of about 7,305 meters. The balloon 

 carried a barothermograph and a good automatic record of temperature and eleva- 

 tion was obtained. The minimum temperature recorded was — 60° C. at about 

 6,500 meters. 



Soil water, P. P. Deherain (Gard. Chron., 3. ser., 25 (1899), No. 630, p. 34).— A 

 scientific presentation in popular style of the principles governing the operations 

 of tillage in their relation to control of soil moisture. 



Studies on the surface tension of -water in small capillary tubes, P. Volkmann 

 (Ann. Phys. u. Chem. [Wiedemann], n. ser., 64 (1S9S), No. 10, pp. 194-206). 



The farm water supply, F. W. Morse (New Hampshire Sta. Bui. 53, pp. 73-81). — 

 This bulletin discusses in a popular manner the character of the natural water sup- 

 ply in New Hampshire, the nature and causes of pollution, and the means of pre- 

 venting contamination. The discussion is based upon analyses made at the station 

 of numerous samples of well and spring water, it is shown that most of the natural 

 waters of New Hampshire are very pure and soft. The unpolluted ground water 

 contains as a rule less than 10 parts of solid matter dissolved in 100,000 parts of 



