FERTILIZERS. 



935 



increased, and except in [one instance], where analysis shows the soil itself to have 

 been high in "available" phosphate, the increases are very considerable . . . 

 Seaweed with superphosphate gave a larger crop in every case than farmyard 

 manure with superphosphate [or potash] or with farmyard manure alone . . . 



"On the other hand, dung had the advantage over seaweed in quality of prod- 

 uce. . . . There was no doubt that the seaweed potatoes were less mature than 

 the dung ones. They were softer and less mealy when boiled; and in every case it 

 was held that the results of the seaweed plats would have been improved if they 

 could have been allowed to grow for a fortnight longer. It is therefore probable 

 that seaweed would give even better results with late potatoes. 



"As no nitrogenous manure was applied with the seaweed in any of the experi 

 ments and as [one of J the soils was very deficient in nitrogen, the results would 

 seem to indicate that the nitrogen of seaweed readily becomes available to potatoes, 

 and is, on the whole, of equal value to that of dung. 



"The lield experiments, then, confirm the results of analysis, and show that sea- 

 weed is, weight for weight, as good a manure for potatoes as dung, but that to get 

 the best results with it it should be supplemented with phosphate. . . . 



"So far as these experiments go, then, there does not seem to be much ground for 

 the general belief that muriate of potash is not a suitable manure for potatoes. " 



The starfish in Narragansett Bay, G. W. Field (Rhode Island Sta. 

 Bpt. 1897, pp. 150-165, pis. 8). — In connection with a study of the life 

 history and habits of the starfish (Asterias forbesii), an enemy of the 

 oyster, analyses with reference to fertilizing constituents were made, 

 with the following results : 



Composition of starfish. 



Calculated 



to live 

 nnrinsed 

 fishes as 

 received. 



Loss by rinsing with fresh water and complete drying 



Crude ash 



Lime (calcium oxid) 



Potiish (potassium oxid) 



Phosphoric acid 



Nitrogen 



Insoluble matter 



Per cent. 



65.43 



20.34 



9.62 



.23 



.20 



1.80 



.34 



Calculated 



to abso- 

 lutely dry 

 starfishes 

 rinsed with 

 fresh water 

 before dry- 

 ing. 



Per cent. 



58.84 



27.82 



.66 



.57 



5.20 



.97 



Solubility of the phosphoric acid of Thomas slag and crude 

 phosphates in upland moor soils as determined by the amount 

 of free humus acids present, B. Taoke and H. Minssen (Landw. 

 Jalirb., 27 (1898), Sup. 4, pp. 392-413).— In these experiments, in which 

 a variety of phosphates— including among others Florida and Carolina 

 phosphates and Thomas slag— were tested in pots, it was found that 

 the solubility of the phosphates depended upon the amount of free 

 humus acids present. Neutralizing the soil with basic substances, 

 such as lime, destroyed the solubility of the crude phosphates, although 

 a part of the phosphoric acid of Thomas slag was still soluble under 

 these conditions. The citrate-insoluble phosphoric acid of the slag, 

 however, was not dissolved to any greater extent in the soil than that 

 of the crude phosphates. 



