1022 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



" When nitrate of soda is put into the soil, it is changed to nitrate of lime, which 

 is highly soluble in water. The result is that if we put nitrate of soda where it 

 will he washed out, it carries so much lime with it, so that nitric acid, despite its 

 treat value in special cases, is a lime robber. The same is shown concerning hydro- 

 chloric acid in the chlorid of potassium. ... On the other hand, very mnch less of 

 the sulphuric acid is washed out, and extremely little lime. This is a further claim 

 in favor of the use of sulphate of ammonia. The former figures showed us that the 

 ammonia is not washed out and we now see that the sulphuric acid in the ammonia 

 sulphate does not act in causing a loss of lime as do the other two acids." 



Investigations in moor culture, II. Immendorff (Landir. Jalirb., 

 27 (1898), Siq). 4, pp. 503-521). — The work here reported consisted of 

 investigations on the amount of plant food taken from moor and sandy 

 soils by the removal of the grass and sod, and of analyses of Molinia 

 coerulea and Garex goodenonghii and various crops for green manuring 

 grown on upland moor and light sandy soils. The composition of the 

 different plants is given in tables. 



The grass and sod of moor lauds are used for litter, and investiga- 

 tions were made to compare the amount of plant food removed from 

 different kinds of soil by this practice. In this experiment 2,858 kg. of 

 dried substance per hectare was removed from the sandy soil and 

 21,231 kg. from the moor soil. The substance taken from the sandy 

 soil contained 179.G57 kg. nitrogen, 72.G93 kg. lime, 31 kg. magnesia, 

 53,394 kg. potash, and 22.41G kg. phosphoric acid, and the substance 

 removed from the moor soil 201.482 kg. nitrogen, 89.170 kg. lime, 40.339 

 kg. magnesia, 33.917 kg. potash, and 19.108 phosphoric acid. 



Action of lime and calcium carbonate on certain natural 

 humus substances, G.Andre (Compt. Bend. Acad. Sci. Paris, 127 

 (1898), No. 13, pp. 416-448; abs. in Ann. Agron., 24 (1898), No. 12, pp. 605- 

 607; Rev. Sci. [Paris], 4. ser., 10 (1898), No. 15, pp. 471, 472).— In the 

 author's experiments samples of vegetable mold, moor soil, compost, 

 and peat were heated for 15 hours in a water bath at 100° C. with lime, 

 calcium carbonate, and water. The ammonia volatilized was collected. 

 The extracts obtained were filtered, neutralized with hydrochloric acid, 

 evaporated to dryness, and the nitrogen determined in the residues. 

 The same substances were treated with lime in the cold for 82 days, 

 with frequent shaking to promote the action of micro-organisms. 

 Closed flasks were used to prevent loss of ammonia, and at the end of 

 the period the alkaline solution obtained was distilled to determine the 

 nitrogen in form of ammonia and easily transformed amids. 



The amount of ammonia volatilized by lime at 100° C. was smaller than 

 in previous experiments with potash (E. S. R, 10, p. 830), but was consid- 

 erable. With potash 17.01 per cent of the total nitrogen originally 

 present in peat, 15.9G per cent of that in compost, 14.93 per cent of that 

 in moor soil, and 13.61 per cent of that in vegetable mold, was driven 

 off as ammonia, as against 10.86, 12.10, 9.23, and 10.45 per cent respec- 

 tively with lime. The amounts of ammonia driven off in case of calcium 

 carbonate and water were not important except in case of peat and 

 compost. In these 2.89 and 5.33 per cent respectively were volatilized 



