AIR AVATER SOILS. 1023 



iu case of calcium carbonate and 2.38 and 3.75 per cent respectively 

 in case of water. 



The soluble nitrogen found in the lime solution was 19,50 per cent of 

 the original nitrogen in case of vegetable mold, 21.26 per cent in case of 

 moor soil, 40.91 per cent in case of compost, and 10.5G per cent in case 

 of peat. These are all much lower percentages than wore found in 

 previous experiments with potash above referred to. The solutions 

 obtained after treatment with calcium carbonate and water also con- 

 tained considerable amounts of soluble nitrogen — 1.82 and 1.23 per cent 

 of the original nitrogen in case of peat, 6.4 and 5.61 per cent in case of 

 vegetable mold, and 16.91 and 17.4 per cent in case of compost. The 

 calcium carbonate extract of moor soil contained 6.74 per cent of the 

 original nitrogen. 



By the action of lime for 82 days at ordinary temperature 6.59 per 

 cent of the original nitrogen in vegetable mold, 5.56 per cent of that in 

 moor soil, 6.91 per cent of that in compost, and 5.73 per cent of that 

 in peat was obtained in the form of ammonia and easily decomposed 

 amids. These figures afford an indication of the changes brought about 

 in soils by liming. 



Contribution to the solution of the question whether the water 

 content of the soil influences the nitrogen and ash content of the 

 dry matter of plants, J. Wilms and C. von Seelhorst {Jour. 

 Landic, 46 (1898), Xo. i, xyp. 413-426). — A continuation of work previ- 

 ously reported (E. S. E., 10, p. 737). Oats were grown in pots of soil 

 (about 17 kg., dry), which were either unfertilized or received different 

 combinations of the 3 essential fertilizing constituents ' and were 

 watered at 3 different rates: (1) 41.6 per cent of the water capacity of 

 the soil (small); (2) 45.2 per cent, increasing with the growth of the 

 plants to 47.4 and 51.7 per cent (medium); and (3) 48.8 per cent, 

 increasing to 53.2 and 63.7 per cent with the growth of the plants 

 (large). The crop was cut when the grain was in the milk and nitro- 

 gen and ash determined. 



It was found that the more productive the soil the greater the influ- 

 ence of its water content. The yield of straw and of grain was about 

 equally increased by an increase in the water content of the soil. The 

 influence of nitrogen in increasing the yield of straw was not affected 

 by increasing the water content of the soil. However, with an excess 

 of potash in the soil, increasing the water content increased the yield 

 of straw and reduced the yield of grain. Increasing the water content 

 reduced the nitrogen content of grain and straw to about the same 

 extent. The nitrogen content of the crop varied with the amount 

 applied in the fertilizer, and the effect of the nitrogenous fertilizers on 

 the nitrogen content of the crop was greater the larger the amount of 

 water present. The variations in nitrogen content due to the water 



■Potash in form of carbonate, phosphoric acid iu mouocalcium phosphate, and 

 nitrogen in nitrate of soda. 



