124 EXPERIMENT STATION EECOED. [Vol.36 



18 cts. over that of 1914. . . , Lime for fertilizer was sold in 1915 in 29 of the 

 43 lime-producing States, and represented about one-sixth of the total quantity 

 and one-seventh of the total value of lime sold. Pennsylvania was the leading 

 State, with sales valued at nearly $1,000,000. . . . Besides burned lime, there 

 were also sold for fertilizer in 1915 810,399 short tons of pulverized limestone, 

 valued at $893,530. 



Gypsum in 1915, R. W. Stone {U. S. Geol. Survey, Reprint from Mineral Re- 

 sources of the United States, Calendar Year 1915, pt. 2, pp. 151-159). — This re- 

 port deals with the production and use of gypsum in the United States during 

 1915, and states that " although the output of gypsum mined decreased in 1915, 

 the decrease was only a little more than 1 per cent and the decrease in value of 

 products marketed was only about 4 per cent. . . . The quantity mined ex- 

 ceeded that of all previous years except three, 1912, 1913, and 1914. . . . There 

 was also an unusual increase in the quantity sold as land plaster." 



The action of manganese under acid and neutral soil conditions, J. J. 

 Skinnee and F. R. Reid {U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. Ul (.1916), pp. 12, figs. 3).— A 

 six years' field test of manganese sulphate used at the rate of 50 lbs. per acre 

 on an acid silty loam soil is reported. 



It was found that the effect of the manganese sulphate each year was not 

 beneficial to wheat, rye, corn, cowpeas, or potatoes. The soil required from 

 1.780 to about 2,750 lbs. of calcium carbonate per acre to neutralize the first 

 6 in. It is also deficient in organic matter, of poor physical condition, and 

 has a poor oxidizing power. The processes of oxidation were retarded by 

 manganese in most cases of acid conditions in the soil. 



Studies on the same plats kept neutralized with lime for the three years fol- 

 lowing the experiment with the soil in an acid condition indicated that additions 

 of manganese increased the yields of wheat, rye. timothy, beans, corn, and cow- 

 peas, while no difference was produced in the potato crop. The oxidative power 

 of the neutralized soil was also increased by manganese. 



" These results on the behavior of manganese as a so-called catalytic fer- 

 tilizer when acting under acid or neutral soil conditions show that no profitable 

 return is to be expected in soils of a persistent acid tendency until such soils 

 are limed." 



The American fertilizer handbook {Philadelphia: Ware Bros. Co., 1916, 9. 

 ed., pp. [398], figs. 2). — This handbook contains the usual data and information 

 relating to the fertilizer industry (E. S. R., 34, p. 29). Among the more im- 

 portant special articles included are the following : Fertilizers : What They Are — 

 How to Apply Them, by H. G. Bell ; The Sulphuric Acid Industry : Conditions in 

 the Trade — New Construction — Brief Review of Recent Literature and Recent 

 Patents — Statistics for the United States, by A. N. Fairlie; Possible Sources of 

 Potash in America, by F. K. Cameron; Potash Salts, 1914, by W. C. Phalen; 

 Preventable Losses in Fertilizer Plants, by S. J. Martenet; Sulphur and 

 Pyrite in 1914, by W. C. Phalen; The Cyanamid Industry— World Status, by 

 E. J. Pranke; The Production of Phosphate Rock in 1914, by W. C. Phalen; 

 The Cottonseed Oil Industry ; An Interesting and Unusual Year — Conditions 

 Have Necessitated Many Changes in Milling ^Methods — The Future of the In- 

 dustry, by T. C. Law ; The Products and Composition of Cotton Seed, by T. C. 

 Law ; and The Western Animal Ammoniate Market : An Unprecedented 

 Advance of Prices for Blood and Tankage During the Fall of 1915 — The 

 Demand for Animal Ammoniates Greater than the Production — Monthly Re- 

 view from May 1, 1915, to April 30, 1916, by J. H. Schmaltz. 



Official report on commercial fertilizers licensed, inspected, and analyzed 

 during the year 1915 {Columbus, Ohio: Bd. Agr., 1916, pp. 221). — This bullelin 

 gives general information regarding the manufacture, selection, purchase, and 



