1917] SOILS FERTTLIZEKS. 719 



Kincer (see p. 717) ; Frequency Curves of Climatic Phenomena (illus.). by H. R. 

 Tolley (see p. 718) ; Graphic ^Method of Representing and Coieparing Drought 

 Intensities (illus.), by T. T. Munger (see p. 718) ; Relation Between Strength 

 of the Trade Winds of the North Atlantic and Temperature in Europe, by P. H. 

 Gall§ ; Monthly Distribution of Mean Cloudiness Over France, by G. Bigourdan ; 

 Path of Sound Rays in Air Under Influence of Temperature, by V. Kommerell ; 

 and Six Years of Snowfall Measurements in the Carson, Walker, and Truckee 

 Watersheds, by H. F. Alciatore. 



No. 12. — Current Evaporation Observations by the Weather Bureau (illus.), 

 by B. C. Kadel and C. Abbe, jr. ; Slope and Valley Air Temperatures, by W. R. 

 Blair (see p. 718) ; Low Pressure at Paris, November 18, 1916, by [C] A. Angot; 

 Thunder and Hail in the Paris Region, by [C] A. Angot ; The Kinetic Theory 

 of Evaporation, by A. March ; Temperature of the Ocean Below the 500-Fathom 

 Line on the West Coast of America, by A. H. Clark ; Surface Currents of Jupiter 

 During 1915-1916, by S. Bolton; William Marriott, 1848-1916; Hurricanes of 

 1916 and Notes on Hurricanes of 1912-1915 (illus.), by R. H. Weightman ; The 

 Alabama Earthquake of October 18, 1916 (illus.), by R. H. Finch; Notes Re- 

 lating to the Earthquake of October 18, 1916, in North-Central Alabama, by 

 O. B. Hopkins; and Earthquakes Felt in the United States During 1916 (illus.), 

 by W. J. Humphreys. 



Climatolog'ical data for the United States by sections ( U. S. Dept. Agr., 

 Weather Bur. Climat. Data, S (1916), Nos. 11, pp. 224, P's- 2, figs. 4; 12, pp. 

 226, pis. 2, figs. 5). — These numbers contain brief summaries and detailed tabu- 

 lar statements of cliraatological data for each State for November and Decem- 

 ber, 1916. 



Meteorolog-ical observations at the Massachusetts Agricultural Experi- 

 m.ent Station, J. E. Ostbandbs and W. P. Saundebs (Massachusetts Sta. Met. 

 Buls., SSl-338 (1917), pp. 4 each). — Summaries of observations at Amherst, 

 Mass., on pressure, temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind, sunshine, cloudi- 

 ness, and casual phenomena during January and February, 1917, are presented. 

 The data are briefly discussed in general notes on the weather of each month. 



[Meteorological observations], D. A. Seelet (Ann. Rpt. Sec. Bd. Agr. Mich., 

 55 (1916), pp. 229-240). — Daily and monthly summaries of temperature (maxi- 

 mum, minimum, and mean), precipitation, cloudiness and sunshine, and monthly 

 summaries of pressure (maximum, minimum, and mean), wind movement, and 

 miscellaneous phenomena (frost, hail, thunderstorms, fog, auroras, and halos) 

 at East Lansing, Mich., are given for the year ended June 30, 1916. 



SOILS— FERTILIZERS. 



Measurement of the inactive, or unfree, moisture in the soil by means of 

 the dilatometer method, G. J. Bouroucos (U. S. Dept. Agr., Jour. Agr. Re- 

 search, 8 (1917), No. 6, pp. 195-217, fig. i).— This paper, prepared at the Michi- 

 gan Experiment Station, deals with the dilatometer method as a means of show- 

 ing the amount of water which becomes inactive in soils, as indicated by the 

 amount that fails to freeze. " The principle of the dilatometer method is based 

 upon the fact that water expands upon freezing. . . . 



"The dilatometer consists of three parts: (1) a bulb, (2) a thermometer, 

 and (3) a measuring stem. The method of procedure consists of mixing soil 

 and water in certain definite proportions, placing this moist soil in the bulb, 

 and then filling the latter with ligroin. The bulb with its contents is then 

 placed in a cooling mixture and allowed to supercool. After the desired super- 

 cooling is attained the bulb is moved gently in the cooling mixture until solidifi- 

 cation commences, which is indicated by the rise of the ligi-oin in the stem. The 



