120 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. [Vol.38 



Sacramento Valley, and In other places where the rainfall Is below 16 in. per 

 annum, it appears that a high-grade inorganic nitrogenous fertilizer is to be 

 preferred to the organic forms and especially where quick results are desired. 

 The best representative of the high-grade nitrogenous fertilizers for the class of 

 soils under consideration here is sulphate of ammonia. It may be used on all 

 crops in the case of these soils. Nitrate of soda may be used also in the case of 

 grain soils with good effect. ... On soils of the northern and northwestern 

 counties of the State, including a considerable portion of the north half of the 

 Sacramento Valley and in some of our more southern coast valleys, together 

 with a few more isolated and limited districts all over the State, in which the 

 soils contain more than the usual quantity of organic matter and of nitrogen, 

 the high-grade organic nitrogenous fertilizers will serve as well. . . . 



" In general phosphate fertilizers can not at the present time be made to 

 yield profitable returns on the arid soils of California." This is attributed 

 to the relatively great depth of the soil and the consequently larger plant- 

 feeding area. 



" With the possible exception of the delta soils ... it seems quite certain 

 that potash fertilizers can not be made to return profitable yields on arid 

 California soils. In addition, it also seems true that the size of the crop may 

 not be materially increased by the use of potash fertilizers, even without 

 profit." 



Fertilizer experiments (Minnesota Sta., Rpt. Grand Rapids Substa., 1916, 

 pp. 24-45, flgs. 11). — Fertilizer experiments on both upland and muskeg with 

 field and truck crops are reported. 



No marked improvement in crop yields has so far been shown from any fer- 

 tilizer except barnyard manure on upland soil. On muskeg, liming showed 

 marked beneficial results on practically all crops, grains, grasses, and vege- 

 tables. The effect of lime on the stand of grasses, legumes, and weeds was 

 striking. The fertilizer treatments on muskeg have not been run long enough 

 to give conclusive results. A test of vegetables on muskeg showed more marked 

 beneficial results from fertilizer treatment on deep peat than on shallow peat. 

 This was especially true in the use of lime. 



The value of activated sludge as a fertilizer, W. D. Hatfield and E. Bab- 

 tow (Vniv. III. Bui., U (1916), No. 5, pp. 336-347, figs. 4).— This is an abstract 

 of a thesis containing a summary of different experiments on the subject, 

 showing that the nitrogen in activated sludge is in a very available form and that 

 activated sludge is valuable as a fertilizer. Calculations based on comparison 

 with dried blood show that activated sludge should be worth about $20 a ton. 



See also a previous note by the authors on this subject (E. S. R., 3-1, p. 520). 



Experiments in the bacterization of peat for soil fertilizing purposes, 

 D. H. Jones (Abs. Bact., 1 (1917), No. 1, pp. 43, 44). — In an endeavor to sub- 

 stantiate Bottomley's claims regarding the preparation and value of bacterized 

 peat as a soil fertilizer, some experiments were conducted on the bacterial and 

 chemical treatment of peat, following the method practiced by Bottomley. 



A sample of peat was divided into five 1-bu. lots. Lime in varying quantities 

 was added to three of these and then they, and one of the remainder, were in- 

 oculated with rich broth cultures of soil bacteria, the fifth lot being kept as 

 control. All were incubated at 25° C. for one month, being moistened and 

 mixed up occasionally to aerate. All samples were then autoclaved at 15 lbs. 

 for one hour. Rich cultures of Azotobacter, Pseudomonas radicicola, and cellu- 

 lose fermenting bacteria were then added to all except the control and incubated 

 at 25° for two months. 



Different lots of the peat were mixed in the percentages of 0.5, 2, and 10, with 

 a sample of poor soil, and filled into 7-in. flower pots, and in these radish seed 



