1918.] SOILS PEKTILIZERS. 619 



Meteorological records at Ottawa, W. T. Ellis (Canada Expt. Farms Rpts. 

 1916, pp. 3, 4)- — Tables based on observations nt the Central Experimental 

 Farm, Ottawa, are given showing the maximum, minimum, and mean tempera- 

 ture, the rainfall, snowfall, total precipitation, number of rainy days, heaviest 

 precipitation in 24 hours, and sunshine, for the period from April, 1915, to 

 March, 1916, inclusive, also the annual rainfall, snowfall, and total precipitation 

 from 1890 to 1915-16 with the averages for tlie period. 



The fertilizing value of rain and snow, F. T. Shutt {Canada Expt. Farms 

 Rpts. 1916, pp. 174-178). — Data are reported for the ninth year of this investi- 

 gation (E. S. R., 36, p. 19). 



The total precipitation for the year amounted to 33.65 in. as compared with 

 an average of 32.81 in. for the 9 years of the investigation, but tlie total nitro- 

 gen, amounting to 9.765 lbs. per acre, was considerably in excess of that 

 found in any previous year. Of this amount 4.87 lbs. occurred as free and 

 organic ammonia and tlie remainder as nitrates and nitrites. The cause of 

 the increase has not yet been fully explained. 



SOILS— FEETILIZERS. 



Soils (Missouri Sta. Bui. 151 (1917), pp. 55-59, 62-65, figs. 2).— Brief prog- 

 ress reports are made on various soil fertility experiments as follows : 



M. F. Miller and F, L. Duley report further work with corn, the results 

 of which confirm those of previous experiments in showing that " the period 

 from the time of laying by to the time of silking is the most important to 

 final growth from the standpoint of both moisture and nutrition. . . . The 

 water requirement is less influenced by variations of the moisture supply 

 during the growing period than it is by the character of the season. In the 

 case of the variation in moisture supply less concordant results are available 

 than in the case of the variation nutrients." 



The results of investigations by M. F. Miller and R. R. Hudelson on the 

 rate and manner of applying fertilizers to corn were adversely affected by the 

 dry season but indicated that heavy applications of fertilizers in the row 

 slightly injured the corn. Applications of fertilizers in the row at the second 

 cultivation gave better results than earlier applications. "The fertilized 

 plats all showed more vigorous early growth than the unfertilized plats." 



In tests by Miller and Hudelson on various ways of handling coAvpeas as 

 a preliminary crop for wheat there was "very pronounced benefit from the 

 growing of cowpeas between the wheat crops when plowed under, disked in, 

 or when the cowpea crop was taken off. The yields have always been better 

 on the plats in which the peas are disked in and the wheat sown afterward. 

 Rolling after plowing under peas does not seem to be of much help." 



In comparative tests by Hudelson of various phosphates in a rotation of 

 corn, wheat, and clover the relative order of effectiveness has been found to 

 be bone meal, calcined phosphate, basic slag, acid phosphate, and rock phosphate. 



From studies by W. A. Albrecht of the nitrogen content of soils as affected 

 by storage, the conclusion is drawn that soils absorb ammonia from the air. 

 The increase of nitrogen from this source varied from a few pounds to as much 

 as 1,550 lbs. per acre, while the observed changes in nitrogen content due to 

 bacterial action were within the limits of experimental error. An outline is 

 given of an experiment which has been undertaken on nitrate production in 

 soil as affected by crops and cultivation. 



In crop rotation and fertilizer experiments carried on by Miller and Hudelson 

 corn grown continuously has shown a six-year average yield of 11.14 bu. per 

 acre as compared with a yield of 28.52 bu. for corn grown continuously but 



