WATER SOILS. 841 



results of oxaininatioii of rain water showed that the total amount of nitrogen lnoiitrl)! 

 down in the atniosidierie preeiiiitations amounts to only 5.216 kg. per heetare, or not 

 more than 4 to 5 per cent of the amount of assimilable nitrogen necessary for a good 

 crop. The influence of manure was studied in 4-year and 9-year rotations with 

 wheat and oats. It was found that with favorable meteorological conditions the 

 manure increased the total amount of nitrogen taken up by the itojjs. It increased 

 the total yield but decreased the relative proportion of albuminoid substances in 

 all |)artsof the plant. In fact it was observed in general that those conditions which 

 favored the increase in yield caused a reduction in the relative proportion of nitrog- 

 enous compounds in the plant. Excessive humidity favored the process of assimila- 

 tion of carbohydrates while drought hastened maturity and favored the ]-)roduction 

 of grain relatively rich in protein and relatively poor in carbohydrates. 



On the question of the productiveness of different soil layers, 8. Stschussev 

 {Zlinr. Opnhn. Agruii. [Jour. Expl. Lmidiv.'], 2 [1901), No. f>, pp. til 1-6^4, Jigs. S).— 

 Pot experiments with oats on chernozem soil from 3 depths — surface, 17.8 cm., and 

 26.7 cm. — are reported. The surface soil was much more productive than that of 

 the other 2 layers. In the surface soil the nitrogen was the first constituent to 

 become exhausted, in the other layers phosphoric acid. 



Comments on the paper by S. Stschussev on the productiveness of diflFerent 

 soil layers, D. Rudsinskv [Zhnr. Opuitn. Agron. [Jour. E.ijtf. Landw.}, ,1 (190^), 

 Xo. l,pp. 38-43). 



On the water-soluble phosphates of the soil, T. Schloesing, Jr. ( Compt. Rend. 

 Acad. Sri. Farift, 134 [1902), Xo. J3, pp. 1383, 1384). — Summarizing the results of 

 numerous experiments the author concludes that the phosphates of the soil are con- 

 stantly being rendered soluble in water and available for the use of plants. This 

 process is slow in any case, but is more rapid in moist soils than in dry. The con- 

 tinued application of phosphatie fertilizers accelerates this process; that is, soils so 

 fertilized yield a larger amount of phosphoric acid soluble in water than can be 

 accounted for by the fertilizers applied. The amount soluble in water is always 

 small, and can be obtained only by treating a small amount of soil with a large 

 amount of water (100 liters of water to 100 gm. of soil), extracting by means of 

 displacement rather than by shaking in flasks. 



A contribution of the study of the influence of frost on the physical 

 properties of soils, A. ]Mitscheklkh {Fi'ddtiH/s Lundir. Ztg., 51 {1902), Xos. 14, 

 pp. 497-503; 15, pp. 532-537). — The author concludes from his observations on the 

 influence of repeated freezing (as high as 23 times) of different classes of soil as 

 measured by hia Benefzungsvurtne method (E. S. R., 10, p. 423; 14, p. 127) that frost 

 is without measureable effect in increasing the aggregate surface area of the individual 

 soil particles. 



On the question of the mechanical analysis of soils, P. Kaschinsky {Zhnr. 

 Opitihi. Agron. [Jour. Expt. Laudw.}, 2 {1901), No. 3, pp. 3 15-336) .—J^he resuhs of a 

 study of the Osborne method are reported (in Russian with a summary in German). 



Vegetation boxes for studying the -water content of soils, C. von Seel- 

 HORST {Jour. Landu'., 50 {1902), Xo. 3, pp. 277-280). — The construction of a lysimeter 

 for the study of drainage, evaporation, water requirements of plants, etc., is described. 



Analysis of the soil by the plant, T. Lokot {Selsk. Khoz. i Lyesov., 205 {1902), 

 Apr., })p. 91-135). — The author gives an extended survey of the literature on this 

 subject and discusses its present status, explaining the principles underlying the 

 methods employed in studying the fertilizer requirements of plants on different 

 soils — chemical analysis of soil and plant, and vegetation experiments. Both these 

 methods are considered unreliable in practice, although susceptible of much improve- 

 ment by the exercise of greater care in sampling the products for examination. In 

 the author's opinion it still remains for agricultural chemistry to devise an accurate 

 method for determining the fertilizer recjuirements of plants, and this method will 

 be purely cliemical in character. — 1>. fireman. 



