950 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



lbs. [of i)otassium sulphate} per acre would appear to be the most profitable amount 

 to use. In order not to jirevent germination, this must be placed from 1 to 2 in. 

 below or at one side of the seed in the hill." 



The soils of Garrett County, Maryland, C. W. Doksey {Manjlnnd Geological 

 Surrey: Garrett County. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1902, pp. 233-252, pis. 2). — 

 An account is here given of a soil survey of this county, which lies in the extreme 

 western portion of Maryland and has an area of 680 square miles. It consists mainly 

 of a rolling plateau 2,000 to 2,500 ft. above sea level, broken by mountain ranges 

 2,500 to 3,400 ft. high. The article contains a general discussion of the origin 

 and fertility of soils and of the relation of the agriculture to the physiography and 

 climate of (xarrett County, agricultural conditions, the history of soil investigations 

 in the county, and soil formations. "There are comparatively few tyjies of soil in 

 Garrett County. They consist mostly of sandy loams ami loams in the valleys and 

 more gently rolling areas. In the mountainous districts there are always present 

 large amounts of bowlders, which make cultivation difficult. The soils are mainly 

 residual, derived from the weathering of the shales, sandstones, and limestones." 

 The type soils which are described, and of which mechanical analyses are given, are 

 10 in number, as follows: Jennings, Hampshire, Pocono, (jreenbrier-Mauch Chunk, 

 Pottsville, Allegheny, Conemaugh, ^l<m(jngahela, Dunkard, and (Quaternary. 



The soils of Cecil County, Maryland, C. W. Dorsey and J. A. Bonsteel 

 {Maryland Geological Surrey: Cecil County. B(dtimore: .hihns ITophins Press, 190?, 2^P- 

 227-24<^,pls. 3). — This is an account of a soil survey which has already been noted 

 from another source (E. S. E., 13, p. 925). 



Preliminary crop and soil data for the cooperative study of available 

 plant food, C. C. Mooee {V. S. Ikpt. Agr., Bxireau of Chemistry Circ. 11, pp. 9). — 

 This circular gives a description of the soils on which a chemical study (E. S. R., 13, 

 p. 1014) has been made indifferent States by the. experiment stations cooperating 

 with the Bureau of Chemistry of this Department, and analytical data for the yield 

 and fertilizing constituents of the crops grown. 



Report on analyses of the soil of coffee plantations, J. G. IvRAJfERs {Mcded. 

 ' S Landx J'Jantenttdn, 190?, No. ,57, pp. 25). — The author discusses the subject under 

 the following heads: (1) The origin and nature of coffee soils in Java; (2) the rela- 

 tion between the soil and the plants; (3) the chemical analysis of the soil; and (4) 

 the samples and the methods of investigation. Following the text is a long table, 

 in which is given detailed analyses of all the soil samples, together with the reagents 

 used in making the tests. The soils on which Java coffee is planted belong to the 

 volcanic formation of the Tertiary and (Quaternary periods, and consist of volcanic 

 andesite and basalt or their decomposition products. Most of the cultivated soils of 

 Java are underlaid by a hardpan which often prevents free drainage and ruins the 

 soil for coffee culture. 



The author also treats of the various mineral substances in the soil and the geolog- 

 ical history of the mountains, and discusses the general principles of plant physi- 

 ology as applied to the relation between the plant and the soil. — h. m. pieters. 



The occurrence of climatic soil zones in Spain, Ramann {Ztschr. Ges. Erdh., 

 1902, pp. 165-168; ahs. in Geol. CrtUhL, 3 (1903), Ao. 4, p. 136).— On the basis of 

 observations made during 1901 the author maps and discusses the distribution of 

 soils in the Spanish Peninsula. Soils having the widest distribution are the steppes 

 and half steppes, some of which are alkaline. A special type of the stejipe soils is 

 the Andalusian black soil, which differs in structure from the east European soils. 

 The steppes are surrounded by a Ijand of red siliceous soils containing considerable 

 amounts of colloidal iron oxid. On the northwest coast, where the rainfall is abun- 

 dant, humus soils are found. 



The bacteriolog'ical analysis of soils, F. D. Chester [Proc. Soe. Prom. Agr. 

 Sci. 1902, pp. 173-1S2). — This artii-le is l)ased on investigations already noted (E. S. R., 

 14, p. 232). 



