WATKR SOILS. 438 



"In u;eiu'ral, it may be said i>f (nu' IdaJK) soils, tliat they are uiinsnally ricli in all 

 the mineral plant foods exeepl lime. The volcanic origin of the greater part of onr 

 soils makes them especially rich in potash and pliosi)horic acid. Some of the soils 

 of tlie Immid regions contain nnnsnally high percentages of humns and nitrogen. 



"The extent of 'alkali' in the State has not yet ])een investigated, l)ut thus far in 

 our soil work no soils analyzed have contained harmful auKnuits of either white or 

 black alkali. Tlie soils received froi . Cassia County contain both kinds of alkali, but 

 not as yet in sufficient quantity to be dangerous to crops. " 



Soil analyses, F. T. SnuTT {Rpt. Dept. Agr. Ndrthwest Territorie.% 1900, pp. 29-31).— 

 Anal\st's, including determinations of available potash, phosphoric acid, and lime, 

 of 4 samples of surface soil from the Calgary p]xperimental Station, Northwest Terri- 

 tories, are reported. Two of the samples were of the same soil, irrigated and unir- 

 rigated, which were examined with a view to ascertaining the effect of irrigation on 

 the plant food ])resent. The results were not conclusive. 



The soils of the northern marshes of the Vendee, their composition and 

 exhaustion under culture -without fertilizer, M. Aktits {Ann. iSc't. Aijroii., 1901, 

 'J, No. 3, pp. 2SS-295). — The soils of these sea marshes which have been reclaimed 

 by natural or artificial means are very clayey and difficult to cultivate. The area 

 included in the study here reported was about 50,000 hectares. Chemical analyses 

 of 8 samples of the soil of the region are rei)orted. These show that as a rule the 

 soils are abundantly sujjplied with nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid. The latter, 

 however, was found to be but slightly solul)le in water by the Schloesing method, 

 and the productiveness ajipeared to vary with the proportion of solu))le phos])horic 

 acid present. The effect of continuous culture without manure shows itself espe- 

 cially in the reduction of the amount of soluble phosphoric acid. 



Soils, GRAFTrAU {Bui. Agr. IBrussels], 17 {1901), No. 2, pp. 170-172).— Analyses 

 of 9 samples of soil and subsoil of the Campine and of 1 sample of chernozem from 

 Bulgaria are reported. 



Condition of the aluminum in cultivated soils, T. Schloesing {Compt. Rend. 

 Acad. Sci. Paris, 13..' {1901), No. 20, jip. 1203-1212; af>s. in Jour. Chern. Soc. [London'], 

 90 {1901), No. 465, 11, p. 471, and Cliem. Centbl, 1901, II, No. 3, p. 222).— The author 

 found in examination of a number of Madagascar soils that most of them contained 

 either free alumina or aluminum silicates readily attacked by a dilute solution of 

 sodium hydroxid. The alumina and the silica, however, were chiefly in a sandy 

 condition and did not increase the tenacity of the soils. 



Soil temperature at Hawkesbury Agricultural CoUeg-e, Richmond, New 

 South Wales, C. T. Musson {Agr. Gaz. New South Wales, 12 {1901), No. 6, pp. 

 669-fJSO, pis. 2). — Observations extending over a period of one year. May, 1898, to 

 April, 1899, are reported. The observations were made at depths of J" in., 6 in., 

 1 ft., and 2 ft., in a light-colored sandy loam. The daily temperature variations are 

 charted and discussed with reference to the effect of rainfall and other conditions. 



Humus and soil nitrog-en, E. F. Ladd {North Dakota S(a. Bui. 47, pp. 685-704). — 

 In continuation of previous investigations (E. S. R., 11, p. 224) studies were made 

 on nitrifying organisms and the nitrates and nitrites in different soils; the percentage 

 of nitrogen in the first and second 6 in. of the same soil at different dates; the per- 

 centage of organic matter and humus in the first and second 6 in. of plats subjected 

 to different systems of (;ropping and culture; and on the changes which take place 

 in manure heaps. 



The number of colonies of ordinary l)acteria in the first 3 in. of soil was found to 

 range from 10,000 to 52,000, and (jf anaerol)ic bacteria from 400 to 8,000. Nitrifying 

 bacteria were not found in bare summer fallow below 2 ft. Probably they do not 

 occur normally below 18 in. In the first (5 in. of the soil there was found 415 lbs. 

 of nitrates per foot-acre (an aiTc of soil to a depth of 1 ft., or 3,142,800 lbs. of soil); 

 in the second 6 in., 234 lbs.; at a depth of 3 ft., 675 lbs.; at 7 ft., 294 lbs. Since 85 



