726 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



The offering' of premiums for fertilizer experiments as a means of promoting 

 rational fertilizing', T. Pfeiffer (3////. Lan<hr. Inst. Uuir. Brexhni., 1 {1901), No. 5, 

 pp. 1-46). — The author refers to the unreliabihty of chemical anal3'sis as a means of 

 determining the fertiUzer requirements of soils and discusses the relative merits of 

 pot and field experiments. The former he considers a cheap and convenient means 

 of studying fundamental scientific problems, but doubts whether the results so 

 obtained can be directly applied in practice. Carefully conducted field experiments 

 are considered the most reliable means at the command of the farmer for determin- 

 ing the fertilizer requirements of his soils. For this reason the author in 1898 recom- 

 mended to the Association of German Agricultural Experiment Stations the adoption 

 of a system of premiums to encourage farmers to undertake carefully planned and 

 supervised field experiments with fertilizers (E. S. R., 11, p. 506) with a view to 

 cheapening the cost and improving the methods of plant production in a similar 

 manner to that long prevailing in the field of animal production. The advantages 

 of such a system are explained, and the author describes the plan and reports the 

 results in detail of 39 cooperative experiments begun in 1899 under a system of prizes 

 ranging from 100 to 300 marks offered by the agents of the nitrate, Thomas slag, and 

 potash salts interests. The results obtained were of a very encouraging nature and 

 are taken to indicate the practicaV)ility of the plan. 



Crop growing and crop feeding, W. F. Massev {Pract. Farmrr^n IJhr., 3 {1901), 

 No. S, pp. 383). — "This book is the result of an effort to put into the jilain language 

 of the farm the facts which scientists have worked out in the lal)oratory, and which 

 practical experience has proved to be applicable to the everyday work of the farm." 

 It discusses the relation of air and soil to plant growth; plant breeding; the restora- 

 tion and maintenance of soil*fertility by means of fertilizers, leguminous plants, and 

 proper rotations; plant food and the sources and functions of phosphorus and potash 

 in fertilizers; tests of the needs of soils; fraud in fertilizers; mixing fertilizers on the 

 farm; lime and liming; and gives special formulas and general instructions for ferti- 

 lizing the principal farm, garden, and orchard crops. There is a special chapter on 

 gardening under glass, and an appendix giving tables of composition of farm crops, 

 fertilizers, etc. "The original design was simply to make the work a reference book 

 on the use of fertilizers for the general farmer. But it is difficult to write of the use 

 of fertilizers without going somewhat into details of cultural methods; and then, too, 

 the market gardener, the orchardist, the florist, and the winter forcer of products 

 under glass are all interested in the use of commercial fertilizers. Hence the idea 

 of the work has grown so as to include some of the work of each. ... So far as 

 the garden crops and the work under glass are concerned, special attention is paid to 

 the needs of the market gardeners of the South Atlantic and Southern States." 



Green manuring with lupines and the use of nitrogenous fertilizers, 

 C. ScHREiBER {Rev. (thi. Agwii. [Lunrain], 10 {1901), No. 11, }>}>. 4Sl-4SS,Jig. 1).— 

 Pot experiments with oats and field experiments with rye in 1900 and 1901 to test 

 the economy of using commercial fertilizers in connection with lupines as a green 

 manure are briefly reported. The best results as regards yield and profit were 

 obtained when the green manure was supplemented by commercial fertilizers, espe- 

 cially nitrate of soda, the latter being preferable to sulphate of ammonia as a supple- 

 mental nitrogenous fertilizer. 



Use of town drainag'e as manure, W. H. Moreland {Dept. Land Records and 

 Agr. Northwest. Provinces and Oudh, Bid. IS, agr. ser., 1901, pp. 3). — This is a brief 

 account of the successful use for irrigating different crops of the drainage Avater of 

 the Meerut municipality. This drainage water "consists mainly of street rul)l)ish, 

 sullage water, and the like, diluted by the water with which the drains are flushed." 



On sewage disposal and purification, J. Glaister {Proc. Phil. Soc. Glasgow, 32 

 {1900-01), pp. 151-191). — The methods of sewage disposal and purification, the rela- 

 tive merits of which are discussed in this paper, are divided into two main classes: 



