1919] SOILS — FERTILIZERS. 815 



soIIr from old stratified deposit*, and the overflow lands from recent alluvium. 



In addition to rough stony land and meadow, 10 Boil types of 1 Berlea are 

 mapped. Hollls stony fine sandy loam, rough stony land, Mollis One sandy 

 loam, and Holds loam predominate, occupying 44.4, 18.9, I L9, and 12.8 per cent 



of the total area, respectively. 



The oxidation of ammonia, J. R. Partington [Jour. Nor. (Them. Indus., 37 

 (19t8), No. 17, pp. 337R, 838R, fig. 1; Sci. Ann r. Su,,.. >7 i 1919), Vo. 9266, i>i>. 

 367, 368, fig. 1).— This article deals particularly with (ho construction and 

 operation of an ammonia oxidation apparatus devised in tin- course of in- 

 vestigations under the auspices of the Ministry of Munitions of Croat Britain, 

 and with the results obtained with the apparatus. 



"Under established conditions, an output of 1.5 tons of nitric acid (HNO») 

 per square foot of catalyst area per 24 hours, with an efficiency of !»."> per cent, 

 has regularly been attained. Without the application of external sources of 

 heat, the efficiency, as mentioned, is of the order of S.") per cent. The output 

 of a converter may, however, be reduced to 25 per cent of the maximum rate 

 without affecting the efficiency." 



It is stated that while the conversion of ammonia to oxids of nitrogen is a 

 matter of no great difficulty once the conditions are understood, the utiliza- 

 tion of oxids of nitrogen produced is an intricate problem to winch a < Bid- 



erable amount of research has been devoted, particularly the question of the 

 use of the oxids in sulphuric acid manufacture. "The ammonia oxidation pro- 

 cess has already been adopted by several of the large sulphuric works in 

 England, and undoubtedly has a very extensive future before it in this direc- 

 tion. There is a considerable saving of expense in the replacement of niter 

 by ammonia oxidation, in addition to the much more regular working of the 

 process." The conversion of the oxids into nitric acid and many other ways of 

 utilizing them are also being investigated. 



Fertilizer experiments with spoiled calcium cyananiid, M. Popp (Zcnthl. Agr. 

 Chan., 1,7 (1918), No. 10-11, pp. 299-307; alts, in Chan. Ahs., IS (1919), No. r,. 

 p. 627). — Samples of calcium cyanamid stored in cork-stoppered glass bottles 

 and analyzed for total nitrogen in 1913. 1914, 1915, and 1917 showed a marked 

 falling off, said to be due to the absorption of water. Oats grown in pot ex- 

 periments, employing both fresh and old calcium cyanamid recovered from 

 59 to 68 per cent of the nitrogen in the former, as compared with only 2G 

 per cent of that in the latter. Old calcium cyanamid containing much dicyano- 

 diamid nitrogen resulted in a high nitrogen content in the straw. The presence 

 of 6.5 per cent dicyanodiamid injured oat plaids when the calcium cyanamid 

 was applied at the rate of 90 kg. per hectare (about SO lbs. per acre). 



Determination of the value of agricultural lime, S. D. CoNMCB (Jour. Indus, 

 and Engin. Chan., 10 (1918), No. 12, pp. 996-999, figs. 3).— In experiments at the 

 Indiana Experiment Station, here reported, "the value of agricultural limes 

 was determined by means of the acid-soluble calcium and magnesium by means 

 of CO* determination with boiling hydrochloric acid, and by digesting in 

 standard acid and titrating the excess acid. Pot cultures on two very acid 

 soils were conducted using calcite. WOllastonlte, raw rock phosphate, gypsum, 

 dolomite, magnesite, enstatite, and serpentine as correctors of soil acidity. 

 Wheat and clover were grown in each soil and the crop increases reported. 

 Soil acidity was determined after cropping by means of the Hopkins potassium 

 nitrate method and the C. H. Jones calcium acetate method. 



"Crop increases due to various treatments wen- obtained in the following 

 order, the highest being placed first : Calcite, dolomite, magnesite, wollastonlte, 

 rock phosphate, serpentine, enstatite, and gypsum. The treatments decreased 



