622 EXPERIMENT STATION" RECORD. 



above the guarantied statement of composition Is much larger than the num- 

 ber below. ... In the case of fertilizer materials and mixtures other than- 

 complete fertilizers, the average percentage found is above that guarantied in 

 all cases excepting flsh scrap and calcium (lime) carbonate." However, "the 

 present law permits absolute exemption of deficiencies of plant food amounting 

 in some cases to a value of $5 or more per ton [and] in the case of high- 

 grade fertilizers and especially of fertilizing materials . . . offers an oppor- 

 tunity for cheating farmers with impunity." 



Fertilizer facts for farmers, F. H. Hall (New York State 8ta. Bui. 392, popular 

 c(l. (VJl.'i), pp. 8, fig. 1). — A popular edition of the above. 



The action of sulphate of ammonia and superphosphate of ammonia in 

 calcareous soils, J. Wlodeck (Ahs. in Internat. Inst. Agr. [Rome], Mo. Bui. 

 Agr. Intel, and Plant Diseases, 5 (IDlJf), No. 8, pp. lOOJf, 100.5).— In field experi- 

 ments with cereals on calcareous and sandy soils to detennine losses of nitrogen 

 from ammonium sulphate and to test the behavior of superphosphate of am- 

 monia in calcareous soils, it was found that while the superphosphate was 

 about equally effective on the two soils, the sulphate gave much lower results 

 on the calcareous soil than on the sandy soil. The conclusion is drawn that 

 the unfavorable result with the sulphate on the calcai'eous soil was due to 

 volatilization of ammonia, and that losses of as much as 20 per cent of the 

 ammonia may result from this cause whereas with superphosphate of ammonia 

 such losses can be avoided or considerably reduced. 



The cyanamid works at Niagara Falls {Engin News, 73 {1915), No. 1, pp. 

 16-21, figs. 5). — ^The present status of the synthetic nitrogen industry, with 

 particular reference to the cyanamid process, is reviewed, and the works at 

 Niagara Falls, Ontario, is described. It is stated that the present annual pro- 

 duction of cyanamid is as follows: Odda, Norway, 72,000 metric tons; Alby, 

 Sweden, 16,000; Piano d'Orta, Italy, 6,000; Terni, Italy, 25,000; San Marcel, 

 Italy, 3,000; Martigny, Switzerland, 12,000; Notre Dame de Briancon, France, 

 7,500; Trostberg, Bavaria, 25,000; Gross-Kayne, Germany, 6,000; Knapsack, 

 Germany, 20,000; Selenico, Dalmatia, 6,000; Dugriat, near Almissa, 15,000; 

 Kagami, near Kumamoto, Japan, 16,000; and Lonza, Switzerland, 15.000 metric 

 tons; and Niagara Falls, Ontario, 64,000 long tons. Practically the entire 

 American ovitput of cyanamid is used in the preparation of mixed fertilizers. 



The Niagara Falls factory occupies a plat of 40 acres, covers 12 acres of floor 

 space, represents an investment of $3,000,000, normally employs continuously 

 day and night about 750 men and 30,000 horsepower of electrical energy, and 

 produces cyanamid of a sales value of approximately $2,750,000 a year. 



Comparison of silicates and carbonates as sources of lime and magnesia 

 for plants, W. H. MacIntire and L. G. Willis {Jour. Indus, and Engin. Chem., 

 6 {1914), No. 12, pp. 1005-1008, figs. 2).— The authors review previous work 

 indicating that calcium and magnesium more commonly occur in soils as 

 silicates than as carbonates and report tests of the carbonates and silicates 

 in pot experiments with clover. The soil had a lime requirement of about 1 

 ton per acre surface foot. The substances tested were used in amounts fur- 

 nishing the equivalent of 16,070 lbs. per acre in excess of this requirement. 



The results indicated that " calcium and magnesium mineral silicates, woUas- 

 tonite, and serpentine were very beneficial when applied either singly or 

 jointly. . . . Calcium silicate is decidedly superior to calcium carbonate, both 

 in its effect upon plant growth and as a form tending to conserve lime in soils." 



The comparative effect on different kinds of plants of liming an acid soil, 

 B. L. Hartwell nud S. C. Damon {Rhode Island 8ta. Bui. 160 {191.',). pp. Jf07- 

 Jf46, 2jZs. Jf). — This bulletin summarizes the results secured during 22 years (1903 



