814 



EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



[Vol. 37 



seaweeds and marine mud. Analyse.s of samples of these materials from the 

 New England coast, made at the Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut 

 experiment stations, are given in the following table : 



Average composition of seaweeds, calculated to 75 per cent moLiture. 



Kind of material. 



Num- I 



ber Organic 



of an- . matter, 



Nitro- 

 gen. 



Phos- 

 phoric 

 acid. 



Potash. 



Lime. 



Mag- 

 nesia. 



Laminaria saccharina 



L. digitata 



Ascophyllum nodosum 



Fueus vesiculosa 



Chondrm crispus 



Zostera marina 



Rhodymenia palmata 



Phyllophosa rncmbTanifolia 

 Cladostephus verticellatus . . 



Polyides rotundiis 



A hnfcldlia plicata 



" Fine branching seaweed' 



Sea lettuce 



Coarse sponge 



Per ct. 

 K19-"6) 



(19. 47) 

 (19.34) 

 (18.75) 

 (10. 90) 



Per ct. 



0.39 

 .45 

 .39 

 .43 

 .70 

 .41 

 .68 

 .80 

 .39 

 .82 

 .42 

 .98 

 .33 



1.04 



Per ct. 

 0.13 

 .12 

 (0.02) 

 .12 

 .13 

 .15 

 .17 

 .11 

 .19 

 .15 

 .09 

 .24 

 .00 

 .25 



Per 

 0, 



ct. 

 51 



.62 



.79 



.50 

 1.15 



.42 

 1.98 



.72 

 1.23 



.36 



Per 

 0. 



Per ct. 



0.35 



.38 



.38 



.30 



.30 

 .16 

 .50 

 .31 

 .18 

 .28 

 .24 



> Most figures in parentheses are results of single anal^is and not average. 



A comparison of average analyses of seaweed. New York horse manure, and 

 cow manure with litter shows " that the average seaweed contains less organic 

 matter, nitrogen, and phosphoric acid than New York horse manure, and com- 

 pared with cow manure it has about the .same amount of nitrogen, much less 

 phosphoric acid, and more potash. Seaweetls are relatively deficient in phos- 

 phoric acid. . . . Et'lgrass is generally regarded as inferior to the rockweeds 

 as manure, tliough the composition of the fresh material is not strikingly dif- 

 ferent." 



Analyses of 9 samples of marine mud from various places on the (Connecticut 

 shore showed an average moisture content of about 48 per cent, organic matter 

 3.95, and nitrogen 0.15 per cent. In four of these samples further determina- 

 tions average, as follows: Potash, 0.35 per cent; soda, 0.72; lime. 0.43; mag- 

 nesia, 0.52 ; phosphoric acid, trace ; chlorin, 0.93 ; and sulphuric acid, 0.53 per 

 cent. It is stated that although the percentages of organic matter, nitrogen, 

 and potash in marine mud are small. " applications of from l.CKX) to 2,000 bu. 

 per acre have given excellent results, due in part, no doubt, to the action of 

 the mud as an amendment, making the soil more retentive of water, and per- 

 haps in part also to the action of salt." 



The value of coconut poonac as manure, M. K. Bam ber (Ihpt. Agr. Ceylon 

 Leaflet J (1911), folio). — Analy.ses of ordinary coconut poonac showed a con- 

 tent of nitrogen 3.33 per cent, phosphoric acid 1.47. p<»tash 1.29, lime 0.9. and 

 soda 1.17 per cent. 



Experiments with humogen, M. H. F. Sutton {Rending, England: Sutton rf 

 Sons [1!)17], pp. 12, figs. 1.'/). — Experiments with mustard, Italian rye grass, 

 and dwarf French beans to test the fertilizing value of humogen and also to 

 compare it with barnyard manure and coniplote fertilizers are reporte<l. 



No great success attended the use of commercially manufactured humogen, 

 although results were obtained with humogen made in the laboratory which 

 were second only to those obtained with a complete fertilizer. " So far as the 

 results of these tests show, it would appear that, however sntisfactory humogen 

 may be when prepared in the laboratory, some difficulty as yet exists in manu- 



