SOILS FERTILIZERS. 15 



"Taken as a whole, the year was a dry one, the rainfall being below the 

 normal amount in seven months of the twelve; but the closing month of the 

 year was one of almost unparalleled wetness. . . . The year was also a warm one, 

 and the mean temperature exceeded the average in nine out of the twelve 

 months, the relatively cool months being those of early summer." 



A comparison of the temperature of the air with that of the soil at depths of 

 1 ft. and 4 ft. showed that " at the moderate depth of 1 ft. the soil retains right 

 up to the close of the year much of the warmth it absorbs from the summer 

 sunshine." 



Composition of rainfall at Montevideo, 1909-1912, J. Schkoedek {Rev. 

 Asoc. Rural Uruguay, 44 i.1915), No. 7, pp. 381-391). — Chemical examinations 

 of the rainfall at the Agronomic Institute of Montevideo (Sayago) for the 

 whole of 1912 and for parts of 1908 and 1911 are reported. 



The total rainfall during 1912 was 1.504 meters (59.21 in.), supplying 

 7.713 kg. of combined nitrogen per hectare (6.S6 lbs. per acre) of which 3.68 kg. 

 was ammoniacal nitrogen and 4.033 kg. was in the form of nitrites and 

 nitrates. The rainfall of 24 months represented by the whole of 1912 and 

 parts of 1908 and 1911 contained 13.71 kg. of nitrogen per hectare, or 6.855 kg. 

 annually. The amount of sodium chlorid brought down by the rainfall of 

 1912 was 87.9 kg. per hectare, and for the 24 months named 165 kg. 



The soot- and dust-fall of Eng'lish towns and cities, J. B. C. Keeshaw 

 (Chem. Trade Jour., 51 (1915), No. U82, pp. 363, 364, fiffs. 2).— Observations on 

 the soot- and dust-fall of twelve English towns and cities during periods vary- 

 ing from three to twelve months are reported. The average fall per month 

 varied from 5.45 tons per square mile for Malvern to 79.79 tons for Oldham. 



SOILS— FERTILIZERS. 



Pike County soils, C. G. Hopkins, J. G. Mosieb, E. Van Axstine, and F. W. 

 Gakbett {lUinois Sta. Soil Rpt. 11 {1915), pp. 48, pis. 3, figs. 5).— This is the 

 eleventh of the Illinois county soil reports. 



Pike County lies in the southern part of the upper Illinois glaciation. The 

 soils of the county are divided into three classes as follows: (1) Upland 

 prairie soils rich in organic matter, (2) upland timber soils, including those 

 areas upon which forests have grown for a sufficient length of time to change 

 the character of the soil, and (3) swamp and bottom-land soils, including 

 both the old and the new flood plains along streams. The yellow silt loam 

 hill land occupies nearly one-third of the county, while the three most ex- 

 tensive upland timber soil types cover 60 per cent of the total area. "As a 

 rule the variation among the different types of soil in Pike County with 

 respect to their content of important plant food elements is not very marked, 

 although the late bottom-land soils contain about twice as much nitrogen and 

 phosphorus as the common upland timber soils. The most significant facts re- 

 vealed . . . are the great abundance of potassium, the common lack of lime- 

 stone, and the low content of nitrogen and phosphorus in the most extensive 

 upland types." Methods of treating the soils are discussed. 



Soil analyses {Agronomia [Puerto Bertoni], 5 {1913), No. 9-12, pp. 389- 

 394).— The five predominating soil types of eastern and north-central Paraguay 

 are described and average chemical and physical analyses reported. 



The predominating type is a deep, permeable, very fertile forest soil of 

 volcanic origin, containing much oxid of iron. The type next in extent is a 

 soil of less depth than the first, which has a rocky subsoil and contains con- 

 siderable fine sand. It contains more nitrogen than the predominating type and 

 less pho.sphoric acid, potash, and lime. It also is said to be very productive. 



