1919] SOrLS — FERTILIZEKS, 21 



as a by-product of the Bakelite industry prevented the loss of nitrogen from 

 urine without any subsequent Injury to germination. 



The science and practice of manuring, W. Dyke {Loiidon: The Lockwood 

 Press (1918), rev. and enl, pp. [2]+157+[3]; rev. in Nature [London'], 102 

 {1919), No. 2573, p. JfSo).— This is a revised and enlarged edition of this work, 

 which treats the subject from the standpoint of the commercial horticulturist 

 and is based to a large extent upon the successful practical experience of the 

 author. 



[Report of soil fertility work in Massachusetts], E. F. Gaskill {Massa- 

 chusetts Sta. Rpt. 1917, pp. 21a-32a). — Noting the progress of work previously 

 mentioned (E. S. R., 38, p. 218) this comprises a report on comparative tests 

 of barnyard manure, nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia, and dried blood 

 in various fertilizer combinations, with and vpithout lime, on Green Mountain 

 potatoes ; muriate v. high-grade sulphate of potash on alfalfa, blackberries, 

 currants, gooseberries, mangels, rhubarb, raspberries, and soy beans; manure 

 and various combinations of chemical fertilizers on asparagus and tomatoes, 

 and on both Umed and unlimed beets and onions ; different forms of potash, 

 including kainit, high- and low-grade sulphate, muriate, nitrate, carbonate, 

 and treater dust on Early Canada Flint corn ; various kinds of phosphates, 

 including Arkansas, South Carolina, Florida soft, and Tennessee rock phos- 

 phate, slag, dissolved bone black, raw bone, dissolved bone meal, steamed bone, 

 and acid phosphate on Medium Green soy beans ; a fertilizer mixture high in 

 potash (160 lbs. of muriate per acre) and low in phosphoric acid v. one with- 

 out potash and high in phosphoric acid for corn ; various fertilizer treatments 

 used continuously, alone and In different combinations on cabbage, both limed 

 and unlimed ; different combinations of fertilizers used continuously with lime 

 on corn ; different systems of top-dressing meadows ; and sulphate of ammonia 

 V. nitrate of soda as a top-dressing for permanent meadows. 



Potatoes grown on the limed area produced scabby tubers in every case, 

 amounting to 75 per cent In one instance, while only two of the unlimed plats 

 showed any scab, the injury amounting to about 10 per cent in each case. 



Top-dressing permanent meadow with barnyard manure has resulted in an 

 average yield of 6,006 lbs. of hay per acre as compared with 5,824 lbs. from 

 an application of bone and potash, and 5,496 lbs. from slag and potash (form- 

 erly wood ashes). No potash was applied in 1916 and 1917. The omission 

 of potash on a permanent meadow usually receiving complete chemical ferti- 

 lizers was accompanied by a normal crop of hay in 1916, a favorable season 

 for hay production, but by a crop much below normal in 1917, an unfavorable 

 season. 



Experiments in fertilizing a crop rotation, T. L. Lyon {New York Cornell 

 Sta. Bui. 399 {1919), pp. 19-50). — In connection with experiments previously 

 noted (E. S. R., 30, p. 829), in which all the farm manui'e or commercial fer- 

 tilizers were applied to timothy in a rotation comprising three years of timothy 

 followed by corn, oats, and wheat, a new series of tests is described, in which 

 a comparison-was made of this practice with that of fertilizing the grain alone. 

 The soil upon which the tests were made is said to be particularly well adapted 

 to timothy, less so to small grains, and poorly suited to coi'n, although its nat- 

 ural fertility is high. Observations were also made on the effect of withholding 

 potash from the fertilizer mixture for grass as compared with the use of a mod- 

 erate amount. The results are presented in tabular form, together with data 

 showing the estimated value of the crops based both on prewar prices and on 

 prices as of July 1, 1918. 



It is concluded that a moderate quantity of a complete commercial fertilizer 

 applied during each of the three years the land was in timothy was more profit- 



