1919] SOTT.S FERTITJZEKS. 811 



The soils of the county consist principally of glacial till tlerived from the 

 Late Wisconsin glaciation. " Where the soils have developed under conditions 

 of good drainage they are brown in the surface horizon, while the subsoils are 

 yellowish to brownish yellow. From this condition there are various grada- 

 tions down to the extremely wet and impervious soils, where the surface soils 

 and subsoil are light gray in color." Fifteen soil types of 10 series and 2 

 miscellaneous types are mapped, of which the Volusia and Canfleld silt loams 

 cover 39.3 and 28.7 per cent of the area, respectively. The soils of the county 

 are said to be generally in need of lime. 



Soil analysis, L. C Harlow {Ann. Rpt. Sec. Agr. Nova Scotia, 1918, pt. 1, 

 pp. 135-140). — Analyses of several samples of upland soils of Nova Scotia, rep- 

 resentative of about 400 samples analyzed, showed that the organic matter and 

 nitrogen contents of virgin soils w^ere very low, while in pasture and cultivated 

 soils there were sufficient quantities of niitritive materials. In old so-called 

 " run out " soils, a considerable nitrogen accumulation was found. Physical 

 analyses showed that the upland soils are usually sandy soils. 



Black soils, L. C. Harlow (Ann. Rpt. Sec. Agr. Nova Scotia, 1918, pt. 1, pp. 

 145-147). — Analyses of 13 samples of the so-called black soils of Nova Scotia 

 are reported, indicating a high organic matter content and low mineral mat- 

 ter content. These soils are usually from low spots, but it is the opinion that 

 a well-decayed black soil, when composted with manure, provides nitrogen and 

 humus in good quantity and retains moisture and liquid manure. Such soils 

 are usually quite acid and need liming. 



Further studies on the soils of North. Wales, G. W. Robinson and C. F. 

 Hill {Jonr. Agr. Sci. [England], 9 {1919), No. S, pp. 259-282, figs. 2).— This is a 

 second paper on the subject (E. S. R., 38, p. 116), in which studies on the gen- 

 eral characteristics of the carboniferous soils and the soils derived from the 

 northern drift, together with associated deposits, are reported. 



The soils studied are generally lowland soils. IMechanical and chemical 

 analyses are reported showing that the coarsest fractions of these soils consist 

 almost entirely of quartz sand. They are all generally deficient in lime, but 

 contain reasonable quantities of potash. 



Biological analysis of soils, A. R. Padmanabha i^IYER {Dept. Apr. Cent. 

 Provs. and Berar [India'], Rpt. Agr. Col., Nagpur, Bot. and Chem. Research 

 [etc.], 1918, pp. 17-19). — Studies of embanked wiieat soils to determine whether 

 the gradual deterioration of wheat yields was due to lack of any of the normal 

 biological activities are reported. Samples were taken from three plats. Plat I 

 was kept open and plowed at the beginning of the rains and harrowed at inter- 

 vals between rains. Plat VI was flooded until one month before planting, when 

 it was drained and harrowed. Plat VII was flooded and not cultivated before 

 planting. 



Moisture determinations showed that soils from Plat VII contained 32 per 

 cent, from Plat VI 31 per cent, and from Plat I 26 per cent of moisture, as 

 against 44, 40, and 35 per cent, respectively, for the previous year. There was 

 no noticeable difference in the nitrogen-fixing powers of the soils for the two 

 years. Carbon dioxid production was the same in soils from Plats I and VI 

 but was greater in Plat VII than in the others. " The number of bacteria in 

 Plat I . . . was, however, much lower than Plat VI, but was still higher than 

 Plat VII. The results of nitrification in the case of Plat I were conti'ary to those 

 obtained last year. The percentages of nitrogen transformed in the form of 

 nitrate from the same amount of organic manure . . . after eight weeks' in- 

 cubation were as follows: Plat I, 21,3 per cent; Plat VI, 53.4 per cent; and 

 Plat VII, 46.9 per cent," 



