622 EXPERIMENT STATION RBCOBD. 



A simple scheme of classification and nomenclature proposed for international 

 use in reporting results of field experiments is described and advocated. 



The mechanical and chemical composition of the soils of the Sussex area, 

 New Jersey, A. W. Blair and H. Jenning {Geol. Survey N. J. Bui. 10 (1918), 

 pp. 110, pis. 2). — This bulletin, one of a series reporting work which has been 

 conducted cooperatively by the Bureau of Soils of this Department, the 

 Geological Survey, and the New Jersey State Station, briefly describes the 

 geography and geology of the Sussex area in northern New Jersey, and dis- 

 cusses the mechanical and chemical composition of samples of 10 soil series and 

 types encountered. Methods of analysis are described by R. B. Gage. 



It is shown that the soils of the area are often deficient in lime, and mag- 

 nesia is almost invariably present in excess of the lime. They are well sup- 

 plied with potash and phosphoric acid, but frequently respond to applications 

 of commercial fertilizers containing the latter in available form. There is more 

 potash in the subsoil than in the soil, while the phosphoric acid is slightly less 

 in the subsoil. 



" Many of the soils are fairly well supplied with nitrogen, though some 

 . . . are quite deficient in this material. Generally there is about three to 

 four times as much nitrogen in the soil as in the subsoil. Applications of 

 lime, together with more thorough cultivation and a more extended use of 

 green manure crops, will do much toward making these soils more productive 

 than they are at present." 



Soil analyses, J. W. Ince {'North Dakota Sta. Rpt. 1912, pt. S, pp. 439-U5).— 

 Analyses of samples of alkali soils producing a poor crop showed " enough 

 soluble salts ... to prevent the growth of almost anything except possibly 

 saltgrass." Treatments suggested for such soils are cultivation, application 

 of manure and gypsum, and washing by irrigation and drainage. In pot experi- 

 ments with oats, timothy, and alfalfa in these soils, gypsum, at the rate of 

 1,000 lbs. per acre, gave slightly better results than the untreated soil in the 

 case of timothy and oats, and blood at the same rate acted very favorably. 



Analyses of other soils for alkali and fertility constituents are reported. 



Stations for soil investig-ations with reference to the soils of tropical 

 South America, G. Medina (Z. Cong. Internat. Agr. Gand, 1913, Sect. 2, 

 Question 1, pp. 10). — This article is based upon observations and experiments 

 on the red soils of Brazil, which have undergone marked deterioration under cul- 

 ture in many cases. Comparative analyses of virgin forest soil and of similar soil 

 after exhaustion by culture show a decline of nitrogen under culture from 0.76 

 to 0.07 per cent, of phosphoric acid from 0.53 to 0.09 per cent, of potash from 

 0.26 to 0.01 per cent, and of lime from 0.03 per cent to a trace, but an increase 

 of iron oxid from 18.3 to 20.09 per cent and of silicates from 20.22 to 25.07 per 

 cent. The soils are acid and poor in lime. The phosphoric acid is to a large 

 extent, if not exclusively, combined with iron, and the potash is in the form of 

 silicates. The soil conditions. generally are unfavorable for active nitrification 

 although there is rapid decomposition of the organic matter of the soil. 



Fertilizer experiments on the red soils with coffee, sugar cane, rice, and 

 rubber are briefly reported. These show, in general, that the soils respond 

 generously to applications of fertilizers. 



A classification of soils in general, with reference to altitude, latitude being 

 a secondary consideration, is proposed and a plan of cooperative study of the 

 red soils of Brazil and their relation to the fixation of potash, phosphates, and 

 other fertilizing constituents is suggested. 



The marsh formations on the German North Sea coast, H. Geuner {Die 

 MarschMldungen an den Deutschen Nordseekiisten. Berlin, 1913, pp. 155, figs. 

 7). — In this publication the kind and origin of the marsh lands of the region 



