324 EXPERIMENT STATION EECOED. 



» 



The increase in the world's consumption of potash for agricultural pur- 

 poses, Maizieres {Engrain, 25 (1010), lA'o. ////, pp. 1217, 121 S). — According to the 

 figures given in this article the total consumption of potash for agricultui'al 

 purposes was 2,701,715 quintals (about 297,189 tons) of pure potash in 1901 

 and 5,878,211 quintals (646,603 tons) in 1909. The largest consumers were 

 Germany, 3,057.962 quintals (336,376 tons) and the United States, 1,476,143 

 quintals (162,376 tons). 



[Meeting of scientists interested in the potash industry] {Ztschr. Angew. 

 Chem., 23 (1910), No. Jjl, pp. 1953-1957). — This is an account of the meeting 

 held at Halberstadt in October, 1910, of representatives of the Association of 

 German Chemists and of the Society for the Scientific Advancement of the 

 German Potash Deposits. Various papers bearing upon investigations on 

 potash salts and deposits are noted. 



Report on the geological investigation of phosphorite deposits, I, Govern- 

 ment Kostroma, A. D. Arkhangelskii, A. P. Ivanov, and Y. V. Samoilov {Abs. 

 in Zliur. Opytn. Agron. {Russ. Jour. Expt. Landw.), 11 {1910), No. 2, pp. 231}- 

 236). — Investigations of the phosphate deposits along the Volga and TJnzha 

 rivers indicated the presence of 150,000,000 poods (2,705,250 tons) of rather 

 high grade phosphates and 80,000,000 poods (1,442,800 tons) of rather low 

 grade phosphates in these deposits. 



On the method of formation of tricalcic phosphate in Algeria and Tunis, 

 J. RoussEL {Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci. [Paris], 151 {1910), No. 13, pp. 600-602, 

 figs. 2; abs. in Rev. Sci. [Paris], J/S {1910), II, No. 15, p. /^77).— It is held that 

 at the time of formation these phosphates consisted of a mixture of calcium 

 phosphate aud calcium carbonate deposited under water, the deposition going 

 on in some cases without interruption and in other cases with frequent inter- 

 ruptions, resulting in a replacement of the calcium carbonate. The author is 

 of the opinion that the sedimentary tricalcium phosphate is of animal origin. 



An important new source of phosphate, Maizii:res {Engrais, 25 {1910), 

 No. J/l, pp. 1132, 1133). — Reference is made to deposits in the Mazapil Valley, 

 Mexico, which are said to be of considerable extent. 



The availability of the phosphoric acid of different phosphates, K. K. 

 Gedroits {Trad Hi Selsk. KJioz. Khim. Lab. Si. Petcrb., 6 {190.'f-1907), pp. 3^3- 

 405, figs. 18; abs. in Zhur. Opytn. Agron. {Russ. Jour. Expt. Landw.), 11 {1910), 

 No. 2, pp. 228-230). — Pot experiments with freshly precipitated, dried, and 

 ignited phosphates of calcium, aluminum, and iron on barren sand (with flax 

 and mustard) and on sandy chernozem (with flax, oats, and mustard) are 

 reported. The effect of calcium carbonate and of different sources of nitrogen 

 on the availability of the phosphoric acid was studied in these experiments. 



The results on both the chernozem and the liarren sand indicated that the 

 availability and the effect of the different phosphates depended lax'gely upon 

 the kind of soil aud plant used in the experiments. The iron phosphate was 

 the least available without regard to kind of soil or crop. The comparative 

 availability of calcium and aluminum phosphates clearly depended upon the 

 character of soil and crop. Where the effect of the soil did not enter into 

 account the aluminum phosphate was more available than calcium phosphate 

 in case of mustard, but when the soil, and especially its supply of carbon 

 dioxid, was the active factor there was no difference in the availability of 

 these two phosphates. Even in this case, however, the aluminum phosphate 

 was more available than calcium phosphate for flax and oats. 



Without regard to the kind of nitrogenous fertilizer associated with them, 

 all the phosphates were more readily assimilated by mustard than by flax and 

 pats, and some were more readily assimilated by flax than by oats. Ammonium 



