tl2 EXPEEIMENT STATION EECOED. 



suited for agriculture because of fertility and cliaracter of soil and moderate 

 slope of surface and tlie study of the ways in whicli such areas may best be 

 handled to prevent their own destruction through erosion, as well as the 

 destruction of other lands and property by the waste material they deix)sit and 

 the floods they help to generate." 



The paper also gives " an account of a study made in the basin of Mononga- 

 hela River in West Virginia and Pennsylvania soon after the great flood of 

 March, 1907, which destroyed millions of dollars' worth of property." 



The preparation and use of peat as fuel, C. A. Davis ( TJ. 8. Geol. Stirvei/ 

 Bui. Ji-'t2, pp. 101-132). — It is stated that peat beds of workable extent are found 

 widely distributed in Alaska. The character of the peat and methods of work- 

 ing such deposits are described. Turfy peat from a tundra at St. Michael 

 showed a calorific value of 7,092 British thermal units per pound, comparing 

 well in this respect with subbituminous coals and lignites. Methods of pre- 

 paring the raw peat for use as fuel are described. A selected bibliography of 

 works on peat is given. 



Lawn soils, O. Schreiner and J. J. Skinner {IJ. 8. Dept. Agr., Bur. Soils 

 Bid. 15, pp. 55, pis. 8, figs. 3). — This bulletin, prepared largely for the guidance 

 of park authorities in the selection of soil materials for the improvement and 

 makiug of lawns, parks, embankmeuts, and terraces, and also for the indi- 

 vidual owner of a small tract of land in town or city, discusses " the char- 

 acter of soils in respect to the minerals and organic materials composing 

 them, as well as the kind and amounts of dilferent-sized soil particles which 

 determine the suitability of soils for lawn making. The texture of soils as 

 related to lawns is especially emphasized and the relation of surface soil to 

 subsoil receives consideration in regard to its effect on lawns. The difference 

 between laud devoted to lawn culture and land growing a farm crop is pointed 

 but and the movement of soil moisture and its dependence on texture, as well 

 as its importance to the maintenance of a good greensward is explained. 



" The presence of harmful compounds in certain soils is shown and their 

 bearing on lawn construction and preservation is considered, as is also the 

 influence of trees on lawns and the remedial measures to be employed. 



" The soils suited for the building of lawns, parks, parked embankments, 

 and terraces, etc., receive special consideration, and the best methods for 

 building up artificial grounds by the hauling in of such suitable soil material, 

 both for subsoil fillings and for surface layering, are given full consideration, 

 a list of soil types well adapted to grass growing being given for this purpose." 



Soil analyses, T. E. Keitt (South Carolina, Sta. Rpt. 1910, pp. 5^-63). — 

 Mechanical and chemical analyses of 35 samples of soil of 4 different types 

 on a farm near Columbia, S. C, on which fertilizer experiments are being 

 conducted by the Bureau of Plant Industry of this Department, are reported. 



The results show that on these coastal plain soils underlain by a sandy clay 

 the phosphoric acid applied as soluble phosphate was largely retained in the 

 first 18 in. of soil, the greater proportion being in the first 6 in. Much of the 

 potash applied was retained in the second 6 in. of soil. The nitrogen content 

 was highest in the first 6 in., and greatly decreased to a depth of 18 in., 

 below which it was low and fairly constant. The content of organic matter 

 was inversely proportional to the length of time the land had been under 

 cultivation. In soil which had been under cultivation for a number of years 

 the loss on ignition decreased to a depth of IS in., beyond which there was an 

 increase, attributed, however, to loss of water of hydration from the clay. 



Western prairie soils: Their nature and composition, F. T. Shxjtt (Canada 

 Cent. Expt. Farm Bui. 6, 2. ser., pp. 25, pis. 2, map 1). — Data on mechanical 

 analyses (by E. J. Russell, of Rothamsted) and on the chemical composition 



