716 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



British Columbia, the Yukon Territory, and those vast regions Icnowni as the 

 Northwest Territories." The agricultural possibilities of the region are dis- 

 cussed. 



On the occurrence of phosphoric acid in buntersandstein and soils of the 

 eastern Black Forest, M. Brauhauser (Mitt. Geol. AM. K. Wiirttemb. Statis. 

 Landesamts, 1907, No. Jf, pp. 22). — Determinations of phosphoric acid in a 

 large number of samples of sandstone are reported and the bearing of the 

 phosphoric-acid content of the rocks upon the soils derived from them is dis- 

 cussed. While the percentage of phosphoric acid found is quite variable, it is 

 in many cases sufficiently large to account for the large supply of phosphoric 

 acid in soils derived from them. 



Soils, H. Ingle (Transvaal Dept. Agr. Ann. Rpt. 1907, pp. 2.'fO-2Jf7). — Analyses 

 of a number of samples of Transvaal soils are reported, the results confirming 

 previous conclusions that as a rule these soils are poor in organic nitrogenous 

 matter, lime, and phosphoric acid, but rich in potash comi)Ounds. The presence 

 of ferrous compounds was detected in newly broken soil, especially in case of 

 the black soils, but it is thought that these compounds do not occur in sufficient 

 amounts to be a serious evil. The soils were found to vary considerably in 

 suitability for irrigation, the black soils rich in organic matter and in lime 

 being particularly difficult to handle when first brought under irrigation. The 

 soils rich in lime are also rich in organic matter, while most of the red porous 

 soils examined are remarkably poor in humus. 



Analyses of soils, C. F. Juritz (Rpt. Senior Anal. Cape Good Hope, 1907, 

 pp. 97-102, map 1). — The more important results obtained from an examination 

 of 69 samples of soils from different parts of Cape of Good Hope are summa- 

 rized and a detailed study of the soils of the government experiment station 

 at Robertson is reported, with a map showing surface distribution and soil 

 profiles. 



On eruptive soils, E. C. J. Mohr (But. Dept. Agr. Indes XeerJand., 1908, 

 No. 17, III, pp. 12). — Under this name are included various kinds of volcanic 

 Boils which prevail in Java. Brief descriptions of the formation and character 

 of these soils are given. 



Soils of nonsug"ar districts (Ann. Rpt. Bur. Sugar Expt. Stas. [Queensland], 

 1907, pp. 1-3). — Analyses of samples of typical soils from a number of districts 

 are reported. 



The nitrog'en compounds of the fundamental rocks, A. D. Hall and N. H. J. 

 Miller (Jour. Agr. Sei., 2 (1908), No. J,, pp. 3 'i 3-3 J,. j).— The results of deter- 

 mination of carbon and nitrogen in unweathered samples of a number of deep- 

 seated rocks and of nitrates produced by the weathering of the ground rocks 

 are briefly reported and discussed in this article. 



The authors conclude " that the nitrogen compounds of the soil are not wholly 

 of recent origin, but have in part been derived from the rock out of which the 

 soil has been formed by weathering. In some of the clay soils the proportion 

 of nitrogen due to the original rock is likely to be considerable, which may 

 account for the comparative infertility of many clay soils which by analysis 

 appear to be rich in nitrogen. Such nitrogen compounds are, however, to some 

 slight extent slowly attacked by bacteria and yield nitrates available to the 

 plant." 



On the question of nitrification in the sea, B. L. Issatschenko (Abs. in 

 Centm. Bakt. [etc.], 2. Abt., 21 (1908), No. 13-1/,, p. J,30).—A report is given 

 of the discovery of a nitrifying bacterium from the depths of the Arctic Ocean. 



Quantity of nitric nitrogen in soils variously cultivated, C. Montanari 

 (Staz. Sper. Agr. Itah, Jfl (1908), No. 5-6, pp. 209-222). — The experiments 

 here reported were to determine the amount of nitric nitrogen in the soil during 



