988 KXI'KHIMKN r STATION lUK'OHl). 



A report upon the drainage of the agricultural lands of Bolivar County, 

 Mississippi, W. J. McEatiiron and 8. H. McCrory (U. »S'. Dcpt. Agr., Office 

 Editt. Shis. Circ. SI, pp. 2.S, fl(j. I). — This report embodies the surveys, investi- 

 gations, and iilaiis for tlu' drniuaKe of 140,2r)(> acres (if land wliich is damaged 

 by overllows from streams and hayoiis in llic Ya/.oo Delta In liolivar County, 

 Miss. 



The general topographic features and tiie soil and climatic conditions are 

 discussed in their relatit»ii to the drainage of the locality. The plans, which 

 contemi)late the im])rovement of the natural drainage channels by cleaning, 

 enlarging, and cutting off bends, are supplemented with estimates of quantities 

 and costs and suggestions as to the manner of doing the work. The survey 

 data given in the report include a list of bench marks established. 



The reclamation of waste lands in the Netherlands (\'erslag. en Meded. 

 Dir. LnmJh. Dept. Lundh., ^Hjv. en Handel tDOH, No. 6. pp. 7-82).— Detailed 

 statistics of the reclamation of such lands are given. These show that from 

 1897 to 1!)0T, !H).440 acres of waste land were reclaimed in the Netherlands, 

 nearly one-tliird of wliich was wooded land and the remainder arable and grass 

 land: 1,.';!)(),W)() acres were still unreclaimed in 1907. 



The principal causes of the awakened interest in the work of reclamation are 

 the hiore extensive use of artificial manures, the extension of agricultural and 

 silvicultural knowledge, the higher prices of agricultural products, and the 

 greater interest in everything connected with agriculture and reclamation. 



The economic effect of this reclamatitm work has been to increase the rate of 

 wages and to reduce the number of uneini»loyed in winter. Agriculture ha? 

 benelited by the ac(piisition of more grass land. 



The j'.uthor takes up the various provinces and discusses the kinds of waste 

 lands, the purjioses for which reclamation is carried on, the manner of reclama- 

 tion, the circumstances which help or hinder the work, the results and their 

 influence. 



The Netherlands Moor Society has had a large share in the work of reclama- 

 tion. 



Reservoirs for irrigation, water-power, and domestic supply, J. D. Schuy- 

 ler (Xcir Yorl,- and London. J!>OS, 2. cd., rev. and en]., pp. XXVI +573. plfi. 7, 

 figs. 3SJ). — This is a second edition (E. S. R., 13, p. 194) in which the contents 

 have been revised and considerably augmented by new material. Hydraulic- 

 fill dams are treated more fully, there being over 100 pages, including illustra- 

 tions, devoted to the subject. There are two new chapters, one on reenforced 

 concrete dams, and one on structural steel dams. Another addition is a set of 

 profiles of the leading and better known masonry dams, drawn to a uniform 

 scale for graphical comjiarison. 



Farm methods of applying: land plaster in western Oregon and western 

 Washington, P.. Hintkk HJ. »S'. Dci)t. Agr., Bur. Plant Indiix. Circ. 22, pp. IJf, 

 figs. JO). — This discusses briefly the quantity of plaster to apply for the best 

 results and the saving effected by a careful and uniform distribution. The 

 larger j)art of the circular is occupied by a description of three implements used 

 by farmers for distril)uting plaster, showing the construction in detail, with 

 drawings. 



The value of land plaster in increasing the yield of leguminous crops in this 

 section of the country, the benefits of uniform distribution, and the way to se- 

 cure this by the use of implements are briefly discussed. 



Trials of potato and beet harvesters, 1907, C. V. Birk and M. Dall 

 {I'idsshr. Landiikononi.. I<)I)H. Xo. (!. pp. 3.i7-S'>0). — Three potato harvesters, 

 one potato plow, and three beet harvesters were included in the trials. Descrip- 



