128 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



iU'\t'lo|iiiiciil with ,<c;iici'ly any n'ductioii of tlic iiiti'ali^ prcsciil in tlic, ^^oliitioii; on 

 tlui other hand, there may he a contitarativfly liniitcil irrow tli, arci)iii|iani(Ml l)y the 

 conipleti^ reduction of the nitrate." 



Data slio\vin<^ tlie \ai'iationH in thecaj^aeity of the <lifrerent oiL'anisms to ttaiisforni 

 nitro<jen in nitrate hoiiillon are alf'o reported. 



Tlie rcf^uhs of a ntndy of tlie (|nestion <if lixation of nitroi^cn hy denitrifying inu;- 

 teria indicate "tliat />'. piiiH-i/niinis iia.s tlie power of lixinj^ small (luantities of atmos- 

 pheric niti'o^en; tliat this lixation is !ar<rely inlluenced by the organic componnd 

 used as tiie source of carbon ami of energy. Lactic acid is decidedly superior to 

 citric acid, Imt witii thorough aeration, also, the latter can be used for the purpose. 

 Furtliermoiv, tlie amount of nitrogen fixed is influenced by the depth of the li((uid 

 layer, and other things being eipial the greater the .surface ex])Osed the greater the 

 amount of nitrogen lixed." 



Studies of the nitrogen content of l.'i soils (witii sidisoils; from diffi-rent j)arts of 

 New Jersey are ivported. 



FERTILIZERS. 



Methods of steer feeding: Manurial results; Losses in manure, W. Fkk.\k 



{Poiii.sjilntiild Sid. Rpl. 1902, pp. 88-101; Bui. (So, ]>}>. (i). — lii connection with a series 

 of feeding ex])erinients with steers (E. H. R., IM, p. SSO) a study was made of the 

 relative economy of (1) allowing the manure to accunailate during about 2 months 

 (Ajiril and May, 1901) under the animals in cement-lined stalls, and (2) removing 

 it daily and storing in heaps under a covered shed. The details of this study as 

 here repcjrted show that: " (1) The trampled maimre suffered little lo.ss of fertiliz- 

 ing constituents, though less than two-tifths of the dry matter (jf food and litter 

 was recoveriMl in the manure; (2) The covered-shed manure lost one-third of Its 

 nitrogen, one-(ifth of its potash, and one-seventh of its phosphoric acid. Only one- 

 third of tlu- dry matter of food and litter was recovered in the manure. Tlu- ])ot- 

 ash and phosphoric acid losses must be explained by seepage of li(juid manure 

 into the clay floor. The loss of nitrogen is, however, chiefly due to volatilization 

 of carbonate of annnonia; (o) The money value of the fertilizer con.stituents lost by 

 the second as compared with the first method is equivalent to $2.50 for each steer 

 stabled for six months; (4) Therefore, manure, if i)repared upon a tight floor and 

 with such pi-oportion of litter that it can be trampled into a compact mass, loses very 

 little, if any, of its fertilizer con.stituents so long as tln' animals remain upon it. 

 This method of preserving steer manure is therefore distinctly superior to that of the 

 covered shed, though the latter method may not always exhibit as great loss as that 

 observed in this experiment." 



On the preservation of barnyard manure by chemical means, II. Im.mendorf 

 {Mitt. Driit. Landw. (icsell., 18 {1903), No. 21, pp. 99-101).— Xs a result of the experi- 

 ments here reported the author concludes that sulphuric acid is unsatisfactory, as a 

 preservative because it is not easily obtained, is dangerous to handle, and imparts 

 an ai-id reaction to the manure; superi)hospliate-g3qisum in amounts ordinarily 

 employed is very unreliable in its action, and kainit and gypsum are of no value. 

 " Utilit," like sulphuric acid, is an effective iireservative, but is expensive and is 

 subject to nmch the same objections as apply to salphuri(t acid. 



Investigations relative to the use of nitrogenous materials, E. B. Voorhees 

 {New Jeneij Stan. lipl. 1902, pp. 1S3-1S0). — This is a report of a continuation of 

 experiments of jjrevious years (E. S. R., 14, p. 557), which " were undertaken mainly 

 to determine the relative availability and value of nitrogen in farm manure and in 

 the nitrogen salts and high-grade organic; nitrogenous materials found in the market. 

 In the study of these substances, there was also included the study of the changes 

 which take place when farmyard manures are exposed to the leaching action of 

 rain. The changes in the manures thus exposed involve not only a loss of a portion 

 of the fertilizing material originally contained in the manure, l)ut they also cause a, 



