WATER — SOILS. 859 



The nitrogen of the soil, Vibkans {Mitt. I)cut. LawJir. Gruel/., l!) {1904), \o. s, 

 ]>p. 47, 4S). — A brief discussion of i)r;ictic'al means of maintaining tlie nitrogen bal- 

 ance in cultivated soils. 



Bacteriological studies of the soil, T. Remy {CentU. Bukl. a. Par., 2. Aid., 8 

 {1902), Xos. 21, pp. 657-G62; 22, pp. 699-705; 23, pp. 728-735; 24, pp. 761-769; abs. 

 in Centbl. Agr. Chem., 33 {1904), Xo. 2, pp. 75-79).— This is a report of a series of 

 culture tests with organisms from different kinds of soil to study nitrifying capacity, 

 denitrifying action, tbe relation of bacteria content of the soil to produi-tiveness, and 

 similar questions. 



Reclamation of salt and alkali lands, T. H. jSIeans {Forestri/ and frrig., 10 

 {1904), X'o. S, pp. 123-130, Jh/x. 6). — A discussion of this subject based upon recent 

 oljservations in Egypt, showing the applicability of the methods followed there to 

 similar problems in the United States. (See also E. S. R., 15, pp. 22, 234.) 



Reclamation of alkali land near Salt Lake City, Utah, W. H. Heileman 

 {U. S. D(pt. Agr., Bureau of tSoils Circ. 12, pp. 8). — An account is here given of 

 experiments made in cooperation with the Utah Station on a 40-acre tract of alkali 

 land lying between Salt Lake City and Salt Lake, in which an attempt was made to 

 demonstrate the iiracticability of reclaiming such land by means of underdraining 

 and flooding. The operations began in 1902. The system for the 40 acres included 

 8 lateral drains of 4-in. and 3-in. drain tile, and 1 main drain of 10-in. tile. "Over 

 the great part of the tract the drains were laid at a depth of 4 ft. In that part nearer 

 the lake a somewhat shallower depth was necessitated in order to obtain a gravitj- 

 outlet for the drainage water. The drains were laid on a grade of not less than one- 

 tenth foot in 100 ft., except where 3-in. tile was used, when the grade was somewhat 

 higher." The cost of the installation was about $660. 



" Flooding has been carried on systematically, the land being divided into checks 

 and plats by levees, and each plat treated in rotation. During each flooding water 

 has been added to an average depth of 4 in. . . . During the last season (1903) 

 the land was flooded once each week, with occasional longer intervals. . . . The 

 land, at the time M"ork was commenced, was all strongly im[)regnated with alkali 

 salts, and had nothing growing upon it except a few alkali weeds, the most promi- 

 nent of which was greasewood {Sarcobatus vermiculatus). The land was considered 

 valueless by the farmers of the neighborhood." 



Data are given which show "that between September, 1902, and the following 

 May, 3,171 tons of salt had been removed from the soil to a depth of 4 ft., and that 

 between September, 1902, and the following October, 5,430 tons had been removed, 

 or 82 per cent of the alkali originally in the first 4 ft. of soil. It is also seen that a 

 greater proportion of the alkali has been washed out of the surface foot than out of 

 the lower depths, and that the movement of the salts is less pronounced as the 

 depth increases. . . . 



"The total volume of drainage was 5,651,776 cu. ft., or 51.8 per cent of the water 

 added to the tract. This 51.8 per cent drainage water carried 3,648 tons of salts over 

 the outlet weir. The remainder of the salts removed from the tract have passed into 

 the deeper subsoil and been carried away l)y the natural subdrainage. 



"The results so far obtained indicate the ultimate complete reclamation of the land. 

 The single season's operations produced marked improvement in the land, not only 

 in the alkali content, as shown by the soil tests made, or as shown by the salts in 

 the drainage, but also as shown in the improved tilth of the soil and the favorable 

 changes that have taken i)lace in its physical properties. 



"The indications are that the greater part of the tract is at present sufhciently 

 sweetened to allow the growing of shallow-rootetl crops." 



The geomorphogeny of the Upper Kern basin, A. C. Lawson ( Uiiir. Califor- 

 nia Bui. Depl. GcoL, 3 {1904), No. 15, pp. 291-376, jjIs. 15). 



