958 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



ash. Some of these soils after years of cultivatioii are found to l)e deficient in nitro- 

 gen, which can lu' most econoniicaliy supplied by means of leguminous crops. 



"Certain kinds uf farm manure i)roduce fairly good results on some peaty swamp 

 soils, but commonly it is better farm practice to use the manure on other kinds of 

 soil and buy potassium for the peaty swamp soils. . . . While heavy applications 

 of potassium must sometimes be made at first, with proi^er management only light 

 applications will be required after a few years. . . . The so-called 'alkali' soils of 

 Illinois, which are also being investigati'd, are not the same as peaty swamp soils." 



Treatment and utilization of flood-damaged lands, \. M. Te.v Eyck, H. F. 

 KoisEKTs, and A. Dickexs {Katiscis Sta. Bui. 121, pp. 133-102, figs. I'J). — A general 

 di'scri}>tion is given of the effects of the flood which lasted from May 2-> ttj June 5, 

 190;5. In addition to the direct loss of farm products and buildings, great damage 

 was suffered in the washing away of fertile soils and c;overing of cultivated fields 

 with sand to dejiths varying from a few inches to several feet. Some areas were 

 covered with comparatively infertile mud and other areas were badly damaged by 

 being so water soaked that elaborate systems of drainage became necessary. 



General recommendations are made regarding the treatment of washed and buried 

 lands so as to restore their fertility as far as possible. The greatest amount of wash- 

 ing naturally occurred on cultivated lands, while lands covered with alfalfa were 

 little affected. Recommendations are also made regarding the use of sand-binding 

 grasses for areas covered with sand. Under similar conditions comparatively (juick 

 returns may be obtained on planting trees suitable for post production. For this 

 purpose catalpa, black locust, Osage orange, Carolina poplar, etc., were recommended. 



On the distribution of potash in cultivated soil, .7. Dumont {Compt. Rend. 

 Acad. Sci. Paris, 138 {1904), No. 4, i^P- 215-217). — The results of determinations of 

 potash in the particles of different degrees of fineness in two soils are reported. 

 These show that in one soil five-sixths of the total potash occurred in the fine parti- 

 cles, the clay itself containing one-fifth. In the other soil seven-tenths of the potash 

 w'as found in the coarser sand, the finer particles, and especially the clay, containing 

 only a very small proportion. The bearing of these facts on the assimilability of the 

 potash of the soil is Ijriefly discussed. 



Analyses of soils of Sao Paulo, G. d'Utra {Bol. Agr. Sao Paulo, 4. srr., 1903, 

 No. 12, pp. 551-5f)7). — ^Chemical analyses of 91 samples are reported. 



FERTILIZERS. 



The preservation of hen manure, C. I). Woons and J. M. B.vrtlett {Maine Sta. 

 Bill. 9S, pp. 199-204). — A compilation of analyses of hen manure is given, with 

 results of tests of the efficiency of various preservative materials, including kainit, 

 plaster (gypsum), acid phosphate, and sawdust. Both kainit and acid jjliosphate 

 prevented practically all loss of nitrogen. The gypsum was somewhat less efficient. 

 The use of sawdust materially improved the mechanical condition of the manure. 

 The management and value of hen manure as a fertilizer are briefly discussed. 



Barnyard manure, W. H. Beal {U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers' Bid. 192, pp. 32, 

 fi.gs. ^).— A revision of Farmers' Bulletin 21 (E. S. R., 6, p. 521). 



Fertilizers, A. M. INIuckenfuss {ArJcansas Sta. Bid. 81, }>p. 83-96). — This bulletin 

 .reports analyses of fertilizers registered in Arkansas during 1904, with some general 

 notes on the use of fertilizers. 



Analyses of commercial fertilizers, M. A. Scovell et al. {Kentucky Sta. Bui. 

 112, pp. 227-264). — Results of analyses of 161 samples of fertilizers are reported. Of 

 these, 27 samples, "representing 24 brands and 15 firms, fell so far below the guaran- 

 teed analyses in phosphoric acid, nitrogen, or potash, or any two or all three of these 

 ingredients, that this could not be accounted for by variations in sampling or analysis." 



