soils — FEBTILILER8. 6 L9 



there is no evidence of any specific | >ower < >f protection against frosl possessed by 

 potash fertilizers or nitrate of soda per se. (6) Forcing crops are in their early stages 

 of growth sensitive t<> lime nitrogen. 7 I m mooi Boils which contain as much as 7 

 per cent of free humic acids the use of lime nitrogen results in transformations which 

 hinder the utilization of the nitrogen during the firsl season, followed by an increased 

 action the se< ond season. Moor soils which contain considerable amounts ol calcium 

 carbonate utilize the nitrogen ol lime nitrogen normally the firel - Lime 



nitrogen is not suited to the manuring of grass lands. 



Theneporl also refers to experiments carried on in cooperation with Biltnej in 

 which inoculation of soy Leans on moor soils prevented normal development. 



On the loss of nitrogen in liquid manure and its prevention by means of 

 superphosphate, II. P>.i.">k\- A ndersen (Tidsskr. Landbkonom., 1905, No. 8, pp. 160 

 168). — The loss of nitrogen during storage can be largely avoided by the use of well- 

 closed cisterns. The losses due to volatilizati* f ammonia compounds when the 



liquid is spread can not, however, be wholly overcome, and vary with the character 

 of the soil, temperature, subsequenl rainfall, etc. 



Laboratory experiments conducted by the author showed thai the Ipss of nitrogen 

 may be considerably decreased through the addition of 2 percent superphosphate, 

 but that double this quantity is required in order to entirely prevent a loss of ammo- 

 nia. The losses sustained after addition of varying amounts of superphosphate were 

 determined by the author. — f. w. WOLL. 



Nitrates and nitrites as fertilizers, T. Schloesing, Jr. {Compt. Rend. Acad. 

 Sci. [Paris], 141 (1905), No. 20, pp. ; ,'•-, 746). — Attention is called to recent develop- 

 ment in method- of preparing nitric acid from the nitrogen of the air by means ol 

 electricity and especially to the process of Birkeland and Eyde, which promia - to 

 be of some commercial importance' and to be able to furnish considerable quantities 

 of calcium nitrate to replace the rapidly disappearing deposits of nitrate of soda. 



The calcium nitrate prepared by the process referred to contains about 13 per cent 

 of nitrogen, a part of it being in the form of nitrite. The fertilizing value of this 

 material was compared with that of nitrate of soda and of a mixture of sodium 

 nitrite and calcium nitrite in pot experiments with corn. The results show that the 

 different applications were about equally effective in increasing the yield of corn. 



On the use of leucite as a fertilizer, E. Monaco (Staz. Sper. Agr. Ital., 87 

 (1904), Xo. U-12, pp. 1081-1034; abs. in Cenibl. Agr. Chem., 84 (1905), No. 10, p. 

 714).— Analysis of the material experimented with showed L.08 percent of lime, 7.94 

 per cent of sodium, and 5.06 per cent of potash. When treated with ammonium 

 nitrate, gypsum, peat, carbonated water, and spring water considerable amount- of 

 these constituents were rendered soluble, indicating that the leucite even in freshly 

 ground condition contains considerable amounts of assimilable plant food. 



Experiments with Thomas - ammonium - phosphate lime, E. Haselhoff 

 {Landw. Jahrb., ■14 (1905), No. 8-4, pp. 616-628, pi. t).— This material, which is 

 described as a mixture of Thomas Blag and ammonium sulphate mixed with siliceous 

 powder (KiexUguhr) and some oily substance such as petroleum to prevent the vola- 

 tilization of ammonia, was studied with reference to stability of the ammonia com- 

 pounds, and was also tested with reference to fertilizing value in pot experiments 

 with wheat and barley on sandy loam soils. 



The material used contained 5.94 per cent of total nitrogen, 5.66 percent being 

 Boluble, 7.68 per cent of total phosphoric acid, and 28.9 per cent of lime. In closed 

 bottles the loss of nitrogen was small even after the lapse of I \ year-, hut in an open 

 flask, porcelain dish, or linen bag the loss was very large within 4 weeks. The 

 results show the material to he a very effective fertilizer, hut its value in practice 

 will depend upon the price at which it can he bought. 



Comparative tests of Thomas slag and agricultural phosphate, Kuhnekt 

 {Mitt. Dent. Landw. GeselL, JO (1905), No. 4-, pp. 884, 886).— In plat tests with rye 



