SOILS FERTILIZERS. 749 



The fixation of -nitrogen and electrochemistry, P. A. Guyb | Rev. Gen. Sci., V) 

 (1906), No. /,/'/'. 28-34). — This article reviews the various methods which have 

 been proposed for the fixation of nitrogen by electrical means, including the lime 

 nitrogen method of Frank and the direcl electrical methods, such as those of Bradley 

 and Lovejoy, Muthmann and Hofer, NTernst, von Lepel, and Birkeland and Eyde; 

 A. study is given oi the phenomena of the electric air in air and of the conditions 

 which affecl its efficiency, especially the question of temperature. 



Agriculture and the nitrogen supply, I.. Grandeai (Jour. Agr. Prat., n. ser., 

 11 (1906), No. 6, pp. 165, 166). — The importance of nitrogen in plant production, 

 the sources of supply of this element, and the possibility of drawing on the air for 

 future supplies are briefly discussed. 



The nitrogen balance of soils (Deut. Lands). Presse, 82 I 1905 . No. 97, p. 807). — 

 The possibility of maintaining the nitrogen balance in soils exhausted by heavy crop- 

 ping by drawing on the nitrogen supply of the air is briefly discussed. 



Note on the fate of calcium cyanamid in the soil, S. F. Amihv (Jour. Agr. 

 Sci., i (1905), No. 8, pp. 858-860). — The experiments here reported were similar to 

 those reported by 1-'. Lohnis I E. S. R., 17, p. 345), in which it was shown thai Boil 

 bacteria, especially Bacterium kirchneri and B. lipsieme, are active agents in rendering 

 calcium cyanamid assimilable Eor crops and that the reaction is nol a purely chemical 

 «»ne as has been generally supposed. 



The author's experiments were made in nutrient solutions, some of which were 

 inoculated with extract from a fertile soil, others partly sterilized, and still others 

 treated with corrosive sublimate. In the inoculated soils as much as 80 per cent of 

 the cyanamid nitrogen was converted into ammonia; in those which were partly 

 Bterilized very small amounts of ammonia were formed; and in those treated with cor- 

 rosive sublimate practically none was formed. 



The conclusion is therefore drawn " that the formation of ammonia from cyana- 

 mid iu the soil can he due in only a very minor degree to a purely chemical pr< icess." 

 The lime nitrogen used in these experiments contained I'd.;; percent nitrogen, equal 

 to 58 per cent of pure calcium cyanamid. "By precipitating all the lime with 

 ammonium oxalate, evaporating the tilt rate to dryness, extracting with a little strong 

 alcohol and allowing the latter to evaporate at the ordinary temperature, to obtain 

 yellow crystalline plates which yielded on analysis 62.70 per cent nitrogen and 

 agreed with the description given for dicyandiamid (Beilstein, Organische Chemu | 

 which contains when quite pure 66.60 per cent nitrogen. A solution of calcium 

 cyanamid after long standing goes over into dicyandiamid which yields no ammonia 

 by distillation with magnesia." 



Calcium cyanamid (lime nitrogen), L. Grandeai- (Jour. Agr. Prut., n. ser., 10 

 (1905), No. 52, j>i>. 808, 809). — A brief general account of the preparation, properties, 

 and use of this material as a fertilizer. 



Experiments with lime nitrogen (Deut. Landw. Presse, 82 (1905), No. 92, j>j>. 

 770, 77 1 ).— The process of preparing this substance is briefly described, the changes 

 which it undergoes in the soil i including those due t<> the action of micro-organisms ) 

 are explained, and plat experiments with oats are reported. 



When applied immediately before seeding, germination and growth were seriously 

 interfered with; if applied 1 week before seeding, growth was normal. The period 

 of growth was shortened and the protein content increased with increase of Length 

 of time the lime nitrogen was applied before seeding up to 5 week-. 



Experiments with lime nitrogen, von Seelhobst and A. Mdtheb {Join-. Landw., 



1905), A'-. ;, pp. 829-856; ate. in ./<"'/•. Chem. Soc. [London], 90 (1006), No. 



••'/.'/, //", p. ,' t r>). — A series of pot experiments with oats on sand, loamy -and. and loam 



soils to determine the best time and manner of applying this material as a fertilizer 



is reported. The results show that the lime nitrogen gives good results on all 



