318 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



the lake ha? again submerged a considerable part of this area, and, ae^-ording to reli- 

 able records, the lake in 186S was 12 ft. above its present level, and at this height 

 must liave covered at least 60 sq. miles of what is now mapped as dry land. . . . 



"There is only one feasible way of getting rid of the salts, and that is by provid- 

 ing a thorough system of nnderdrainage and washing them out by flooding. . . . 



"Of the 125 sq. miles lying mostly north of Twelfth street road and l)etvveen Salt 

 Lake City and the lake, 90 sq. miles, or about 58,000 acres, are capable of reclama- 

 tion. For this jiortion, tile drainage is recommended as of general application." 



Some observations on soil temperatures, -J. B. Reynolds {Onta- 

 rio Agr. Col. aiuJ Expt. Farm Rpt. 1899, p. ^6, Jig. i).— The method 

 of observation and the results obtained are thus described: 



"Some soils in large pans were set in the open air, near a large body of water, and 

 the temperatures of the soils, the air, and the water were observed each hour, begin- 

 ning at 7 a. m. and concluding at 6 p. m. They were all exposed to the action of 

 the sun's rays. The [temperature of] water rose from 61 to 68°, reaching 68° F. at 

 2 p. m. It then fell to 66° Vjy 6 p. m. The [temperature of] air rose from 44 to 70°, 

 reaching its highest at 2 p. m., and then fell by 6 o'clock to 63.5°. The soils all 

 began at the same temperature as the air, namely, 44°; all the soils reached their 

 maximum at 1 o'clock, and from that time declined rapidly. The highest temper- 

 ature reached by the dark soil was 94°, by the light-colored soil 91°, and by the wet 

 soil 80°." 



The practical application of these results is briefly- discussed. 



Analyses of calcareous soils of Monferrato. Nevr methods of 

 determining easily soluble calcium carbonate, F. AIaktinotti 

 {Staz. Spe)'. Agr. Ital., 33 {1900), jAva i,^->/>. 259-^273; abs. in Cliein. 

 Centbl., 1900, II, No. 10, p. 593). — The author reports determinations 

 of moisture, organic matter, sand, clay, citrate-soluble, and total lime 

 in 25 samples of soils, as well as tests of various citrate methods of 

 determining the solubility of crystallized and amorphous calcium 

 carbonate. On the basis of the results obtained he recommends the 

 use of the neutral anmionium citrate solution for the latter purpose. 

 For the determination of clay and sand he recommends a modified 

 form of the Schone apparatus, which is continuous and automatic in 

 its operation. The adaptal)ility of the soils examined to the American 

 grape is discussed. 



Arable soils of the Canton of Redon -with respect to phosphoric 

 acid, G. Lechartier {Contpt. Rend. Acad. jSci. Paris, 130 {1900), No. 

 19, pp. 1220-1229; alM. in Jovr. Chem. Soc. [London], 78 {1900), No. 

 Jf52, IL p. -f-i-i). — A]x)ut half of the soils of this canton contain more 

 than 0.1 per cent of phosphoric acid. The average percentages of 

 this substance in soils derived from different geological formations 

 were us follows: From granite, 0.87; pre-Cambrian, 0.90; Armorican 

 sandstone, 0.57: Angers schist, 1.0-t; Poligne schist and sandstone, 

 1.05; and alluvium. 1.2-1. Phos])hatic fertilizers proved ])cneficial 

 even in .soils containing more than o. 1 ])or cent of phosphoric acid. 

 The mineral ])h()sphates and basic slag were more effective than 

 superi)h()spliat('. 



