FERTILIZERS. 429 



exposure to the air, the weight remaining constant thereafter. The 

 superphosphate increased or decreased in weight according to the tem- 

 perature and the moisture of the air. Kainit was the most hygro- 

 scopic of the materials tested. In one instance its weight increased '61 

 per cent in S days. The weight of the nitrate of soda fluctuated with 

 the temperature and moisture content of the air. In hot. dry weather 

 it lost nearly all of its water, while in one case in damp weather it 

 increased in weight 11 per cent. In case of annnonium sulphate the 

 increase in wciglit was not very large. 



Analyses of commercial fertilizers, >]. L. Hills, C. H. Jones, 

 and B. O. Wiute ( Vermo7it Sta. Bui. 80, pp. ^^i-^4.5).— This bulletin 

 discusses the valuation and selling price of fertilizers, the usefulness 

 of a fertilizer control, guaranties and brand names, sources from which 

 plant food is derived, availability of organic nitrogen, and the selec- 

 tion and purchase of fertilizers; and reports analyses of 132 brands, 

 representing 19 companies. This includes 86 analyses reported in 

 previous bulletins of the station (E. S. R., 12, pp. 226, 430). "Six- 

 sevenths of the brands were up to or above guaranty, one-seventh fell 

 short somewhat, and one-twentieth failed to furnish a commercial 

 equivalent of their guaranties.*" While as a rule the quality of mate- 

 rials used in fertilizers was good, it was found that two-lifths of the 

 brands contained no water-soluble nitrogen, and that sulphate of 

 })otash was found in but one-seventh of the l^rands examinc^d. although 

 claimed to be present in three-fourths. The average selling price of 

 the fertilizers examined approximated $28.73, the a^•erage valuation 

 $18.08. The average composition of the fertilizers was but slightly 

 higher than last year. "Plant food is as cheap as it ever was; yet 

 buying mixed goods on time is still a more costly method of getting 

 plant food than is home mixing or ])uying on special order." A table 

 compares the analyses of 138 brands for 5 years. 



Fertilizer experiments on the action of Thomas slag and nitrate of soda 

 as supplements to barnyard manure {FuJdln/fs Landw. Ztg., 49 [UiOO), No. 

 7, pp. 265-270, Jig. 1). — Experiments with fodder beets, turnips, and cabbages on 

 light marsh soil are reported. A decided benefit resulted from the addition of the 

 phosphoric acid to the manure, but there was no evidence that the supplementary 

 application of nitrate of soda was of any benefit except during the earlier stages of 

 growth when the supply of available nitrogen in the soil was small. 



Nitrate of soda or ammonia? P. Wa(;ner {Hesmche Landw. Ztxrlir., 70 {J!)00), 

 No. S, pp. 91-O.i) . — A i)()pular discussion of the relative fertilizing value of these two 

 substances. 



On phosphates, L. Schucht {Ztschr. Angew. Chem., 1900, No.'i. 20, pp. 489-49 1; 21, 

 pp. 512-') 1.')). — Discusses the occurrence, composition, and i^roperties of the principal 

 [)hosphatcs of tlie world. 



Transformation of phosphates and potash salts in the soil, L. Grandeau 

 [Join: Agr. Prat, 1900, I,. No. 18, pp. 633, 6.34).—Th.\s is a brief note on tables and 

 charts prepared for the exposition at 'Paris, showing the manuring, culture, and 

 yields in field experiments carried on by the experiment station of Est since 1892. 



