526 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



chemical, and loacteriological studies of the air, as related to its properties and varia- 

 tions; the influence of the air on organic and mineral substances and on the plant 

 and animal worlds, including weathering, decomposition, respiration, nitrification, 

 assimilation of nitrogen by plants, transmission of plant and animal diseases, etc.; 

 and the technical uses of air in pumps, windmills, etc., and in compressed and liquid 

 form. The book contains name and subject indexes and numerous references to 

 literature. 



The carbon dioxid of the atmosphere, E. A. Letts and R. F. Blake (*S'(/. I'roc. 

 Hoy. IhihJin So<:, !> [lUOO), IJ, j>jt. 107-270; abs. in Jour. Ckem. Soc. [London], 78 

 {1900), Xo. 455, II, j>. 6V,>). 



Well waters from farm, homesteads, F. T. Shutt {Canada E.vjit. Far.nx Ilpts. 

 1899, pp. 155-157). — Analyses of 49 samples of water from different parts df Canada 

 witli reference to sanitary condition are reported. 



Mineral waters, A.M.Peter and H.E.Curtis {Kentuchj Sta. Jipt. 1898, pp. 

 XXIII-XX VIII) . — Partial analyses of 19 samples are reported. 



A comparative study of the methods used for the measurement of the tur- 

 bidity of water, G. C. Whipple and D. D. Jackson {Tech. Quart., IS {1900), No. 3, 

 pp. 274--~94, figs. 4) ■ — On the basis of the investigations here reported, the use of the 

 silica standard for tlie determination of turl)idity in water is recommended. 



The question of the drying up of rivers in its past and present status, E. 

 Oppokov {Sehh. Khoz. i Lijesov., 197 {1900), June, pp. G3S-706). — On the basis of obser- 

 vations on the Dnieper and Volga the author combats the prevalent opinion that 

 Russian rivers are decreasing in volume. He concludes that the life of rivers and the 

 quantity of water in them depend chiefly on the size of their drainage basins and the 

 quantity and conditions of the precipitation. The influence of a decrease of the area 

 of forests and marshes is only of secondary importance and is commonly greatly 

 exaggerated. — p. fireman. 



A normal chlorin map of Long- Island, G. C. Whipple and D. D. Jackson 

 ( Tech. Quart., 13 {1900), No. 2, pp. 145-148) .—This map, based on analyses of 80 sam- 

 ples of water, shows that, except at the eastern end of the island, the normal chlorin 

 is below 6 jmrts jier million of water. 



Drainage for alkali spots, C. E. Mead {New Mexico Sta. Bid. 38, pp. 39, 40). — 

 A brief account is given of an attempt to remove the soluble salts from a "chico" or 

 alkali spot l)y means of open ditches and flooding. 



The condensation of water vapor by the soil, E. Wollnv {FahVvnff ><■ Landv. 

 Zlg., 49 {1900), Nos. 19, pp. 700-705; 20, pp. 739-746) .—The author discusses thisisub- 

 ject at some length and concludes that the power of soils to condense water vapor 

 from the air is of no practical value, either directly or indirectly. 



Lectures on some of the physical properties of soil, R. Warington {Oxford: 

 Clarendon Pres-f; London: Heitri/ Froirdr, 1900, pp. XV-^231, figs. 6). — This book gives 

 the sut)stance of a course of lectures delivered in 1896 by the author as Sibthorpian 

 Professor of Rural Economy in Oxford University. It does not claim to be a text- 

 book dealing exhaustively with the physical properties of soils, but lectures dis(;uss- 

 ing with some fullness particular phases of the subject. "In these lectures the 

 attempt has been made to treat every su))ject from an experimental point of 

 view, and a considerable sjjace will be found occupied by accounts of the investiga- 

 tions which appear to have thrown most light upon the subjects discussed." Lib- 

 eral use is made of station literature, especially that published by the American sta- 

 tions, since the English literature on the subject is very limited. Acknowledgment 

 is made of special indebtedness to the work of Hilgard, King, and Whitney. The 

 book contains chapters on the physical constitution of soil, relations of soil to water 

 and to heat, and movements of salts in the soil. It is the intention of the author to 

 follow^ this work with a treatise on the chemistry of soil on a similar i)lan. 



The action of the wind on the soil, M. Stahl-Schhoder {Selsk. Khoz. i Lijcsov., 



