1022 EXPKUIMKNT STATION KECORD. 



(iillVrciit jnirts of th(> ('xiM'iiincnt fui'iii arc reported. Tlic inclliod 

 followed ill iiiakiiiii' these deteriiiiiiations was as follows: 



"One liiiinlrcil irraiiisof Hiil wa.'^ put into a ^lass-HtopiKTcil liottlc witli I'dO cc. nf 

 distilled watiT and left for several days with oceasiuiial sllakin^^ AVIien it is si'ttlol 

 a e()nvenieiit ([uantity is drawn off with a pipette and without liltering t'vajjorated to 

 (h-yness and heated at a temperature above 250° ('. for 2 or ;> hours. By this heating' 

 the gyj)SUMi becomes dehyibated and almost insoluble, so all that is necessary is to 

 extract witli a small amount of water, filter and evaporate in a platinum dish for 

 total alkali and titrate for chlorids. For dehydration a small round air bath was 

 madi' of Russia iron covered with asbestos and containinj; a rack for holding six 

 smaller porcelain evaporating dishes. A number of experiments made with this 

 method showed that it reduce<l the amount of soluble salts by about HO percent, 

 while chloiids remained the same and different amounts of water could be used 

 without affecting tlie results." 



Soils of Mississippi, W. Ij. Hutchinson, W. R. T^ekkins, and K. 

 n. Kkkims (.I//.s.s/'.s.s/yYv' Sfi/. Bid. 65^ pp. 19). — Clieiiiical and iiiechani- 

 cal analyses are oiveii of 375 .samples of representative soils from 

 ditrereiit parts of the State, toocther with a map showing- the location 

 and extent of the diti'ercMit soil areas and a diseiission of the analytical 

 results. A comparison of the anah'tical results with the observed 

 productiveness of the soils shows that '"'• other thing-s being- equal, soils 

 containing the largest total amounts of plant food will have the most 

 plant food available for crops . . . and the deepest surface soils 

 give the best yields." However, other conditions, especially a uni- 

 form water supply, are also essential to productiveness. In the soils 

 examined 0.07 to 0.1 per cent of phosphoric acid was apparently sutli- 

 cient for maximum yields. Soils containing 0.05 per cent of phos- 

 phoric acid or less, required applications of phosphoric acid. All of 

 the soils examined, except those consisting largely of organic matter, 

 contained a sufficient supply of lime. ''There is no evidence that the 

 tipplication of potash as a food for plants has helped or increased the 

 yield of any crop on tuiy soil in this Stat(\" The use of leguminous 

 crops to increase the nitrogen supply' of the soil and improve tlu> 

 w'ater conditions is especially recommended. Attention is called to 

 the unproductiveness of recently exposed subsoils. 



A study of the agricultural value of the soils of Madagascar, A. 

 Mi'NTZ and E. Rousseaux {Bui. Mm. A(jr. [Fr(me<P[, 19 {1900), ^^o. 

 5, pp. 910-im3, -map 1; Ain>. ScL Agron., 1901, /, Wo. i, ]>p. l-9.s\ 

 153-160, -uKip 1; Coii,j>t. Rend, xicad. Sci Paris, 132 {1901), No. ,V, 

 pj>. J^'d-J/j6). — Chemical analyses of about 500 samples of soils col- 

 lected in ditierent parts of Madagascar, but especially in the nioiui- 

 tainous region on the east coast, are reported, with mechanical analys(\s 

 of certain of the typical soils. The sami)les and the regions from 

 which they were obtained are brieiiy desci-ibed and the results of the 

 examinations are discussed in their relation to the; agricultural possi- 

 bilities of the island. The larger part of the area of the island is 

 oi'cupied by very ferruginous red soils. They are deficient in lime 



