342 



Journal of Agricultural Research 



Vol.X, No. 7 



chlorid, and 775 pounds of sodium nitrate. Again, the predominating 

 acid ion is the sulphate, followed closely by chlorin — that is, this uncul- 

 tivated clay contains i .75 per cent of water-soluble salts and over one- 

 half of the salts consists of sodium and magnesium sulphates. Is it any 

 wonder that these clay hills do not support any native vegetation? 

 Such a soil when underlain by the characteristic ash reported above is 

 certainly too concentrated for the most resistant crops. 



"ALKALI" OF CRETACEOUS ORIGIN 



As already reported, characteristic alkali spots occur in the native 

 condition in the uncultivated clay hills wherever moisture conditions are 

 such as to bring about a concentration of the water-soluble salts of the 

 shales or sandstones. These alkali spots may be found near springs or 

 bogs in these hills. Twenty-three samples of such alkali were collected 

 and analyzed for soluble salts. This alkali has no connection with irri- 

 gation canals. The results, which show enormous accumulations of 

 soluble salts in these native alkali spots, are recorded in Table V. 



Table V. — Soluble salts in the "alkali" of Cretaceous origin 

 [Results expressed as pounds per 2,000,000 of material] 



Field No. 



Location of sample. 



Calcium 



(Ca). 



Magne- 

 sium 

 (Mg). 



Carbonic 

 acid 



(CO3). 



Sulphuric 

 acid 

 (SO3). 



Chlorin 



(Cl). 



132. 



77-- 

 275- 

 94.. 

 72A. 

 127. 

 114. 



lOI. 



295- 

 82.. 



137- 

 129. 

 112. 

 282. 

 70.. 

 109. 



103- 

 136. 

 72.. 

 126. 

 118. 

 III. 

 US- 



Emery, Utah 



Grand junction, Colo 



Thompson, Utah 



Price, Utah 



Grand Junction, Colo 



Emery, Utah 



Castledale, Utah 



Price, Utah 



Vernal, Utah 



Grand Junction, Colo 



Emery, Utah 



do 



Orangeville, Utah. . . 



Vernal, Utah 



Grand Junction, Colo 



Castledale, Utah 



Price, Utah 



Emery, Utah 



Grand Junction, Colo 



Emery, Utah 



Rochester, Utah 



Orangeville, Utah. . . 

 Castledale, Utah 



Average . 



Cretaceous. 



13.712 

 12, 192 

 19, 408 

 10, 960 



9,945 

 8,018 



7,779 



10, 426 



8, 100 



5,948 

 22,456 



4,571 

 12, 188 



2,807 

 15,078 

 17,963 

 14, 840 

 23, 420 



4,892 

 802 



7,777 

 15, 960 

 12,429 



II, 016 

 None. 



597 



29, 840 



III, 840 



58,016 



86, 480 



21,888 



2,045 



5, 126 



2,255 



8,760 



35,652 



1,136 



88, 200 



Trace. 



29, 810 



612 



8, 424 

 Trace. 



4,710 

 52,136 

 26, 652 



None. 



240 

 1,360 

 1,632 

 4,720 



920 

 2, 640 

 1,500 



600 



517 



240 



4,440 



2, 240 



29, 160 



20, 800 



3,040 



1,300 



8co 



480 



920 



2,520 



I, 200 



1,720 



371,920 



255,200 



76, 080 



182, 280 



103, 500 



58,144 



5,517 



207, 040 



226, 800 



44, 048 



44, 780 



61, 160 



467, 360 



189, 440 



903, 360 



310, 720 



275, 500 



56, 848 



65, 776 



1,448 



197, 440 



352, 800 



263,360 



16, 304 



1,418 



567 



2, 670 



3,686 

 II, 416 

 50, 192 



6,145 

 Trace. 

 None. 



5,246 



2,694 

 33,320 

 11,485 

 12,336 

 31,760 



3,345 



587 



284 



None. 



32,328 



2, 269 

 12,052 



11,376 



25,447 



2,533 



245, 805 



10, 391 



These virgin alkali spots are especially rich in sulphates of magnesium 

 and sodium. Calculations as before show that there are 3,419 pounds of 

 calcium bicarbonate, 35,666 pounds of calcium sulphate, 127,235 pounds 

 of magnesium sulphate, 152,682 pounds of sodium sulphate, 17,665 



