REPORT OF THE CHEMIST. Cat 139 
Duplicate determinations of P, O; gave for A .104 per cent., B, .085 
per cent. 
Duplicate determinations of SO; and CaO in sample C gave 14.99 
per cent. SO;, and 17.52 per cent. CaO. ; 
The above analysis shows in this soil C nearly one-third its weight of 
gypsum (51.99 per cent. Ca SO,, 2 H,O), and 15.4 per cent. of carbonate 
of lime. { ire 
The analysis was conducted as follows: Twenty grams of fine soil 
were treated with 300 em’ of hydrochloric acid, sp. gr. 1.115, for fivedays 
at 160°, the insoluble matter filtered off, ignited, and weighed, and in 
it the Si O, soluble in NaOH, determined. In aliquot parts of the solu- 
tion, Fe, Al, Ca, Mg, and SO; were determined. 
Another twenty grams, after ignition, were treated with H NO, sp. 
gr. 1.2, for five days, filtered, and the filtrate divided in halves, in one of 
which P, O; was determined by Sonnenschein’s method; in the other the 
alkalies by conversion to carbonates with oxalic acid. 
In a third portion CO, was determined in one of the usual forms of 
apparatus by loss of weight. 
‘In a fourth, water was found by drying for two days at 120° to a con- 
‘stant weight, and the organic matter by ignition and subsequent treat- 
ment with carbonate of ammonia. 
Two specimens of earth from Yakima City, Washington Territory, 
have the following composition : 
Constituents. First. Second. 
| Per cent. 
Br SG OLEANIO MALLED cae oto oa - nanos eebawsnbachelereussssnapas-ensschban> nee 
SU TA) LV TER 18 1) (SE SS ee en eee eR ee yale 
As will be seen from the above analyses, these samples are practically 
the same thing, and contain 38 and 40 per cent. respectively, of anhy- 
drous sulphate of soda. 
The following letter accompanying the samples will give details con- 
cerning this peculiar substatice: 
? YAKIMA City, WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 
COMMISSIONER QF AGRICULTURE: “ 
Sir: I mail you to-day a parcel containing two samples of “alkali dust.” This 
’ dust is found all through this country, from the Cascade Range on the west to the 
Rocky Mountains on the east, on tracts varying in size from a few acres to several 
thousand, covered in dry weather with this prayish substance, from the thickness of 
paper to a half inch in thickness. In rainy weather the earth seems to be covered 
With potash. When water standing in little holes or puddles dries down a little it 
has the color of strong lye tached from wood ashes, and feel8 slippery to the hand. 
The taste is like salt and soda mixed. Cattle seem fond of it in place of sait, and 
actually refuse salt. There are places east of Columbia River where it is found an 
inch thick, and travelers sometimes use it in making bread in place of saleratus. 
These alkali lands are almost usfless for cultivation. ; 
Yours, truly, 
JAMES E. COOK. 
ANALYSES OF MARLS. 
There have been made analyses during the past year of gixteen speci- 
raens of marl, and reports have been forwarded to the parties sending 
