June, 1939] AcRicrLTURAL Research ix N. H. 13 



Department of Ag-riculture ; W. H. Lyford, New Hampshire Agricul- 

 tural Experiment Station. Strafford county -- B. H. Williams, Divi- 

 sion of Soil Survey, United States Department of Agriculture ; F. J. 

 Galdwin, Soil Conservation Service, United States Department of 

 Agriculture: W. H. Coates, New Hampshire Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Station. 

 Greenhouse Fertility Tests on Native Soils 



The study of the natural fertility of various soil types found in 

 the state was continued in the greenhouse by P. N. Scripture and 

 P. T. Blood during the winter of 1938. Hermon fine sandy loam and 

 Worthington loam were the soils selected for comparison this year 

 as they differ greatly in the source of parent material. 



The Hermon soil is a member of the podzol group, developed under 

 a coniferous vegetation from parent material accumulated by glacial 

 action from granites and other coarse-grained rocks. The texture is 

 sandy and the soil is well drained. The normal Hermon soils are so 

 stony that they must be cleared before cultivation. 



The parent material of the Worthington soils is glacial till accu- 

 mulated from calcareous schists which were rather fine grained and 

 produced a soil of heavier texture. Though the parent material 

 originally contained lime, it has been largely removed by leaching so 

 that the soil is now quite acid. 



The Hermon fine sandy loam was collected from an uncultivated 

 field near Bow Lake in Strafford. The Worthington soil was brought 

 from a field in Colebrook which had been hayed annually but other- 

 wise unused for many years. 



Yield data showed that the addition of lime to the Hermon loam 

 practically doubled the amount of barley obtained; but a complete 

 fertilizer was necessary to obtain the maximum yield. Potassium 

 was less necessary than nitrogen or phosphorous, but the yield was 

 increased one-third when it was used. A nitrogen application is 

 absolutely essential for growth on this soil and phosphorus is a 

 requirement of any increase in yield. Although increases were 

 observed in practically all cases where the minor elements ~ boron, 

 magnesium, manganese and copper ~ in various combinations were 

 added with the complete fertilizer, the question of their significance 

 is still being studied. 



With the Worthington loam, the same results in regard to nitro- 

 gen, phosphorus and potassium were observed as with the Hermon ; 

 but the increases for lime were not quite so great. Little can be said 

 for the minor elements on Worthington soil as they decreased the 

 yield very slightly in every case where they were used with lime with 

 the sole exception of copper. 



Flood Damage in Alluvial Deposits 



In cooperation with the division of research of the Soil Conserva- 

 tion Service, W. H. Lyford, Jr., has been studying the nature and 

 sources of alluvial deposits in the Merrimack and Connecticut valleys 

 to discover potential flood menaces and means of control. Most flood 

 damage to New Hampshire farms is due to the streams cutting into 

 the banks of sand and gravel deposits, mostly of glacio-fluvial origin. 

 Accurate transit surveys were made of "raw" banks at four differ- 



