1923.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 31. la 



used in the study of soil fertility and plant nutrition problems. These various 

 projects group themselves into three major classes: (1) fundamental problems 

 of the soil and plant, studied through the Departments of Botany and Plant and 

 Animal Chemistry; (2) problems in fertility practice, studied through the De- 

 partments of Agronomy, Pomology, the Cranberry Station and the Market Garden 

 Field Station; and (3) investigation into the nature and value of fertilizer ma- 

 terials, carried out in conjunction with the Fertilizer Control, through the De- 

 partment of Agriculture. 



A complete list of fertility and nutritional projects under way follows, together 

 with a brief report of progress during the past year. 



Chemical Investigations. 



Chemistry Project 6. "Lime absorption and acidity of Field A." 



Professor Morse and Assistant Professor Jones. 



The numerous anah-ses of the drainage waters from the plots of this field have been 

 co-ordinated, and have been found to give consistent results which show that the use of 

 ammonium sulfate exhausts the calcium carbonate much more rapidly than is the case 

 where no nitrogen has been applied, while sodium nitrate removes less calcium carbon- 

 ate than either treatment. This is true at all seasons of the year when water has flowed 

 from the drains. Determinations of residual calcium carbonate in the soils of the dif- 

 ferent plots corroborate results from study of the drainage waters. Calcium carbonate 

 is more abundant in the soil which has received sodium nitrate than in that with no nitro- 

 gen treatment, while it is lowest in the soil that has received ammonium sulfate. The 

 cause is due partly to the character of the chemical and partly to the difference in amount 

 of nitrification induced in the soils. 



Chemistry Project 7. "Effect of sulfate and muriate of potash on the soils of 

 Fields A and B." 



Professor Morse and Assistant Professor Jones. 



The work on winter injury of brambles is directly connected with this project. 



Analyses of twigs and canes from currants, gooseberries and blackberries which have 

 grown on soils fertilized with one or the other of the two potash salts have resulted in 

 some evidence that there is a difference in composition produced by the different ferti- 

 lizers. The proportion of sugar has been consistently lower in the wood of the various 

 plants grown on the muriate "treated plot. Starch and pentosans are not so consistent, 

 which is possibly due to two causes: the actual diffei'ences in these constituents may 

 not really be very wide; the methods for their determination are much more approxi- 

 mate than those for sugars. A qualitative comparison of the chlorine present in the ash 

 of the two series of crops shows a much more pronounced test for the element in the 

 series on muriate. This shows an actual absorption of chlorides. 



It is fitting to remark here that the work so far can be regarded only as exploratory 

 in character. 



Chemistry Project 14. "A study of the availability of soil potash, with the 

 object of developing a sj'stem of diagnosis for soils of the State." 



Professor Morse. 



Pot experiments were conducted by Mr. Coffin with similar results in growth to those 

 obtained last year. Analyses of the crops have not yet been made. 



Microbiological In\^stigations. 



Microbiology Project 2. "Soil fertility as influenced by micro-organisms in their 

 relation to the presence and disappearance of organic matter." 



Assistant Professor Itano and Mr. Sanborn. 



Several phases of this problem have already been worked out. Two papers were 

 presented at the annual meeting of the Society of American Bacteriologists, and may 

 be found in the following sources of information: 



