of heating soils or treating them with volatile antiseptics was 

 continued, and a solution of the problem was reached which promises 

 very interesting developments ; an account of this is given later. 



With the help of a special grant from the Board of Agriculture, 

 an investigation was started into the causes of the superiority of 

 certain pastures in Romney Marsh over the surrounding fields. An 

 assistant took daily observations of the temperature, water level, and 

 other factors, and also forwarded regular samples of the grass, soil, 

 &c, to the Laboratory, which material is now being worked up. 



Miss Brenchley's work on the changes in the composition of 

 the wheat grain during its development and ripening having been 

 concluded, she began work of the same character on barley. 



Dr. Miller has been following up some earlier investigations on 

 the amount of ammonia which can be absorbed from the atmosphere 

 by a layer of acid or similar absorbent, and the results would seem 

 to indicate that the amount thus obtainable has been exaggerated by 

 previous observers, because of the intrusion of dust of an organic 

 character. It is interesting to note that the amount of ammonia in 

 the air above Broadbalk field was notably increased for some time 

 after the application of ammoniacal manures. Dr. Miller is also 

 estimating the amount of ammonia and nitric acid in rain water that 

 is sent us regularly from the extreme West of Scotland, and obtains 

 results much below those yielded by inland stations. This work, 

 however, requires to be continued for several years before the results 

 can be trusted. 



The following papers have been published during the year in 

 the Journal of Agricultural Science, Vol. 3, Part 2, reprints of which 

 have been issued to our correspondents : — 



" The Effect of Partial Sterilisation of Soil on the 

 Production of Plant Food," by Drs. E. J. Russell and 

 H. B. Hutchinson. It had been known for some years that soils 

 which had been subjected to a process of "sterilisation," as for 

 example by heating to a temperature of 100 degrees for two hours, 

 or exposure to the vapour of chloroform and other antiseptics, gains 

 thereby a marked increase in its power of producing crops. In an 

 earlier paper Dr. Russell has shown that heated soils yield about 

 double the crop, and soils that have been exposed to toluene vapour 

 yield about 30 per cent, more than the same soils untreated, when 

 both are put to grow plants under identical conditions. These 

 experiments have been repeated during the last year or two in our 

 Laboratory, in connection with the investigation that is being made 

 into the causes of land sickness. Taking advantage of this material, 



