50 



Hig-h malting value seems to be associated with favourable 

 conditions during- the second part of the plant life when vigorous 

 g-rowth is followed by good ripening. These conditions almost 

 necessitate a low nitrogen content since nitrogen assimilation 

 occurs mainly in the early part of the plant life ; if there is vigorous 

 growth afterwards it is mainly an accumulation of non-nitrogenous 

 material. In these conditions, therefore, low nitrogen content 

 would be related to malting value. But a low nitrogen percentage 

 might equally result from a low nitrogen intake in the early life of 

 the plant, and in this case there would be no necessary relationship 

 with malting value. 



LIV. E. J. Russell. ''Report on the Experiments on the 

 Influence of Soil, Season and Manuring on the 

 Quality and Growth of Barley, 1922.*' Journal Inst. 

 Brewing, 1923. Vol. XXIX. pp. 624-654. 



Experiments have been made on a uniform plan on a number of 

 farms known to grow barley well. The yields are given on p. 104, 

 as also are the percentages of nitrogen and the values assigned 

 by the maltsters. As this is the first year of the experiments, no 

 conclusions arc drawn ; the following results, however, were 

 obtained : — 



Nitrogenous manure (sulphate of ammonia) produced its usual 

 effect of increasing the yield by about 5 bush, for 1 cwt. sulphate 

 of ammonia, excepting only in two or three readily explained 

 cases. The valuation was usually unaltered, but in one case it 

 was increased and in two cases reduced. 



Phosphates were ineffective at several centres on heavy soils 

 where they would normally be expected to act. On the very light 

 sand they apparently depressed the crop. We believe this to be a 

 true effect attributable to the well-known action of phosphates in 

 accelerating maturation. If this is confirmed by later observa- 

 tions it will necessitate a modification in the manurial treatment 

 of barley on light land. 



Contrary to our expectation in this bad season, potassic 

 fertiliser was without effect on the valuation, although it had in 

 several cases a marked effect in increasing yield. 



The indication of this season's experiments are that a farmer 

 can vary his manurial treatment within the limits of usual practice 

 without influencing the maltsters' valuation. 



The nitrogen content was usually related to maltsters' valua- 

 tions when the barleys from different farms were compared, but 

 the relationship was much less marked (only about half) when the 

 barleys from differently manured plots on the same farm were 

 compared. This result agrees with that already recorded above. 



FERTILISERS. 



ORGANFC MANURES. 



LV. E, H. Richards and G. C. Sawyer. ''Further Experi- 

 ments with Activated Sludge/' Journal of the 

 Societv of Chemical Industry, 1922. Vol. XLI. 

 pp. 02T-71T. 



If activated sludge is aerated for a short period in an 

 ammoniacal solution there is no loss of nitrogen, any nitrogen not 



