SClL'\rr. 



tiure to those recovered by leachiug, all 

 ched for by full analytical data, 

 "mally, King shows the effects upon the 

 tits of different doses of manure, with re- 

 ct to the water-soluble salts recoverable 

 tn the plants themselves. In both cases 



influence of manuring is mainly seen to 

 a direct one, as has, in fact, already been 

 wn by Godlewski. " It is thus shown that 



crops on the manured ground have recov- 

 1 29 per cent, more potash from the four 

 >nger soils, and 40 per cent, more from the 

 rer soils, where the fifteen tons of manure 



been applied." Lime and magnesia, on the 

 trary, were diminished where the potash 



increased. 



7hat may be considered the final sum- 

 ig-up of this bulletin is given by King in 



following paragraph on page 60, the last 



one: 



he observations here presented, both upon the 

 5 and upon the plants which had grown upon 

 a make it clear that when farmyard manure 

 pplied to fields it has the effect not only of 

 easing the yields, but at the same time of 

 easing the amounts of water-soluble salts 

 2h can be recovered from the soils themselves 

 from the plants which have grown upon them. 



have thought it necessary to present to 

 readers of SCIENCE somewhat in detail the 

 tents of this bulletin E, in order to show 

 it kind of work it is to which the bureau of 

 3 refuses its imprimatur. To the unofficial 

 id the 'besclirankte Unterthanenverstand 

 ; appears as an admirable piece of work, in 

 ue but little touched by agricultural inves- 

 itors thus far, and manifestly likely to lead 

 mportant new lights, as well as to definite 

 ntitative corroboration of old ones. As to 

 letins D and F, respectively, on ' The Ab- 

 )tion of Water-soluble Salts by Different 

 I Types ' and on ' The Movement of Water- 

 ible Salts in Soils/ they are in a measure 

 iplementary to bulletin E, affording most 

 sresting side-lights upon the general subject 

 the latter; they are altogether of similar 

 h. scientific grade. They also figure among 

 * rejected papers/ 

 'he clew to that rejection evidently lies in 



'the published views of the Bun-au >i 

 which King for the time being does i 

 sire to antagonize by discussion, as sit 

 the preface. What those views are 

 specified; but it is easy to see that the 

 of King's work are wholly incompatibl 

 the remarkable utterances of 'Bullet 

 now well known to all interested in a 

 tural science. Essentially, that bulleti 

 mulgates the doctrine that while fertiliz* 

 sometimes, and even frequently/ seem 

 crease production, yet since, according 

 given therein, the aqueous soil solul 

 always of the same composition in al 

 it follows that all soils contain sufficient 

 able plant food to maintain product 

 indefinitely; and that the moisture su] 

 the one controlling condition, climat 

 mitting. 



Such being the official, orthodox doct: 

 becomes clear why especially bulleti: 

 showing pointedly the very reverse 

 official doctrine to be true, could not : 

 the official approval and imprimatur. 

 that a man of King's standing and repi 

 could not, under such circumstances, do 

 wise than tender his resignation, to tak( 

 after his report had been completed an 

 mitted, is obvious. This having been do 

 Bureau of Soils is now rid of a contum 

 insubordinate person, who refuses to sul 

 to his chiefs scientific dicta as set fc 

 Bulletin 22; which, it is well known, h 

 received the assent of a single scieni 

 weight, and has been controverted and 

 diated both in America and Europe by 

 have taken any notice of it. 



But worse than the ill-founded hyp< 

 of the head of one of the most importa 

 reaus of the Department of Agric 

 which, moreover, receives and spends one 

 largest appropriations in the budget o 

 department, is the return to medievalist] 

 cated in the case before us. It is not on 

 of a deliberate attempt to suppress the 

 but it indicates on the part of the n 

 responsible head of that bureau a mon 

 child-like confidence in the permanent E 

 of the obscurantist regime such as is pn 



