104 EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



during the winter months considerable work was accomplished 

 along other lines. The time available was partly devoted to 

 completing the ash analysis of asparagus roots, this being a con- 

 tinuation of work begun during 1911 in conjunction with fer- 

 tilizer experiments with asparagus. The ash analysis of tobacco 

 stalks preserved under different conditions has been made for 

 the purpose of showing the variation in composition and of 

 emphasizing the importance of conserving all of the plant food 

 which is furnished by this class of material. The analysis of 

 14 samples of soil taken from different localities and at dif- 

 ferent depths has been made to show the tendency of potash to 

 accumulate in the subsoil to a depth of from 3 to 5 feet. This 

 work was undertaken for the purpose of confirming results of 

 analysis of subsoils on field A, which showed a remarkable 

 accumulation of potash. Some time has been given to co-oper- 

 ative work with the American Association of Official Agricul- 

 tural Chemists, particularly with reference to the study of new 

 and improved methods for the determination of nitrogen, phos- 

 phoric acid and potash. The writer has served the association 

 for the past two years as referee on phosphoric acid. Consid- 

 erable preliminary work has been done in preparation for vege- 

 tation experiments on fertilizers to be conducted during 1913. 

 Free examination of refuse by-products, fertilizers and soils has 

 been made for farmers and farmers' organizations as in the 

 past; a more detailed account of this work will be found on a 

 subsequent page. 



A larger number of commercial fertilizers has been regis- 

 tered, collected and analyzed during the season than for any 

 previous year. The following summaries will give a fair idea 

 of the work involved and will show the condition of the fer- 

 tilizer trade for the year : — 



(a) Fertilizers registered. 



(&) Fertilizers collected. 



(c) Fertilizers analyzed. 



(d) Trade values of fertilizing ingredients. 



(e) Raw products and chemicals. 



(1) Materials furnishing nitrogen. 



(2) Materials furnishing potash. 



(3) ]\[aterials furnishing phosphoric acid. 



