750 



mcnts^ with artificial sodium chloric! fertilization, barley and wheat (among 

 summer grains) showed great sensitiveness, while winter wheat throve fairly 

 well even with heavy additions of salt. Peas failed entirely with a strong 

 fertilization; oats were more resistent. Winter rye was found to be the 

 least sensitive. In potatoes, the starch content was much decreased; the 

 protein content not affected; the amount of ash increased. In sugar and 

 fodder beets the quantity harvested was increased without a decrease of the 

 sugar content. Their descent from coast plants may be noticed in this. 



The effect of salty soil manifests itself in trees only after they have 

 stored up the salt for some time. Weber- is an advocate of the theory that, 

 in many cases, it is not the excess of salt but the marshiness of the soil which 

 causes death. He found in the yellowed branches of Salix viminalis in the 

 valley of the Lahn near Bersenbruck, where the mine water flows in from 

 Eversburg, that the leaves had a chlorid content of 1.309 per cent., while 

 those of healthy plants contained only 0.877 per cent. We find abundant 

 statements concerning the behavior of decorative plants in Otto's book^ He 

 gives, as a universal characteristic, the reddening of the tips of plants before 

 they die. 



Aside from mine water, a high content of sodium chlorid manifests itself 

 in the sewage fields. In summer the concentration of the liquid sewage 

 becomes relatively large and many plants are found "to scorch" as the 

 gardener on such fields says. Tobacco has proved to be very sensitive so 

 that up to the present there has been a complete failure of the tobacco crops, 

 as emphasized by Ehrenberg*, who has considered very thoroughly all the 

 injuries due to liquid sewage. 



Besides the sodium' chlorid the amount of magnesium chlorid also comes 

 under consideration. The effects of the leaching action are changed, as the 

 experiments of Fricke, Haselhoff, and Konig^ have proved. While irriga- 

 tion with water containing sodium chlorid results in an increased removal 

 of calcium, magnesium, and potassium, yet from water containing mag- 

 nesium chlorid, the calcium, potassium and sodium are lost and the mag- 

 nesium is retained. In irrigation with water containing calcium chlorid, the 

 calcium will be retained by the soil and plants, while considerable amounts of 

 magnesium, potassium and sodium are lost. 



In large cities, however, the cfuestion of injury from sodium chlorid has 

 still a different side, that is, in its use in thawing street railways. Besides 

 this, coarse salt is strewn on the pavements by many householders. In 

 Berlin, this is forbidden, to be sure, l)ut the police is often deceived by the 



1 Wohltniann, F. Die Wirkung- der Kochsalzdiing-ung' auf unsere FcldfrucMe. 

 I^andw. Zeit. f. d. Rhoinprovinz 1904, p. 46. 



2 Weber, C. Kritische Bemerkungren usw.; cit. Bot. .Tahresber. 1898, II, p. 301. 



3 Otto, R. tJber durch kochsalzhaltig-es Wasscr verursachte Pflanzenschadi- 

 gungen. Zeitsch. f. Pfl.anzcnkrankh. 1904, p. 136. 



4 Ehrenberg, Paul, Einig-e Bcobachtungen ijber Pflanzenschadig-ungen durch 

 Spiiljauchenberieselung. Zeitschr. f. Pflanzenkrankh. 1906, p. 193. 



'' Fi'icke, Haselhoff, E., u. Konig-, J., tJber die Verandcrung-en und Wirknngon 

 des Rieselwassers. Landwirtsch. Jahrbucher 1893, p. 801. 



