EXPERIMENTAL STUDY. 45 
and lower leaves were dying. To one pot of each proportion there 
was added daily until June 18 one-fourth gram, or a total amount of 
3.5 grams of CaO as nitrate. On June 9 the plants were all making 
but little growth, those in pots to which the nitrate was added making 
the best appearance. June 25 the roots of the tobacco and barley 
were dead. The barley had madea growth of from 7 to 10 em.: tobacco, 
no growth at all. 
EXPERIMENTS WITH OATS, WHEAT, AND BEANS. 
In the same soils trials were made with oats, wheat, and beans with 
similar unsatisfactory results. It appeared as time passed that the 
calcium carbonate had a slight influence in overcoming the toxicity of 
the magnesia, but its effect was of slow action. In these experiments 
the magnesia was very finely divided, and it is believed that the failure 
in this instance was due to the great fineness of the magnesia prepara- 
tion and its greater solubility over the lime. In one of the pots in 
this experiment 0.4 per cent of CaSO, was added. In this case the 
plants continued to grow in a normal manner, while in the pots to 
which the sulphate had not been added the injurious results continued. 
This addition of the sulphate permitted of the due action of the lime 
by presenting it in a more finely divided and more soluble form. 
C. Schreiber’ found that when lime was lacking in certain experi- 
ments germination was much retarded. Potatoes under these condi- 
tions were found after three or four months in almost the same state 
as when planted. In overcoming this the action of calcium sulphate 
was much more effective than the action of burnt lime and carbonate 
of lime. In experiments with two fertilizers, the first containing 
dicalcium phosphate, sulphate of lime, and carbonate of magnesia, the 
second, phosphate of soda, carbonate of lime and magnesia, in every 
case the yield was much lower with the latter. This was due, the 
author states, to the action of the carbonate of lime and magnesia in 
rendering the phosphate of soda insoluble. At the Rhode Island 
experiment station, where various forms of lime were tested for 
neutralizing acid soils, the carbonate was found to be most effective. 
The experiments of the writer with the carbonate show that in over- 
coming the noxious effects of magnesia its action was very slow, owing 
apparently to its not being in a finely divided condition and its difficult 
solubility. At the New York State experiment station” no results 
were obtained on sorghum with carbonate of lime applied the same 
season. Wheeler states® that calcium sulphate is believed to act more 
energetically than carbonate of lime, air-slacked or water-slacked lime 
in liberating potash for the use of plants in soil. 
1Revue Agronomique, Vol. IV, No. 1. 
?Report New York State Exp. Sta. for 1891. 
*Farmers’ Bulletin No. 77. 
