191 1.] Summary of Agricultural Experiments. 773 



were the unmanured, minerals only, and rape dust plots, the worst the 

 nitrate of soda and sulphate of ammonia plots. Phosphate appeared 

 to be slightly better than potash in a mixture of manures. 



The barley crop generally was very poor and considerably below 

 the average. The unmanured plots gave only 3*5 bush., the lowest 

 produce for many years; mineral manures did better, viz., 8*4 bush., 

 but this plot had a great deal of weed; farmyard manure yielded 

 17 bush., but in contrast to wheat, rape dust produced only n'7 bush, 

 of barley. The highest yield was 31*5 bush., from a heavy dressing of 

 nitrate of soda with minerals; the omission of nitrate of soda for a 

 single year reduced the yield to i5'3 bush. As a whole, the nitrate of 

 soda plots did better than corresponding sulphate of ammonia plots 

 even where lime had been applied with the latter. The limed plots, 

 along with sulphate of ammonia, showed the lime to be practically 

 worked out after thirteen years, although, along with mineral manures 

 in addition, its effect was still noticeable. Potash appeared to be 

 better than phosphate in a mixture of manures. The quality of the 

 barley was generally better than that of the wheat. 



Rotation Experiments (Rept. on the Woburn Field Expts., Jour. 

 Roy. Agric. Soc, Vol. 71, 1910). — This experiment is now concluded, 

 and a summary of the results will be made by Dr. Voelcker. 



Soil Surveys and Soil Analysis (Jour, of Agric. Science, Vol. IV., 

 Part 2, October, 191 1). — Messrs. Hall and Russell, of Rothamsted, 

 contribute an article to this publication on soil surveys and soil 

 analysis. A soil survey of the counties of Kent, Surrey, and Sussex, 

 carried out by the authors, was recently published by this Board, and 

 the article under notice is devoted to the scientific aspects of the work. 

 The authors point out that the chemist has great difficulties in inter- 

 preting a soil analysis in the absence of comparative figures from 

 similar soils in the neighbourhood, and advocate the extension of soil 

 surveys to the remaining counties of the kingdom. The article under 

 notice contains a full description of the methods adopted in the survey 

 of the south-eastern counties undertaken by them, and will prove of 

 great use to investigators contemplating similar work elsewhere. 

 Stated briefly, the objects of a soil survey are (1) to show the distri- 

 bution of soils of similar agricultural properties and to define these 

 soils in terms of their composition and properties ; (2) to ascertain 

 the relationship between the composition of soils and their known 

 agricultural qualities ; and (3) to guide agriculturists in the selection of 

 soils appropriate for particular purposes. 



The authors show how the results obtained by them fulfil these 

 objects by discussing their analyses in the light of the information given 

 them by farmers regarding the agricultural properties of the soils to 

 which they relate. The investigations, it should be noticed, were not 

 confined to purely chemical analyses. The authors lay great stress on 

 the value of mechanical analyses of soils, by which is meant 

 analyses based on the size and number of the soil particles irrespective 

 of their chemical composition: For example, they find that the 

 typical fruit soils are alike in containing 60 per cent, of "fine sand" 

 and "silt," and 12 per cent, of "clay." (For the purposes of this 

 work, such terms as "fine sand," "silt," &c, have been given a 

 definite meaning. Fine sand> for example, is defined as consisting 



