276 JOUENAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



that they may act as indirecfc manures." The foregoiog statements 

 have been usually accepted as facts for some time, but we are now 

 informed that sodium salts " appear under certain conditions to prevent 

 plants from assimilating large quantities of potash in excess of their 

 needs, thereby conserving the potash supply within the soil. It does 

 not appear unlikely, when the supply of potash is limited, that sodium 

 salts may aid in some degree in performing some function of 

 potassium." — F. J. B. 



Soil Acidity, Summary of Experiments on the Relation of, to 

 Fertility. By F. P. Veitch (U.S.A. Dep. Agr. {Bur. Chem.), Bull. 90).— 

 A summary of a large number of experiments on soil acidity is given, and 

 it is concluded that alkaline soils are more fertile than acid soils, and pro- 

 duce crops more economically than acid soils do ; lime should be so 

 applied that the soil is made alkaline to the full depth of cultivation. This 

 is frequently not done. — F. J. C. 



Soil Inoculation with Artificial Cultures. By Meade Ferguson 

 (U.S.A. Agr. Exp. Stn. Virginia, Bull. 159; January 1900). — A 

 concise account of the history of, experiments with, and collected 

 information respecting inoculation for legumes. X summary of results 

 shows : — 



1. " Inoculation can be done successfully and profitably where care is 

 taken in observing the proper methods." 



2. " A conservative course is recommended. The recent wild 

 enthusiasm, using such terms as ' vest pocket fertiliser,' ' act like 

 magic,' &c. is misleading ; while any statement that inoculation by 

 artificial cultures is a fraud is equally wrong." 



3. " No amount of inoculation or anything ^Ise will make up for 

 an imperfectly prepared seed-bed, poor soil, bad season, and poor culti- 

 vation."— i^. J. B. 



Soil Inoculation, Some Field Notes on. By Hugh N. Starnes 

 (U.S.A. Exp. Stn. Georgia, Bull. 71, pp. 103-5; 12 plates; December 

 1905). — Some interesting facts in connection with the development of 

 root tubercules on legumes through cross-inoculation. It had previously 

 been stated that " there is but one species of legume organism — 

 Pseudomomts radicicola (Beyerinck). The difference in the infective 

 power of bacteria from different hosts is due to slight physiological varia- 

 tions which can be broken down readily by cultivation." An attempt 

 was made to ascertain to what extent " colonisation of the bacteria from 

 one species of legume upon another may be feasible." Legumes of 

 various species introduced at the station have invariably developed " full 

 crops" of root tubercules, with no probability of inoculation from any 

 other source than the Coropea bacteria already in the soil. The list with 

 figures which is given adds very considerably to the number of definitely 

 recorded cross -inoculations. — F. J. B. 



Soil Sterilisation. By F. W. Card and M. A. Blake (U.S.A. Exp. 

 Stn. Kingston, B.I. Part II. pp. 204-210 ; 1905).— A report of experi- 

 ments made to grow lettuces and radishes in pots, to ascertain if 



