Nitrogen Fixation 27 
ANALYSIS XXIII. 
RESIDUE FROM SEEPAGE WATER. Laboratory No. 766. 
Per Cent. 
Calcic Sulfate . 27.397 
Magnesic Sulfate . 27.697 
Potassic Sulfate . 1.3 89 
Sodic Sulfate . 21.749 
Sodic Carbonate . 4.0 2 6 
Sodic Chlorid . 5.391 
Sodic Nitrate . 2.98 6 
Sodic Silicate . 0.401 
Loss (water, organic matter, etc.) . 8.944 
100.000 
These two samples are more interesting in connection with 
this work than in connection with the purpose for which they were 
collected. Results like the foregoing are very disconcerting when 
one is seeking the limit of alkalis present in an irrigation water 
which may be injurious to the land or crops. The same is true in 
regard to the soil. It is true that this sample represented what I 
believed to be the worst and what according to the growth of the 
corn, was the worst, but the whole patch was so bad that it appeared 
useless to continue that study with great hope of success. The 
only encouragement that one could find in the case was that some 
things had died and that the rye was dying, but the question 
whether this was due to excessive salts or excessive water was im¬ 
possible to determine. This digression may serve to show that our 
problems are far from simple and that an acquaintance with a 
large range of facts pertaining to our conditions does not lead to 
very firmly fixed convictions concerning what the facts really may 
be. I will add one more statement relative to this piece of ground 
and that is, that I saw the wheat grown on it two years later, 1900, 
and it yielded at the rate of 60 bushels per acre. All of which was 
extremely perverse from the standpoint of the theorist but verv 
good from that of the owner. 
The question of the presence of nitrates in seepage water 
issuing from the shales seemed to be of sufficient interest to justify 
further analyses. Another place was selected 80 feet below the top 
of the bank which was the level of the mesa. The sample was taken 
in the irrigating season. The water contained 557.9 grains per im¬ 
perial gallon or 7,970.0 parts per million of total solids; ignition 
expelled 84.9 grains or 121.3 parts per million. This water was 
tested for free ammonia and 0.12 part per million was found. The 
following analysis has been calculated to one hundred. 
