14 
Colorado Experiment Station. 
sumably calcium sulphate, distributed through the soil. Although 
the very' surface was dry, the clay was moist below the top half inch. 
I was indeed surprised to learn from the results of the ammonifi- 
cation work on this soil that the cottonseed meal had given up 
37 - 37 % of its nitrogen as ammonia; dried blood 23.67%; alfalfa 
meal 12.75% ; flaxseed meal 2.87%. 
Sample No. 18. 
This sample comes from a field which had been in sugar beets in 
1910 and in oats in 1911. The soil is a hard clay with considerable 
gravel, and the crops have not done well in late years because of the 
poor drainage conditions, i he underlying shales appear to have formed 
a series of basins which retain the irrigating waters and thus inter¬ 
fere with natural drainage. Recently, extensive tile drains have 
been laid, and the trouble from excessive water should soon be 
lessened. In addition to the seeped condition of the land, niter has 
done some damage on this mesa, although not in the field which 
we are considering now. My purpose in taking a sample of this 
soil was to have something to compare with the next sample which 
was obtained from a neighboring field where both water and niter 
had been destructive. The ammonification results follow: 
From cottonseed meal, 28.02% of the nitrogen was recovered 
as ammonia; dried blood 39.79%; alfalfa meal 2.85%; flaxseed 
meal 5.26%. 
Sample No. 19. 
This represents a field which was planted to barley in 1910 but 
the nitrates which had been accumulating for years had become so 
concentrated by this time that nothing could grow except next to 
the irrigating furrows where the water appears to have reduced the 
salts to a degree of partial tolerance. In 1910, the soil, a gravelly 
clay, was dark brown and mealy beneath the surface crust." When 
I visited the ranch in March, 1912, extensive drains were being in¬ 
stalled, but it was too early to expect any benefit. The moist condi¬ 
tion of the soil made it rather difficult at this time to detect the 
characteristic brown color, so prominent in the years before. How¬ 
ever, the soil was becoming mealy in spots as it dried out. The am¬ 
monification results obtained from this sample are as follows: 
From cottonseed meal 44.72% of nitrogen was recovered as 
ammonia; dried blood 47.74% ; alfalfa meal 13.06%; flaxseed meal 
2 - 55 %- A comparison of these figures with those of the preced¬ 
ing sample is quite striking when it is remembered that No. 18 is 
the same kind of a soil secured from a nearby field, but where the 
niter had not manifested itself. Soil No. 18 liberated only 30.68% 
of the nitrogen of cottonseed meal as ammonia, while No. 19 set free 
45 - 70 % ; the former gave 42.45% with dried blood the latter 
46.72%; the former 5.49% with alfalfa meal; the latter 14.04%; 
the better soil gave higher returns from the flaxseed meal, 
the ratio being 7.92 to 3.53. 
