84 The Colorado Experiment Station. 
inches at the time the samples were taken is considered—drainage 
or greater depths are not considered. 
I have the record of a considerable number of analyses of our 
Colorado soils and they scarcely average over one-tenth of one 
percent total nitrogen which, judged by ordinary standards, can¬ 
not be said to be more than a fair supply of nitrogen. 
The prairie soils of Illinois, as given in their Bulletin 123, 
contain from two to four times as much, and even their subsoils 
contain more nitrogen than our surface soils. The soils of Ken¬ 
tucky, Bull. 126, are likewise much richer in total nitrogen than 
ours. Storer, Vol. II p. 76, says that Krocker, and Payen also 
states that cultivated land seldom contains less than 0.10 percent 
of nitrogen and that they usually contain a much larger quantity. 
He states further that A. Mueller found, on an average, 0.26 percent 
of nitrogen in the surface soils poor in lime and 0.15 percent in 
their subsoils. In the surface soils of limestone regions he found, 
on an average, 0.66 of nitrogen. 
King states that the mean amount in eleven arable soils at 
Rothamstecl is placed by Lawes and Gilbert at 0.149 and for eight 
others at 0.166 percent. Four Illinois prairie soils were shown by 
Voelcker to contain 0.308 percent; seven Russian soils according 
to C. Schmidt contained 0.341 percent. The average of these thirty 
is 0.219 percent. Lawes and Gilbert gave four Manitoba soils as 
containing 0.373 percent of nitrogen. Hilgard states that from 
0.1 to 0.2 percent of total nitrogen in non-acid soils is considered 
adequate. 
Our Colorado soils are non-acid soils. I have as yet, found 
but one case of an acid soil, not considering beds of peat. In 
seventy-three analyses of Colorado soils taken in various parts of 
the state twenty-two of them contain less than 0.1 percent total 
nitrogen and fourteen contain 0.2 percent or more, leaving thirty- 
seven or a little over a half of the samples considered which con¬ 
tained o. 1 percent and more, but less than 0.2 percent. It is only 
a few weeks since, that an analysis of a Colorado soil was sub¬ 
mitted to me for my interpretation. The reason for this was that 
parties in Illinois having the purchase of a tract of Colorado land 
under consideration had a sample of the soil analyzed and as it 
contained only 0.08 percent of nitrogen or a trifle less, they, I 
understood, declined to buy it. 
Other soils from sections of this state have, according to 
reports, been found to be deficient in nitrogen and yet these soils 
produce excellent crops of corn and wheat. According to our 
analytical data there can be no question but that many of our soils, 
according to the standards adopted, are low in nitrogen but they 
produce excellent crops, in favorable seasons, 60 and even 80 
bushels of wheat to the acre, while from 35 to 50 bushels per acre- 
