SEVERAL NITROGENOUS FERTILIZERS. 
2 ? 
easily decomposable silicates, whence it possesses a high 
absorptive power for ammonia and phosphoric acid. Compared 
with others, it ranges certainly among the better sorts of soils 
of Japan, though it is liable to the formation of sour humus. 
From chemical points of view, it is remarkable for the almost 
complete absence of clay (hydrous silicate of alumina) and for 
its richness in easily decomposable silicates (zeolites), owing 
to which it gradually solidifies when copiously mixed with 
caustic lime and kept in water 1 2 . 
As the dimensions of field experiments are too large to admit 
exact treatment and as the results obtained on large plots are 
usually not reliable enough to allow of generalization, we em¬ 
ployed, according to P. Wagner’s proposals 1 , zinc cylinders of a 
height of 133 centimetres and a diameter of 60 centimetres open 
at both ends. These were buried up to 3 centimetres from their 
upper edge in a level field and uniformly filled to a height of 1 
metre with yellow subsoil almost free from humus and being of 
the same character as the top soil above described. Then 
uniform black top soil freed by sifting from course roots and 
stubbles, was weighed out in quantities sufficient to make up in 
the cylinders a layer of 27 centimetres after gently pressing it in. 
This soil was mixed with the manures, put into the cylinders, 
levelled and pressed, whereupon sowing took place. To each 
vessel we applied 89 seeds of Chevalier barley (= 2 hektolitres 
per hektare) which were equally distributed over the small 
patches with the help of a disk of zinc plate furnished with 
parallel lines of holes at distances of 5.3 centimeters from each 
other. On the seeds we spread a layer of sifted unmanured top 
soil weighed out for each cylinder, and pressed it well down, 
because if not pressed, our soil is liable to be thrown up in 
winter by the formation of long fine crystals of ice (shimobashira). 
As to quantities of manures, we followed likewise the general 
1 Analyses of this soil have been published in Landw. Versuchsstationen 
1884, vol. 30, p. i. 
2 Landw. Jahrbuecher 1883, vol. 12, p. 583 and “Thomas Phosphate 
Powder ” by P. Wagner. London, 1887, p. 44. 
