Apr. 28,1923 
Toxicity and Antagonism of Alkali Salts in Soil 
319 
To discover the possibilities of applying the principles of antagonism 
to the correction of alkali as found in field soils, Lipman and Sharp (10) 
secured natural alkali soil containing 6,400 parts per million of water- 
soluble salts of which 4,590 parts per million were sodium chlorid, 980 
parts per million sodium sulphate, and 830 parts per million sodium 
carbonate. Adding 119 parts per million of sulphuric acid to this soil 
was^found to be especially beneficial to the growth of barley; and up to 
451 parts per million, the highest quantity tried, this acid was helpful. 
Calcium sulphate at the rate of 670 parts per million, ferrous sulphate 
at 324 parts per million, and manure at 3,240 parts per million all ma¬ 
terially improved the crop-producing power of the soil. Copper and 
sodium sulphates at the rate of 65 and 130 parts per million, respec¬ 
tively, were harmful to the crop. 
Lipman and Gericke(9), growing barley on a clay-adobe soil, found 
that copper and zinc reduced the toxicity of sodium chlorid, sodium 
sulphate, and sodium carbonate. Marked antagonism was also noticed 
between these salts, especially between copper sulphate and sodium 
chlorid when applied to a sand soil. 
Caldwell (j) found no antagonism between sodium chlorid and any 
one of the chlorids of calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper, or am¬ 
monium, with the possible exception of ammonium and magnesium in 
certain proportions, when he grew com in quartz sand. Potassium and 
sodium were always more toxic together than when only one was present 
at a given strength. Adding either calcium chlorid or copper chlorid 
to sodium chlorid appeared to amehorate the injurious effect of the 
latter by diluting the solution rather than by counteracting the harmful 
effects of the sodium salt. 
EXPERIMENTAL WORK 
method 
The experiments here reported were conducted in glass tumblers con¬ 
taining the equivalent of 200 gm. of dry soil and the optimum amount 
of moisture. Wheat was the crop grown. The requisite quantity of 
sodium carbonate in 10 per cent solution was added to five 7-kilo portions 
of air-dry soil, and each portion was mixed separately by forcing it 
through a fine sieve twice. They were then placed together in a large 
can and shaken thoroughly at intervals for several days before being used. 
This method of mixing gave a very satisfactory distribution of the car¬ 
bonate, as was shown by analyses of a large number of samples taken 
from different parts of the can. To the soil for each tumbler the other 
materials were then added, in solution whenever possible, together with 
the necessary water, and the soil was thoroughly mixed on a piece of 
oilcloth. Ten kernels of wheat were planted in each vessel. The surface 
of the soil was covered with a thin layer of a mixture of 50 per cent 
paraffin and 50 per cent petrolatum to prevent surface evaporation. 
A short glass tube extending to the center of the soil mass from the 
surface permitted the addition of water as it was needed to keep the 
weight of the tumbler constant. The mulch was very effective, and it 
was therefore possible to avoid altering the uniformity of the distribu¬ 
tion of the soluble material through irrigation—at least until the plants 
were fairly large—as the weight of the tumbler did not change appreciably 
