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New York AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 187 
DETAILS OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF New LySIMETERS. 
In the Station report for 1887, p. 1138-14, is briefly described a 
new lysimeter, devised by Dr. Babcock and myself, which is 
believed to possess some important advantages over those in use 
at other experiment stations. 
During the past season, four lysimeters have been constructed 
at the Station on the new plan. Unfortunately, they could not be 
put in sufficiently early so that any record of percolation and 
evaporation for the past summer could be secured. Itis expected, 
however, that the soil within them will become well settled during 
the winter, so that they will be in condition to furnish valuable 
data next season. 
As it is known that certain other experiment stations contem- 
plate putting in lysimeters, it is thought that a description of those 
recently completed at our Station may prove of interest. 
For the benefit of those who have not seen the description of 
the new lysimeter, as given in our last report, it is stated here that 
the new feature consists chiefly in supplying an artificial water 
table at the bottom of the column of soil, in order to furnish con- 
ditions more like those in the open ground. This water table is 
so arranged, that, while it is kept at a constant height, it does not 
interfere with the measurement of the percolation, and facilitates 
the measurement of the evaporation. The details of the arrange- 
ment willreadily appear from the drawing accompanying this article. 
The lysimeters recently completed at the Station are four in 
number. Two of these contain a column of soil three feet in 
depth, exclusive of the sand used at the bottom; the other two 
contain a column six feet in depth. One of each pair was filled 
with the soil “in place,” in order to preserve its natural composi- 
tion and solidity; the other was filled with air-dried and sifted 
garden soil, in order to investigate the movements of soil water 
from a somewhat different standpoint. A sample of soil was 
taken from each foot in depth of the excavation in those filled “in 
place,’ and preserved for future analysis in case it should be 
needed. Samples of the soil with which the others were filled 
were also preserved. 
The lysimeters were made in the form of a cylinder and bound 
with strong iron hoops. It was thought that this form would 
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