Agn'ntlturai Chemistry.
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White Arsenic Production. BY J. W. WELLS. Rep. Ontario Bureau Mines, I go2.-Describes the treatment of siliceous mispickel a t the Dolores Mine, Ontario, which in 1901 produced I ,389,056 pounds. It is crushed and amalgamated, whereby 57 per cent. of its gold content is obtained. T h e tailings are concentrated, and go per cent. of their gold content extracted by the Sulrnan-Teed bromo-cyanide process. T h e residues are roasted in two Oxland furnaces, placed tandem, the fumes being caught in brick settlers. T h e crude arsenic oxide is dropped into cars beneath the settlers, and refined in a reverberatory furnace fired with hard wood, with a hearth 16 by 24 feet, the fumes being drawn through a dust chamber IOO feet long and then through 1 2 zigzag chambers. T h e product is 99.6 per cent. pure. I n the United States, the Puget Sound Reduction Co. made 300 tons in 1901. J . W. RICHARDS. AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY. Field Operations of the Bureau of Soils, 1901 (Third Report) BY MILTONWHITNEY,ET AI.. U. S. Deft. Agr., 1902, 647 pp. -This contains a general review of the soil survey work during the three years that it has been in progress, by the chief of the bureau, and detailed reports upon the areas under investigation during 1901 by the following assistants in charge of field parties : T.H. Means, C. W . Dorsey, J. A . Bonsteel, W. G. Smith, G. N . Coffey, C. N. Mooney, E. 0. Fippin, J . 0. Martin, C. A. Jensen, M. H. Lapham, J. G. Holmes, R. T. A. Burke, J. E. Lapham, W. H. Heileman, and H. W . Marean. T h e report is illustrated by 96 plates and 2 j text figures and is accompanied by a portfolio case containing 3 I maps. Up to the present time surveys of areas in 2 1 states and territories have been reported, the total area amounting to 15,871 square miles. T h e soils met with have been grouped into 17 general classes as follows : Stony loam, gravel, gravelly loam, dunesand, sandhill, sand, fine sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, shale loam, silt loam, clay loam, clay, adobe, meadow, and muck and swamp. These represent 180 or more types as recognized by the bureau. Some tentative conclusions are drawn as to the adaptability of different classes of soil to various crops. For instance, in the areas so far'surveyed 9 per cent. of the stony loam, 24 per cent. of the sand, 5 5 per cent. of the fine sand, 1 2 per cent. of the sandy loam, 2 per cent. of the fine sandy loam, and 2 per cent. of the loam have been found adapted to the growth of peaches, and this crop has not been reported as important on any of the other classes of soil. During 1901, districts located in California, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New
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Review of Anrerican Chemical Research.
York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, and having an aggregate area of 10,246 square miles, were surveyed and mapped at a total cost of $3. j o per square mile. T h e report upon each area deals with the location and boundaries, history of settlement and agricultural development, climate, physiography, geology, types of soil, agricultural methods in use, and agricultural conditions. In different areas other features, such as hardpan, water supply for irrigation, underground and seepage waters, drainage, and reclamation of soils, have been considered. In the western areas, alkali problems have received special attention. In the 24 papers contained in this volume are reported mechanical analyses of 692 samples of soils and chemical analyses of 8 samples of soils, j O of alkali salts, H . IT-.L.4WSON. and 34 of waters.
Phosphates. BY H. J . PATTENSO?;. Pa. &bl. Agv. Bull. No. gg, 87 pp.--This is a rather full discussion of the different sources and forms of phosphoric acid used in agriculture and their methods of preparation and application. T h e bulletin includes the results of experimeiits conducted by the author at the Maryland Experiment Station. T h e author considers that much of the practice now followed in the use of phosphates is not founded upon facts. Soils should be kept well supplied with organic matter in order to secure a full utilization of phosphates by plants. Soine crops have a much greater ability than others to use crude or insoluble phosphates. T h e availability of phosphates is increased by the presence of lime. Iron and alumina phosphates have a much greater fertilizing value than is generally considered. The value of available phosphoric acid in fertilizers is not dependent upon its source. Certain classes of phosphates have a greater availability than is shown by official methods of H . TI'. LA^-sos. analysis. The Value of Barnyard Manure. BY C . E. THORNE AND J . F. HICKMAN.Ohio Agr. Expt. Sta. Buil. N o . r34, pp. 89IOI .-Several experiments are reported from which it is concluded that it will pay well to give more attention than is ordinarily done to the preservation of barnyard manure. T h e loss of ammonia may be reduced by treating the maiiure with kainit or gypsum. This same purpose may probabk be accomplished as effectively by acid phosphate or the untreated rock, which materials have the advantage over gypsum or kainit of additlg the constituent most deficient in the manure. While acid phosphate gives the best results it is thought that the finely ground rock, if mixed early with the manure, may prove an economical substitute. H. W . LAWSON.
Agricultural Chemzstry .
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The River Irrigating Waters of Arizona-Their Character and Effects. BY R. H. FORBES,A&. Agr. Expt. S f a . Bull. No. 4 4 , pp. 147--214.-A systematic study begun in 1899, of the waters of the Salt, Gila, and Colorado Rivers is reported, together with analyses of a number of samples from other sources. Determinations were made of the amount and fertilizing value of the silts and the amount and character of the soluble salts. Great variations were observed in the quality of the water for irrigation purposes, the silt and salt content depending upon a nuniber of conditions, such as the nature and condition of the watershed and t h e amount and location of the rainfall. Mention is made of flooding and drainage for the removal of alkali salts and of deep irrigation followed by thorough cultivation for lessening the accumulation of alkali at the surface where salty irrigation waters are used. H. W. LAWSON. A Soil Study. IV. Ground Water. BY U '. P. HEADDEN. Colo. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bull. No 7 2 , 47 pp.-Previous parts of this study deal with the growth and composition of sugar.beets as affected by alkali and the composition and physical condition of the soil as affected by the culture of the crop. T h e present bulletin reports a study of the groun'd water with special reference to soluble salts. Numerous analyses are given and many points are emphasized in the discussion. Changes in the water plane not due to rainfall or irrigation were observed and attributed to atmospheric conditions. Chlorides and nitrates in the ground water bore no definite relation to the total solids. I t was hoped that the determinations of chlorine might throw some light upon the movement of alkali salts in the soil, but no general deductions were considered as justified by the results. T h e solids in the ground water differed in composition from the alkali incrustation from the same soil. T h e ground water also differed from the drain water and from the solution obtained by exhausting the soil with distilled water. T h e upper portions of the ground water contained more solids than deeper portions and the salts varied in their relative quantities. No general conclusions are drawn from the study as a whole. H. W. LAWSON. The Influence of Preservatives upon the Food Value of Ililk. BY C. F. DOANEA N D T.M. PRICE. Md. Agr. Expt. S a . Bull. No. 86, pp. I j-G4.-This bulletin discusses the use and effect of preservatives in food, especially in milk, the literature of the subject being reviewed, and experimental work a t the station covering a period of two years being reported. T h e experiments a t the station were conducted with calves and were designed to determine the digestibility of milk preserved with boric acid ( I : I ,ooo), borax ( I : 675), salicylic acid ( I : I ,000) , and formal-
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Review of American Chemical Research.
dehyde ( I : IO,OOO>. As would appear from the results, boric acid, borax, and salicylic acid lessened the digestibility of the milk, which fact is considered sufficient to condemn them. T h e effect of salicylic acid was most marked, the difference in t.he digestibility of preserved and unpreserved milk being 3.48 per cent. of protein, aiid 4.56 per cent. of fat. Milk preserved with formaldehyde, on the other hand, was more digestible, the difference being 1.31 per cent. of protei'n and 0.99 per cent. of fat. I n view of the varying results that have been obtained, the authors find it difficult to draw definite conclusions in regard to the use of preservatives. They consider, however, that until more definite knowledge to the contrary is obtained, the safest course to pursue is to discourage the use of preservatives in milk i n every way possible. H . \Y.I,xwsos.
ilanufacture of Table Syrup from Sugar-Cane. BY H. W. U. S . D e j f . Agr., Bureau of Cheni.. B7dl. No. 7 0 , 32 pp.-An account of this industry in the south is based upon personal inspection by the author in Georgia. S o t e s are given on a large number of samples of soils, together with chemical al:d mechanical analyses. T h e soils represeiited were almost pure sand and showed a deficiency in potash soluble in hot hydrochloric acid, and to a less extent a deficiency in phosphoric acid. Analyses of numerous samples of sugar-cane are also reported which show a high average percentage of sucrose and usuall?- a low quantity of reducing sugar. Some of the problems needing further study are the character and adulteration of the syrups now on the market, the use of fertilizers in the culture of sugarcane, the improvement of milling processes, the methods of clarifying and purifying the juice previous to its evaporation, and the production of a syrup of uniform character and its handliiig to prevent fermentation. H. IY.LAWSON. WILEY.
Foods and Food Control. BY W. D. BIGELOW. T I . S . Dej2. Agr., Bureau of Chem., Bull. No. 6 9 , Parts G V ,461 pp.-This is a compilation of the federal and state food laws now in force. H. W. LAWSON. PATENTS. 24, 1902. 703,219. C l a w A. Spreckels and Charles A. Kern, N. Y. Intermediate sugar product. A mass of sugar crystals mixed with a sulpho-oleaginous body. 703,240. Eugene R. Edson, Cleveland, Ohio. Gelatine yieldable liquid. Heats the material containing gelatine and passes JUNE
