Mar., 1913
T I i E J O U R l V A L OF I , V D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G CHE;k?ISTR Y
form, alongsiclc of one another, and suitably connected so t h a t a rcpcated filtration of water and fibrous liquor would be possible. To the side pipe conductors c1 and ca, pumps can be connected; moreover, for the purposc of cleansing the entire plant and detaching the fiber felt, water can be admitted a t various points. A t certain points alum solutions can be admitted, also electricity for the purposc of loading the fibers, decomposition of chcmicals. ctc. The apparatus works uninterruptedly and ~ Ltomatically. I USES O F CAST SILICON According to Aiptallurgical and Chemical Enganeering, I I , 103, silicon is used in the form of pipes for the conveyance of acid gascs a t a high temperature from stills t o condensers, also in the construction of the condensing batteries themselves, proving
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more efficient than stoneware owing to its high thermal conductivity and ability to withstand sudden changes of temperature. Silicon pipes are also used for the transportation of hot liquid sulfuric and nitric acids, b u t i t can not be used for hydrochloric acid unless the discoloration resulting from the slight solubility is immaterial. It is used as a lining in centrifugal pumps, acid valves and pipes for the elevation of corrosive liquids by corn-pressed air, and for the construction of plows in ore roasters it is said to have proven efficient. Cast silicon is also being ern ployed in the form of shallow pans and pots for the conccntration of zinc chloride solutions, supplanting the enameled stonewarc vessels which are rapidly destroyed. Cast silicon ware is said to be produced in practically all shapes required by the chemical industries, such as, for example, pipes, evaporating vessels, receivers, tile, alembics, crucibles, and pump parts.
NOTE3 AND CORRESPONDENCE
NOTE ON THE INFLUENCE O F THE LIME-MAGNESIA RATIO UPON PLANT GROWTH 13dttot of the Journal of Industrial and Engzneerzng, Chemastry :
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become almost independent of the lime factor in thc soils, ZL: I have pointed out long ago.' When, however, fields are manurcd exclusively, as is often done, with inorganic manure, and only with regard to nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid, thcn thc ratio of lime to magnesia2 present in the soil will certainly cxcrt an influence on development. The yields of cane on different soils with different ratios ol lime to magnesia were compared in the article referred to and the conclusion drawn that there exists no relation between this ratio and the cane production. This conclusion was not justified since no information mas procured as to the manuring and the amount of tankage applied, and the quantity of limc and magnesia thus supplied to the plants in a n easily available condition was not taken into account. Also, yields on di.fcuenf soils with different ratios of lime and magnesia and diflerenf manure cannot be compared; only those on different plots of one and the same soil in which different ratios have been produced are comparable. Further, the opinion that only compounds is contained in soil solutions are available to plants-which certainly erroneous-led to the erroneous conclusion that all plants in the field were independent of the ratio of lime to magnesia. Voelcker in England, Bernardini in Italy, Warthiadi in Munich, as well as the writer and his co-workers, have all experimented with various soils and observed the great influencc of their various ratios of lime to magnesia upon the development of cereals and other plantss
Starting from the poisonous action of potassium oxalate upon the cellular nucleus and chlorophyll bodies, further considcring that the injurious action of magnesium salts on plant cells can be prevented only by calcium salts' and finally regarding the fact that a certain excess of calcium salts over magnesium qalts retards plant growth, I had inferred that a certain ratio of these two bases must be most favorable for plants.2 Many cxpcriments by various authors (chiefly observing cereal and leguminous crops) have confirmed this natural conclusion. n'here contradictory results were obtained it could be easily shown that too great a number of plants in the pots had prevented their normal development, since the roots spreading along the walls of the pots were hindered in their normal functions. Indeed such barley plants had reached only a weight of from z to 6 grams. 4 review of the work done in this direction will soon be published in English, t o which interested readers maytefer. I n the article by Gile and Ageton (THIS JOURNAL, 5 , 33) it has been pointed out that since citrus, pineapple and sugarcane thrive well on soils with varying amounts of lime and poor in magnesia, the ratio of the two bases seems to have no influence. These are but other examples of apparent exceptions in regard to the lime factor. Such exceptions are the lime-loving plants, e. g., the grapevine, as the writer has pointed out r e ~ e a t e d l y . ~ I t was further asserted that it is chiefly the ratio of lime t o other mineral nutrients that comes into play and not that to These plants are capable of precipitating as oxalate the excess magnesia. The literature on the subject disagrces with this of lime carried into the plant by the transpiration process. assertion.i But in order that the lime factor can fully make Thus a n unfavorable ratio of lime to magnesia in the cells is its impression upon the development of plants, the amount avoided since the lime in the form of insoluble oxalate cannot further participate in the physiological processes. Now it is of easily available phosphoric acid is also very important, as well known that the pineapple plant and citrus show a large I have repeatedly m e n t i ~ n e d . ~ SUMMARY amount of calcium oxalate crystals in the cells. I t is not yet known whether cane grown on soils rich in lime and poor in I. Citrus and pineapple are lime-loving plants; an excess of magnesia stores crystals of calcium oxalate. Among the gramilime absorbed by these plants can be rendered innocuous b y neae plants this is only occasionally observed, as with millet. the transformation of that excess into oxalate. Thus a propcrly I t has been stated in the article referred to that cane grows mcll on soils containing only traces of magnesia. I n this case inquiry should have been made as to the manure applied, since tankage, cottonseed meal and stable manure contain so much magnesia and lime in an easily available form that the plants thus manured riecd not depend on these bases in the soil, in fact, 1 Potassium w l t s cdn only retard it. C f . Flora, 102, 110 ' 8 4 .46, Bureau of P l a n t Industry, Wasklngtsn, 1903, p. 43, a n d Landw. Jahrb., 36, 539. BWU. 46, 68-70,
working ratio of lime to magnesia is secured in thc cells when the plants grow on soils too rich in lime. Hence the view, that i o ; Laiidx. Jaiirb., 35, 532. I t is supposed that the availability of both these bases is equal or nearly so. 3 These soils were in our case surely n o t "alkaline" soils. Compare also the confirmation h y Porthrim and Samer in \-ienna and o f Hansleen in Christiania. 4 Landw. Jahrb., 35, 533 ( 1 9 0 6 ) ; Bull. College A g r . , T o k y o , 7 , 3 9 6 ; Flora. 102, 110. 6 Bull. 1. 16,Bureau of Plant Industry, and Landw. Jahrb., 1902, 569, 1
2
Bull. 45,
