Fresh samples of herring and mackerel were collected during respectively February and May 1952. The samples were minced or homogenized and stored at - 15° C during the investigations. Niacin, riboflavine and pantothenic acid were determined by microbiological assays according to procedures described in «Methods of Vitamin Assay» (1951). Panthothenic acid was extracted by digestion with papain + takadiastase, as these enzymes gave equal high values as alkaline phosphatase + chicken liver extract for the present samples. Vitamin B12 was extracted at pH 5 in the presence of KCN and the activity on Lactobacilhts leichmanii determined according to the method of THOMPSON, DIETRICH and ELVEHJEM (1950). Vitamin A was determined by chromatographic procedures. The results are summarized in Tables 1 and 2, which have English subtitles. Both fishes are potential sources of vitamins, mackerel being the richest, especially with regard to niacin and vitamin A.

Phosphorus and potassium were extracted from organic soils by rapid test methods using 0.1 N HCl — 0.03N NH₄F, 0.135 N HCl, and 0.018 N CH₃COOH for phosphorus and 23% NaNOₐ, 0.135 N HCl, and 0.018 N CH₃COOH for potassium. The extractable phosphorus was determined by a colorimetric method and the extractable potassium was determined with a flame photometer, except for the sodium nitrate extracts in which case a cobaltinitrite procedure was employed. A highly significant correlation exists between the amount of phosphorus and potash applied and the amount of phosphorus and potassium extracted from the soil. Applied phosphorus remained in the surface soil while potassium was found in the 12 to 18-inch depth. Periodic green-tissue tests of sugar beets and peppermint revealed a seasonal variation in the composition of water extractable phosphorus and potassium in these plants. Sugar beets contained 1,800 ppm and peppermint 1,000 ppm of potassium when the plants showed foliar symptoms of potassium deficiency. In correlating rapid soil tests, green-tissue tests, and crop yields, it was impossible to establish optimum levels of phosphorus and potassium for maximum yields of sugar beets and peppermint because of the following factors: the physiological nature of the plants, the seasonal variations in plant composition, the differential response of the crops to the fertilizer ratios, and the limitation of the fertilizer analyses and rates of application in this experiment.

Moisture available to wheat, potatoes, tomatoes, and sweet corn was determined by combining moisture retaining characteristics of soils, and depths to which crops exploit the water reservoir. Soil types on which some or all of the crops were grown included Sassafras and Nixon loams, Penn silt loam, and Collington loamy sand. Available water in a unit depth varied with soil type and with horizon in a given soil type. Effective rooting depth of a crop was defined as the maximum depth to which soil continued to lose moisture after a prolonged period of rainless weather. Moisture samples determined gravimetrically were each referred to a standard of 100 cm. water tension to give relative wetness values. When depth vs. relative wetness was plotted, effective rooting depth was a clearly defined point below which insignificant quantities of water were obtained by plants. Effective rooting depth of sweet corn varied with soil type from 11 to 35 inches. It also varied on a given soil with kind and age of crop. When differences in rooting depth were combined with moisture in unit depth, tomatoes had about four times as much water at their disposal in Sassafras loam as in Nixon loam. Wheat had less than half as much as tomatoes when both were growing on Sassafras loam.

The scattering of x-rays at small angles by various rayons of high orientation was investi gated at various degrees of swelling. The occurrence of inflection points or maxima-minima in the scattering curves of these fibers at certain degrees of swelling is explained by interparticle interference in the densely packed condition. The experimental conditions necessary for a reliable determination of particle size (diameter of microcrystallites) for these fibers are derived from the results obtained, and particle sizes determined by this method are given.

The authors repport in this paper, the results of trials by means of which were determined the composition and nutritive value of Capim Jaraguá, Hyparrhenia rufa (Nees) Stop/, cultivated in Piracicaba, in State of São Paulo, Brazil. The experiments were made with hay, silage and also the grass at three different stages: before, during and after blooming. The digestion trials were carried out with sheep, following the technique of MEAD and GUILBERT. The chemical analysis of the forages were made by methods usually employd. The results are in the table XXIV e XXV of this paper.

Wool fibers were steeped in alcoholic potash for different periods of time. The mechanical properties and swelling properties of these fibers were investigated, and the results obtained indicate that the potash treatments do not influence these properties. The Allwörden reaction was studied, and the results obtained show that the reaction time for the characteristic bubbles to appear is determined by the reaction rate between the chlorine and the keratin of the wool fiber. The epicuticle of the fibers, however, must be intact. It is further shown that the results of most staining reactions are dependent upon the properties of the epicuticle.

The activities and mean free bonding energies of Na, K, and Ca on alfalfa, soybean, red top, and Reed canary grass roots were determined by the use of the clay membrane electrode technique. Samples of electrodialyzed roots were saturated with each cation by addition as the hydroxide after the exchange capacity of the roots had been previously determined. Examination of the techniques employed showed that reproducible determinations of the activities could be made after a five minute contact of the clay membrane electrode with the root system. Identical readings from both small and large electrodes indicated that there was no problem in obtaining a representative cross section of the root systems for measurement. There was no appreciable liquid junction potential at the point of contact of KCl bridge with the root system. The cations added were found to be practically all recoverable in a 0.1N HCl extraction without serious contamination from ions within the roots. It was possible to determine a value for the cation exchange capacity of the roots by titrating the electrodialyzed roots with base, stirring, and maintaining the system at pH 7 for ten minutes. Bonding energy determinations on these systems indicate that K is bonded stronger than Na on alfalfa roots, but Na is bonded stronger than K on soybean roots. The legume roots held all of the cations with greater energy than did those of the grasses; however, there was a shift in the relative values obtained for the grass root systems when compared to those of the legumes.

The state of ground water level was determined in forested and cutover soils of central and northern Wisconsin by observations of open wells during the frost-free periods. In nonpodzolic, coarse, sandy soils, ground water possesses considerable mobility, and forest cover effected only a slight lowering of the water level, not exceeding 9 inches. The influence of forest cover was most pronounced in the middle of the growing season; from October to May the water table occupied nearly a horizontal position. In strongly podzolized, morainic soils, however, clear cutting of aspen stands produced an average rise of 14 inches, and converted a reasonably well-drained soil into a semiswamp. In the rainy spring and summer of 1952, this alteration of the ground water table was accompanied by increased run-off, erosion, and damages to roads.

Analytical data for composite samples of soil and of corn leaf tissue collected during two years from four soil types, all soils receiving very closely similar fertility and management treatments, are presented. The area from which the samples were taken is operated as a seed production unit. The sequence of crops is cereal grain, corn, cereal grain, cereal grain, clover and timothy. Commercial fertilizer, 4-12-6, is used and crop residues are left on the land. Exchangeable calcium, magnesium and potassium, and exchange capacity were determined, and tests for free carbonates were made on the soil samples. Total calcium, magnesium and potassium values were determined for the leaf samples. All cation determinations were made by flame photometry. The range in exchangeable cation values for the four soils, except for the carbonate phase of one soil, was relatively small, about 30 percent, yet these soils under uniform management produced corn plants the leaf tissue of which differed significantly in content of potassium and of magnesium. The amounts of these elements in the leaf were modified strongly by the presence of free carbonate in the soil, and by seasonal and/or site influences. The exchangeable calcium: exchangeable potassium ratio in terms of milli-equivalents per 100 grams soil proved to be a much better index of the potassium content of the leaf than did the exchangeable potassium value alone, the latter expressed either as milli-equivalents or as percent saturation of the soil colloid. The calcium: potassium ratio showed a highly significant negative correlation with the amount of potassium in the leaf in both years. The exchangeable potassium of the soil showed a significant negative correlation with the magnesium content of the leaf in one year but not in the other. The potassium content of the leaf showed a significant negative correlation with the magnesium content of the leaf in both years. Further, this correlation was more significant than that of the potassium of the soil with the magnesium of the leaf in both years.

In rugged mountainous country, skid roads used in logging operations cause serious erosion. To determine the important factors in skid-road erosion, and to find ways to reduce this erosion, sample skid roads were studied before, during, and after experimental logging operations on the Fernow Experimental Forest in West Virginia. Erosion was related to grade, length of slope, intensity of use, soil, vegetation, and climatic factors. Degree of erosion was determined for different skid-road conditions. Measures for reducing erosion are recommended for use in locating, constructing, using, and maintaining skid roads. Drainage measures such as diversion ditches and water bars are essential. Spacings for water bars are recommended for different grades.