A procedure is described for determining preliminary milling and baking potential for soft wheat breeding lines when only small quantities of grain (a minimum of 16 g) are available for testing. Micro tests for kernel hardness, flour yield, and cookie potential give results which correlate highly with those of larger scale standard evaluation procedures. Sensitivity of these tests indicates merit for genetic studies involving quality and similar experiments, wherein a large number of small samples are evaluated.

The extent to which the release of solutes from soil-mineral weathering processes changes the composition of applied irrigation waters has been evaluated for six arid-land soils. Soil samples were packed in plexiglas permeameters and pretreated to remove readily soluble organic matter, to minimize subsequent microbial activity, and to equilibrate the soil exchange-complexes with the irrigation waters. Soil solutions were displaced from the nearly saturated columns and analyzed at biweekly intervals until a steady composition was attained. The effluent solutions were 3 to 5 meq/liter higher in total salt content than the applied waters. The gains were accounted for primarily by Ca + Mg and HCO₃ ions. The net effect of these changes in solution compositions was a 30 to 90% reduction in the SAR values of the applied solutions. The SAR reductions were greatest for the waters of lower salt concentrations, but were significant even for waters containing as much as 15 to 20 meq of salt per liter. This phenomenon reduces the Na hazard expected with certain irrigation waters, and should be considered in water-quality evaluation.

Lincoln College, the College of Agriculture of the University of Canterbury, sponsors an active research and teaching programme in hydrology, soil conservation and water resources development. The purpose of these Papers is to communicate research results and new developments in these fields as rapidly as possible, and particularly to report the results of projects undertaken in conjunction by the Department of Agricultural Engineering and the New Zealand Agricultural Engineering Institute. From time to time the opportunity will be taken to publish material originating elsewhere in New Zealand with which the College is associated and which could not otherwise be made available. | Volumes 1 and 2 of the Lincoln Papers in Water Resources comprise the papers presented at a Symposium on Water Resources Development which was arranged by the Engineering Section of the 40th ANZAAS Congress and organised by Lincoln College Staff. The volume 1 includes the full text of the following papers: D. N. Body - Hydrometeorological Contribution to the Development and Control of Water Resources, C. J. Wiesner - Estimation the Probable Maximum Precipitation in Remote Areas, J. D. Coulter - On Rainfall Variations in New Zealand, Dr. K. F. O’Conner - The Role of Agricultural Land Use in Affecting Water Quality, J. T. Holloway - Watershed Management - Problems and Possibilities, Walter S. Boughton - Evaluation of Changes in the Land-use Regime.