lb., so that if only the
matters soluble in water could be taken up by the plant, such soils
could not possess the amount of fertility which they are actually found
to have.

It is to be remembered, also, that in these analyses the experiment is
made under the most favourable circumstances for ascertaining the whole
quantity of matters which are capable of dissolving in water; that
practically dissolved is very different. The recent analysis by Krocker
and Way of the drainage water of soils afford a means of estimating
this. Way found in one gallon of the drainage water from seven different
fields, collected in the end of December--

+-------------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
+-------------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| Potash, |trace |trace | 0.02 | 0.05 |trace | 0.22 |trace |
| Soda, | 1.00 | 2.17 | 2.26 | 0.87 | 1.42 | 1.40 | 3.20 |
| Lime, | 4.85 | 7.19 | 6.05 | 2.26 | 2.52 | 5.82 |13.00 |
| Magnesia, | 0.68 | 2.32 | 2.48 | 0.41 | 0.21 | 0.93 | 2.50 |
| Iron and Alumina, | 0.40 | 0.05 | 0.10 | none | 1.30 | 0.35 | 0.50 |
| Silica, | 0.95 | 0.45 | 0.55 | 1.20 | 1.80 | 0.65 | 0.85 |
| Chlorine, | 0.70 | 1.10 | 1.27 | 0.81 | 1.26 | 1.21 | 2.62 |
| Sulphuric acid, | 1.65 | 5.15 | 4.40 | 1.71 | 1.29 | 3.12 | 9.51 |
| Phosphoric acid, |trace | 0.12 |trace |trace | 0.08 | 0.06 | 0.12 |
| Ammonia, | 0.018| 0.018| 0.018| 0.012| 0.018| 0.006| 0.018|
| Nitric acid, | 7.17 |14.74 |12.72 | 1.95 | 3.45 | 8.05 |11.45 |
| Organic matter, | 7.00 | 7.40 |12.50 | 5.60 | 5.70 | 5.80 | 7.40 |
+-------------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+

Some of the soils from which these waters were obtained had been manured
with unusually large quantities of nitrogenous matters, which accounts
for the large amount of nitric acid, as well as the lime which that acid
has extracted. Dr. Krocker's analyses were made on soils less highly
manured, and the water was collected in summer.

+-----------------------+------------------------------------------------+
| | IN 10,000 PARTS. |
| +-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+--------|
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
+-----------------------+-------+-------+-----