1. Palestine Pan, “Nasas”, is found in the coastal plain among red sandy soils and its presence is shown by one or more impermeable layers in the depth.

2. Red sandy soil in which “Nasas” is present is an unstable soil system which is liable to the process of degradation.

3. Observations made on red sandy soil in relation to relief show the transportation of colloidal clay, A1(OH)3 and Fe(OH)3, along the slope and into the depth.

4. The ratio of A1(OH)3 to Fe(OH)3 shows a relatively large downward transportation of A1(OH)3. This increase of A1(OH)3 in the lower layers of the soil is the chief factor in the formation of the impermeable layers.

1. No beneficial effect on the growth of barley or mustard on two types of soil was obtained by the addition of quantities of copper sulphate ranging up to 4 per cent. of the total artificial fertilisers applied. Experiments on English acid and alkaline peats with barley, rye and turnips failed to show the striking results obtained by American workers on saw-grass peat in the Everglades of Florida.

2. Increased fineness of grinding of basic slag in some cases brings about a certain reduction of crop. This may be due to the presence of vanadium in such slags, as experiments show that this element is definitely toxic to plant growth.

3. Lithium compounds are much less toxic than copper to the growth of barley. In some water culture experiments a suggestion of stimulation was obtained with very dilute concentrations of lithium chloride in the presence of nutrient salts, paralleling Voelcker's results with other lithium compounds in soil. Buckwheat is much more sensitive to the toxic action of lithium, and also shows no stimulation with any concentration.

1. The results of an investigation into the yield and composition of pasture grass from certain of the Tree Field plots at Cockle Park have been described. Samples were taken from randomised cutting areas, at intervals of 14 days, during a season of 22 weeks. The experiment was so designed as to admit of the application of statistical treatment to the results.

2. The differences between the mean yields of dry matter from plots under varying manurial treatment could not be regarded as significant, and it is noteworthy that the control plot has not proved inferior to any other. The yields showed marked and significant seasonal variation, the occasion mean reaching its highest values in early summer and in autumn. The correlation of dry matter with rainfall, sunshine and temperature data yielded no significant results.

An account has been given of the lipin, phytin and inorganic phosphorus, and of the protein and non-protein nitrogen present in the wheat plant, from seven weeks before ear emergence until the crop was harvested

The percentages and amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen so combined, together with their distribution between straw and ear, have been discussed.

Relationships between phytin phosphorus and protein nitrogen, and between lipin phosphorus and non-protein nitrogen, have been indicated.

Unreplicated dry-matter estimations on cores of swede are subject to errors caused by deflection of the borer from an intended alignment, and also to asymmetric concentrations of solids. A series of experiments was carried out to determine the extent of error likely to occur through deflections from diagonal and horizontal coring alignments. The coefficient of variability was estimated as about 1 per cent. of the drymatter value for either method. The relationship in dry-matter value of horizontal cores, diagonal cores and whole bulbs was found to be approximately 95:97: 100 respectively. There is little difference in accuracy between the coring methods; in practice the horizontal core is capable of more facile application.

(1) The edge rows give significantly higher yields than the inside rows, indicating thereby the inadvisability of using edge rows in yield trials.

(2) The variation between rows is very much greater than within rows. Different parts of the same drill row should therefore not be regarded as subject to independent error. The present investigation emphatically confirms Clapham's conclusions on this point.

(3) A slight advantage may be gained by the subdivision of the area to be sampled, without additional labour.

(4) In order to study the effect of the structure of a sampling unit of given size five types of unit have been examined. Of these, method (1), in which the “sampling unit” consists of four parallel half-metre lengths on adjacent rows, appears to be the most precise, and may be recommended on the basis of this trial. The half-metres within such sampling units appear to be negatively rather than positively correlated, and a significantly lower sampling error is obtained in consequence.

1. The kneaded plate (plaque moulée) method of detecting deficiency in lime and available phosphate was applied to seventy-nine soil samples taken from the classical Rothamsted arable plots, and the Azotobacter population from some of these samples was estimated by counts on silica jelly.

2. The silica jelly counts showed that Azotobacter cells were very much reduced in number, or even absent in soil receiving 86 lb. per acre or more of mineral nitrogen. It is suggested that this is due to competition with other organisms whose growth is stimulated by added nitrogen compounds.

3. The kneaded-plate test correctly indicaṫed whether phosphate had been applied in soils receiving little or no nitrogen manures.

4. In those soils receiving 86 lb. or more of mineral nitrogen, the kneaded-plate test usually showed little or no Azotobacter growth even in the presence of phosphate and calcium carbonate. This failure was probably due to the paucity of Azotobacter cells originally present in such soil samples. In some cases the test was modified by inoculating the sample with a culture of Azotobacter and it then gave correct indications as to phosphate content.

A survey of some environmental and physiological factors influencing milk yield and an analysis of theories of and experiments on milk and butterfat inheritance have been made.

Further evidence is given of the fact that the proved dairy sire is the outstanding medium through which improvement in dairy cattle breeding may be effected. The need of (1) prolonging the breeding life of such an animal and (2) evolving a scheme for the regular progeny-recording of all dairy sires is emphasised.

The minimum number of unselected daughters necessary to give a reasonably accurate indication of their sire's transmitting ability is six.

A method for determining the total exchangeable bases of carbonate soils is described. The carbonate in a known weight of soil is decomposed by acetic acid and the carbon dioxide evolved is estimated. By further extraction with acetic acid a solution is obtained which contains not only the bases originally in combination with the carbon dioxide but also the exchangeable bases. The amount of the latter is found by difference.

1. The total exchangeable bases, clay, total carbon and carbon oxidisable by 4 per cent, hydrogen peroxide, have been determined for a number of carbonate soils.

2. Assuming soils containing excess of carbonate under natural conditions to be base saturated, equations have been derived connecting exchange capacity with clay and (a) total or (b) “oxidisable” carbon content.

3. When the organic matter of these soils was assumed to have a constant base exchange capacity, no correlation was found between the exchange capacity of their clay fractions and either their silica-alumina or their silica-sesquioxide ratios.

4. Carbonate soils whose exchangeable base content was appreciably less than the calculated values were found to contain either small amounts of calcium carbonate (< 1 percent.), or the bulk of it was present in coarse form.

The main conclusions from the present investigation, which was undertaken in order to obtain an insight into the consequences of the adoption of a 5-weekly rotational close-grazing system, may be summarized as follows:

The lengthening of the interval between successive cuts from a month to 5 weeks leads to a definite, though not very serious, reduction in the digestibility of the herbage. This reduction is most noticeable during the flush period of growth, and the constituent most affected is the crude protein. During the fore-flush and post-flush periods, it appears to be immaterial, from the standpoint of digestibility, whether a system of monthly or 5-weekly cutting is adopted. The falling off in digestibility is not connected with the onset of lignification in the herbage, since the digestion coefficient of the fibrous constituent remains high throughout the season, and it may be concluded that, during a season of favourable rainfall, it is possible by cutting (or close-grazing) at intervals of 5 weeks, to prevent the herbage from becoming lignified and of greatly reduced digestibility. The possibility, however, during seasons of a droughty character, of a premature onset of lignification under a system of cutting (or close-grazing) at 5-weekly intervals is discussed.

Retarded growth and poor bone development resulted from feeding both a ration containing only 0·26 per cent. calcium and with a Ca:P ratio of 0·44:1 and from a ration in which 5 per cent, of maize meal had been replaced by 5 per cent, of ground limestone to give a calcium content of 3 per cent. and a Ca:P ratio of 4:1. The basal or No Limestone group confirms previous results indicating that ground limestone may have a depressing effect on growth.

The authors wish to acknowledge the assistance of Mr G. H. Botham, B.Sc, A.L.S., who did the chemical analysis of the food and bones, Mr J. Lavelle, who made and interpreted the skiagrams, and Mr F. J. Dudley, who statistically analysed the results.