Grassland, like any other kind of vegetation, represents a balance between the requirements of certain plants on the one hand, and the conditions of the environment on the other. It is a result of Nature's demand and supply. An examination of the environmental conditions which determine the existence of grassland is therefore necessary if we wish to make it and maintain it, or to improve its production. Experimental work has demonstrated that grassland is capable of being improved as to grazing qualities, but the results so obtained can hardly yet be said to be capable of being safely applied to areas beyond those actually experimented upon. Few can say with confidence that such and such a treatment will succeed here, and another treatment there. In other words, we have no basis for classifying or valuing grasslands. Assuming that our present outlook is too narrow, too economic, it may be that by taking a broader, if more philosophical view, some progress may be made.

The study of the fluctuations in the amounts of nitrate present in arable soils is important both from the practical and the scientific points of view. The nitrate supply in the soil is very commonly a limiting factor in crop production in Great Britain, so that any process which increases the nitrate supply tends to increase productiveness, and vice versa. From the scientific point of view the interest is even wider. No soil constituent, not even the moisture, shows such great fluctuations as the nitrates, and none is so susceptible to external influences. Further, the nitrate represents the end point in one chain of decompositions and the amount formed over a given period is therefore a measure of the extent to which this particular decomposition has proceeded.

During the last few years a good deal has been heard of the estimation of colloids in soils by means of dye solutions.

The necessity for a method of comparing and, if possible, distinguishing chemically between the different classes of peat, and especially between alkaline or normal peats and acid peats, was suggested by a collection of soils received at the Rothamsted Laboratory.

The method at present in use for the estimation of tannin in apple juice and cider is that used by Lloyd. It is a modification according to Kraus of Löwenthal's method, and consists in titrating the cider directly with potassium permanganate in presence of indigo as an indicator. The permanganate is standardized by means of “pure tannin,” it being assumed that both this and the tannin present in the apple are digallic acid, and have the composition C14H10O9. It is apparent that all the permanganate reducing substances present in the cider will be included in the tannin content; moreover the amount of indigo used is not sufficient to retard noticeably the oxidation of the non-tannins for which purpose it was originally used in Löwenthal's method. The results obtained by this method are therefore only comparative.

The formation of Iron Pan or Ortstein is of fairly frequent occurrence both in Britain and on the Continent of Europe. It is of some economic importance, for where it occurs considerable expense has to be incurred before it is possible to grow a crop of any kind on the soil. The Pan consists of a hard layer of material which has to be broken through for successful cultivation, as it is cemented together in such a manner as to prevent any penetration of plant roots and to limit the circulation of air and water.

In a previous paper to this Journal by one of us it was observed that if a solution of a ferric salt be placed in contact with peat from which all the ferrous salts had been previously removed by boiling with hydrochloric acid, there was an immediate production of ferrous iron in the solution.

The various offals obtained from the milling of wheat for flour have long been used as a feeding stuff for cattle, but their relative value as a food has never been thoroughly investigated.