Sulphur as a Factor in Soil Fertility
1. Composite soil samples from Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin were analyzed for total sulphur, total phosphorus, and volatile matter (loss on ignition), and cooperative fertilizer experiments with gypsum were conducted in fields in Indiana and Kentucky. 2. The analytical data show a general relation between the sulphur content and loss on ignition in soil samples from the same soil type or closely related soil types, but the relation is not apparent when different soil types are compared. 3. The sulphur contents in the surface soil vary from 0.0118 to 0.0905 per cent, while the phosphorus contents vary from 0.0360 to 0.3407 per cent. All the upland soils and most of the alluvial soils are low in sulphur. Most of the Kentucky soils and one of the Indiana soils are high in phosphorus. This is undoubtedly due to the influence of the rock from which the soils were formed, as all the Kentucky samples were from soils derived either from the Trenton limestone or the Cincinnati limestone, both o...