Excerpt from The Chemistry of Steam-Heated Soils The subject of the effect which heat has upon soils 13 rather promi nently before agricultural investigators at the present time. This subject has received Increasing attention during the last decade, par ticularly from the point of view of sterilization and partial steri lization. There has been much valuable information obtained along the biological lines concerned; also much speculation in this regard without due consideration of the chemical and physical changes in volved, owing largely to the fact that these were not known or but imperfectly understood. The biological factors can not and should not be ignored, but it must be remembered that they are only of sig nificance or interest in the light Of the biochemical changes which they produce in the soil. Moreover, any biochemical changes produced in the soil through other means, be they cultural or by the addition of manures and fertilizers or by the influence of steam heating, in turn affect-the biological activities. The chemistry, therefore, of the soil both before and after heating in, sterilization work becomes of the greatest significance to the biological worker. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.