Earth Sciences Commons^™

An Iron Fulgurite From Nebraska, C. M. Riley

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

From the time of the ancients man has been impressed with the force of lightning and its effect on the rocks at the surface of the earth. It was Saussure in 1786 who first wrote a scientific account of a true fulgurite, and a wealth of literature has been written about the subject since this time. Many unusual fulgurites have been described, some of which may not truly be the result of lightning. The iron fulgurite is a strange conical object about 3 inches high composed mainly of tiny spheres and filaments of metallic iron intermixed with a small amount …

Medial Pleistocene Fossil Vertebrate Localities In Nebraska, C. Bertrand Schultz, Lloyd G. Tanner

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

The accurate geologic dating of Pleistocene vertebrate localities which occur outside the glaciated regions has always been difficult. Several new fossil localities in Nebraska now provide data for a better understanding of the paleoecology and faunal evidence of the medial Pleistocene of the Great Plains region.

A fossil quarry, containing the remains of both vertebrates and invertebrates, has been discovered in south-central Nebraska (11/2 miles south and west of Angus in Nuckolls County). The fossils are preserved in Sappa silts in a lime concentration zone (C horizon) of a Yarmouth paleosol. The calcium carbonate appears to have been responsible for …

Influence Of Various Factors On Aggregation Of Peorian Loess By Microorganisms, T. M. Mccalla, Francis A. Haskins, E. F. Frolik

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Soil structure is important in the attainment of adequate aeration for the aerobic microorganisms whose activities maintain such higher plant nutrients as sulfur, phosphorus, and nitrogen in a highly oxidized and thus readily available state. Good soil structure is also necessary for soil and water conservation, Under Nebraska conditions microorganisms and their decomposition products constitute a major source of soil-aggregating agents. The decomposition of crop residues and plant roots is important in the nutrition of these aggregating microorganisms. Other microorganisms, however, also utilize crop residues and plant roots, and they may decompose the aggregating agents as well, so that the …

Granular Fertiliser, C R. Hale

Experimental Summaries - Plant Research

There is general agreement that granulation of fertilisers improves their physical characteristics with respect to handling, storage and distribution in the field. These physical advantages rather tan any established agronomic reason appear to be responsible for the increasing use of granular fertiliser.

Arretotherium Fricki, A New Miocene Anthracothere From Nebraska, J. R. Macdonald, C. Bertrand Schultz

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

A new species of middle Miocene (early Hemingfordian) anthraco-there, Arretotherium fricki Macdonald and Schultz is described based on a cranium from the upper Marsland deposits of Nebraska. The holotype suggests that this genus was derived from the Oligocene genus Elomeryx Marsh.

Classification Of Oligocene Sediments In Nebraska: A Guide For The Stratigraphic Collecting Of Fossil Mammals, C. Bertrand Schultz, Thompson M. Stout

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

The Chadron and Brule formations constitute the White River Group in Nebraska and adjacent states. The Brule is divided into the Orella and Whitney members. The latter members are referred to the Medial and Late Oligocene (equivalents of the European Stampian and Aquitanian), while-the Chadron is equated with the Early Oligocene (Sannoisian). Each unit in Nebraska is subdivided into three parts (Lower, Middle, and Upper; or A, B, and C for the Chadron and Whitney, and A-B, C, and D for the Orella). Key beds such as fossil soils (paleosols), Purplish White beds, and volcanic ash layers, when considered with …

Paleosols Of The Oligocene Of Nebraska, C. Bertrand Schultz, Lloyd G. Tanner, Cyril Harvey

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

Prominent paleosol ("buried" or "fossil" soil) complexes occur at the top of the middle Orella, upper Orella, lower Whitney, and upper Whitney in the Brule formation of Nebraska; and at the top of the "Lower Oreodon," "Middle Oreodon," "Upper Oreodon," and "Leptauchenia" beds in the Brule deposits of South Dakota. These paleosols have regional distribution and appear to be of value in stratigraphic correlations. Major faunal breaks seem to coincide with important buried soil zones, thus indicating that certain paleosols actually represent unconformities. Some of the soils were developed on old land surfaces where deposition was practically at a standstill …

Economic Analysis Of Forage Production And Utilization In Dakota And Dixon Counties, Nebraska, Howard W. Ottoson

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

Soil erosion remains a serious problem on many Nebraska farms despite programs of financial assistance, technical aid, and education by several national and state agencies. One reason that soil conserving adjustments in land use have not been made by farmers is that considerable uncertainty surrounds the economics of soil erosion control on the farm level. This study is an attempt to increase knowledge and reduce some of the uncertainty with regard to the economics of erosion control in a specific area.

Commercial Fertilizers For Winter Wheat In Relation To The Properties Of Nebraska Soils, R. A. Olson, H. F. Rhoades

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

It is the purpose of this bulletin to report the investigations that have been made correlating soil properties and fertilization practices with yields of winter wheat. Since the success or failure of fertilization practices is so dependent on specific soil conditions, an attempt has been made here to further characterize the major soils of the different sections of the state which are devoted to wheat production and to analyze fertilizer practices and results in relation to the soil properties determined. The data are summarized for the four sections of the state designated as southeastern, east-south-central, west-south-central and western Nebraska. These …

An Annotated List Of The Orthoptera Of Nebraska Part Ii The Tettigidae And Acrididae, Harold A. Hauke

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

This is the second of a series of papers on the Orthoptera of Nebraska. It is a continuation of the revision of an unpublished thesis on this subject by the author in 1934.

Ionic Exchange In Soils: I. Measurement Of The Exchange Reaction By Means Of An Ion Exchange, D. A. Brown

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

A Report On Drosophila Collections In Nebraska, David D. Williams, Dwight D. Miller

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

Until rather recently little has been known of the Drosophila species of Nebraska. Sturtevant (1921) lists Nebraska as one of seven states from which no Drosophila had been reported. Patterson and Wagner (1943) show that collections of Drosophila pseudoobscura had been made in the vicinities of Scottsbluff and Kearney, but no other Drosophila species are reported from Nebraska in their publication.

Insect Types In The Collections Of The University Of Nebraska State Museum, Martin H. Muma

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

In 1948 the insect collections at the University of Nebraska State Museum were placed in the care of the author. Prior to that date curatorial duties were assumed or assigned to full time teaching or research staff members. As would be expected under the latter circumstances, the organization of study material and types was neglected in many families and genera. Since 1948 type material, because of its intrinsic value, has received considerable attention. All primary and representative secondary types have been assembled in three museum cases and one slide cabinet for curatorial and study convenience.

A Graphic Résumé Of The Pleistocene Of Nebraska (With Notes On The Fossil Mammalian Remains), C. Bertrand Schultz, Gilbert C. Lueninghoener, W. D. Frankforter

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

I T SEEMS desirable at this time to present a graphic resume of the Nebraska Pleistocene, together with a summary of the stratigraphic sequences of the fossil vertebrates. This report is based on data taken from various publications' in addition to information gathered by the present writers during the past fifteen or more field seasons. Intensive work has been done in the past five years in connection with recovery of paleontological material in the areas where government dams are under construction (Schultz, Lueninghoener, and Frankforter, 1948; Schultz and Frankforter, 1948; Holder and Wike, 1949). The information in the present paper …

Effect Of Stubble Mulching On Number And Activity Of Earthworms, S. P. Teotia, F. L. Duley, T. M. Mccalla

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

A survey of earthworm population under different cropping systems was made under stubble mulch farming and where the residue was plowed under. The influence of earthworms on some of the important physical and biological properties of the soil was studied. Their role in the decomposition of crop residues was also determined.

Microorganisms And Soil Structure, T. M. Mccalla

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

SUMMARY

Laboratory tests were made to determine the effectiveness of different compounds and microbial groups in increasing the stability of Peorian loess lumps against the action of falling water drops. The influence of these on percolation tests in the laboratory was also determined.

Many organic substances-dextrose, sucrose, starch, peptone, cullulose, and gum arabic-did not themselves contribute directly to soil-structure stability, though these substances do furnish energy material for soil microorganisms, which can convert them readily into either microbial tissue or decomposition products that increase soil-structure stability. Lignin, proteins, oils, fats, waxes, resin, and paraffin increased the stability of lumps of …

Leaflet No 1003 - The Salt Problem In The Wheat Belt, G. H. Burvill

Bulletins 1 - 2999

IN the wheat belt of Western Australian bare patches in farm paddocks are often seen. Many are bare, or almost bare, because of too much salt in the soil. The excess of salt prevents the germination of seeds, or kills living plants, because it causes the water supply for germination or growth to be cut off. This salt problem is so serious in places that single farms or groups of farms have been ruined; wheat growing on them has become unprofitable.

An Annotated List Of The Orthoptera Of Nebraska Part I The Blattidae, Mantidae And Phasmidae, Harold A. Hauke

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

This paper is the first of a series on the Orthoptera of Nebraska. In 1932, while a graduate student at the University of Nebraska, the author began a taxonomic study of the Orthoptera, the result of which was an unpublished List of the Othoptera of Nebraska. The list has been studied and revised.

Preliminary Geomorphological Studies Of The Lime Creek Area & Preliminary Report On The Lime Creek Sites: New Evidence Of Early Man In Southwestern Nebraska, C. Bertrand Schultz, Gilbert C. Lueninghuener, W. D. Frankforter

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

PALEONTOLOGICAL and archaeological discoveries were made near Cambridge, Nebraska, by the University of Nebraska State Museum field party in the spring of 1947 (Schultz and Frankforter, 1948, pp. 279-280) . Fossils and artifacts were found in situ at the base of a fifty-foot terrace on Lime Creek (University of Nebraska State Museum Localities Ft-41 and Ft-42) and on Medicine Creek just below the mouth of Lime Creek (Ft-50). Lime Creek is located (Fig. 1) in southwestern Nebraska in the southeastern part of Frontier County. It is a tributary of Medicine Creek which in turn is a tributary to the Republican …

A New Sciurid Of Blancan Age From Kansas And Nebraska, Claude W. Hibbard

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

The collecting of vetebrate fossils from deposits of Blancan age in Kansas, Nebraska, and Texas during the past twelve years has revealed many interesting forms. Some species have been found to have wide geographic distribution. A large sciurid related to the woodchucks has been recognized from both Kansas and Nebraska and is here described as a new genus and species.

Plan Of Development For Valley Gravity Project, Julius A. Krug, Michael W. Straus, Wesley R. Nelson

Lower Rio Grande Valley Curated Material

"The Valley Gravity Project Plan has been formulated to furnish an adequate and dependable irrigation water supply for fertile and productive area in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas, It would also provide drainage works, which would remove the threat of destruction of the economy of the area due to effects of a high water table and salt accumulations. The project works would permit generation of the maximum practicable amount of electrical energy which otherwise would be required to operate irrigation pumping plants. Other incidental benefits include fish and wildlife conservation, recreation and flood control."

Project report no. 5-0619-0

The Goss Lemming Mouse, Synaptomys Cooperi Gossii (Goues), In Nebraska, Edson Fichter, Merle F. Hansen

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

In the course of studies on the cestode parasites of microtine rodents by one of the authors (Hansen), specimens of mice were sent to the United State National Museum where they were identified by Dr. David H. Johnson. Two of these microtines proved to be Synaptomys cooperi gossii (Coues). These specimens of Synaptomys (U.S.N.M. Nos. 282343 and 282344), collected at Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska, on September 16, 1946 (male) and November 20, 1946 (female), respectively, are the first ones to be identified from Nebraska.

The Geologic History Of The Bison In The Great Plains (A Preliminary Report), C. Bertrand Schultz, W. D. Frankforter

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

THE GEOLOGIC history of the bison in North America is a subject which has received little attention to date. Osteological rather than geological problems have been the main concern of most writers who have so far published. If the geologic history of the bison is to be learned, it will be necessary to devote more time and effort in the field in determining the age of the deposits in which various specimens have been discovered and in making more extensive collections from deposits of known age. Unfortunately the majority of the type specimens have been surface finds and little attempt …

Tertiary Coniferous Woods Of Western North America, George F. Beck

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Almost four decades have elapsed since Platen (1908), the German paleobotanist, published his report upon the fossil woods of the western United States. Since then no over-all treatment of these materials has been attempted. although Platen overlooked the Pacific Northwest with its abundance of Tertiary petrified woods. The purpose of this paper is to bring knowledge of the western coniferous woods of the Tertiary up to date. In this effort the writer recognizes that much of this information has been accumulated incidentally in the study of the Russell Petrified Forest series of central Washington, and that it is not as …

Progress Report On The Ground-Water Resources Of The Las Vegas Artesian Basin, Nevada, George B. Maxey, C. Harry Jameson

Publications (WR)

Whether the tremendously increased population acquired by Las Vegas in the years 1940 to 1942 will be retained cannot at present be foretold. However, the valley will undoubtedly be expected to support a considerably larger population than it did at any time prior to 1940, and continually increasing demands on the water supply for innumerable pcacetimc activities must be anticipated. Therefore, a sound evaluation of tho ground water resources of Las Vegas Valley is directly in line with the other wisely progressive planning programs which are now operating or are taking shape in the valley as well as in the …

Nyssa Woods Of The Pacific-Northwest Tertiary, George F. Beck

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

The nyssa gums are one of the modern genera of trees most certainly present among the petrified woods and forests of the Pacific Northwest. Almost every collection from the mid-Tertiary of this region contains a few specimens of typical tupelo or sour gum. These are fine-grained woods which to the unaided eye may be mistaken for conifers.

Ancient Maples Of The Central Washington Region, George F. Beck

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

When I began work on the petrified logs of the general Vantage area some 13 years ago, it became apparent at once that maple-like woods are commonplace in the main (Vantage) raft forest and slightly less abundant in two rooted units of the Yakima Canyon. So widely do these woods range throughout the structural variations found in modern maples that little success has attended the efforts to assign them to nominal species. The extremes can readily be established but few hints exist as to the boundaries between them.

Two Newly Discovered Conifers, George F. Beck

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Two genera of coniferous wood, apparently not listed among the Tertiary woods of the western states, have been recognized in the Percy Train collections from Rainbow Ridge, northwestern Nevada. These two, Tsuga (hemlock) and Chamaecyparis (cedar) bring up to 14 the genera of coniferous wood more or less certainly identified from the period and area in question.

Status Of Tertiary Woods Of The Western States Representing The Juglandaceae, George F. Beck

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

For many years there has been uncertainty concerning the generic status of some fossil leaves belonging without question to the walnut family as a whole. A review of the woods of Juglandaceae as they have appeared in Tertiary horizons of the western states has suggested which genera are present, and in what proportions their leaves (or other remains) might be expected to appear.

Nitrate Production As Affected By Grain-Crop Residues On The Surface Of The Soil, T. M. Mccalla, J. C. Russel

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

The purpose of this bulletin is to present the data on nitrate contents and nitrate production in tests where straw or stalk residues were left on the surface through subsurface tillage, as compared with check treatments where these residues were plowed under or were absent. Nine of these tests were at Lincoln, Nebraska, and one was at the Hastings, Nebraska, Hydrological Project. Two tests were conducted in 1939, four in 1941, and four in 1942.