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10 <br />A series of indoor tests was made in which Ranger alfalfa, crested wheat- <br />grass, yellow sweet clover, rabbit brush, sagebrush, and Marglobe tomatoes <br />were planted in leached and unleashed Kennecott Utah tailings which had been <br />treated with several chemical soil stabilizers. The group planted in tailings <br />which had been leached to remove soluble salts included a control and four <br />plots treated with Coherex (a resinous adhesive), Peneprime (a bituminous base <br />product), Soil Gard (an elastomeric emulsion), .and Compound SP-400 (organic <br />long-chain polymer). Zn this series, Coherex and Soil Gard stimulated germi- <br />nation and sustained plant growth, whereas Peneprime and Compound SP-400 <br />hindered germination in comparison with the control plot. The second series <br />of tests encompassed plantings in unleashed tailings treated with only Soil <br />Gard and Coherex and compared with a control. On Leached tailings, the <br />effects of Coherex and Soil Gard were more nearly the same; oa unleashed tail- <br />ings, Coherex performed better. The respective germination and survival rates <br />were as .follows,_in percent: <br />Soil Gard <br />Leached...... I 64 I 61 I 55 I 53 <br />Unleashed.... 30 16 14 6 <br />Subsequently, selected chemicals were tested on differing types of tail- <br />ings both indoors and outdoors. From these and allied tests to determine .seed., <br />fertilizer, climatic, economic, time, and other requirements, a general proce- <br />dure was developed. This comprised planting the tailings with a mixture of <br />fertilizer and grass, legume, and grain seeds, watering the plot, and applying <br />a stabilizing chemical-in-water solution. <br />Preliminary tests on several types of mineral wastes indicated that the <br />addition of 45 pounds per acre each of urea and calcium-treble-superphosphate <br />provided sufficient fertilizer to stimulate growth of most plants. Since sub- <br />sequent tests revealed that use of this much urea apparently inhibited germi- <br />nation of legumes, a series of tests was made to determine the effect of urea <br />and calcium-treble-superphosphate ott various legume and grass seeds in quanti- <br />ties of 25, 45, 75, and 120 pounds per acre of each. Comparable tests, in <br />which ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate were added as sources of nitrogen, <br />were also run. In all instances, the legumes showed a progressive decline in <br />germination as the quantity of nitrogen added was increased, regardless of the <br />form in which the nitrogen was present, At 75 pounds nitrogen per acre, most <br />of the legume seeds failed to germinate; and at 120 pounds per acre, legume <br />germination was zero. The grass seeds conversely did not show any inhibition <br />of germination when fertilizers were added in these quantities. The addition <br />of phosphate fertilizer only in quantities up to 120 pounds per acre had no <br />adverse effect on germination. A few tailings required potassium (K), in <br />which case up to 40 pounds of K per acre was added. <br />All seeds used for planting were selected fot compatibility with the par- <br />ticular climatic environment in which the tailings were located. A suitable <br />grain was added to the seed mixture to provide early growth for assisting the <br />chemical in stabilizing the surfrce, The chemical, preferably a resinous <br />