96 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



what the height of the stubble was ; probably it was rather 

 short, as straw is too valuable in most parts of Prussia to be 

 left on the ground. These figures were obtained to throw 

 light on what happens under the circumstances that prevail 

 in the culture at Proskau. We want a similar work done to 

 throw light on what happens under our circumstances, and 

 this work should be repeated several years, so that we shall 

 arrive at average figures that can be fully depended upon. 

 Referring to the table, you have of rye stubble and roots, 3400 

 lbs. ; of barley, 1515 lbs. ; of oats, 2200 lbs. ; of wheat, 2240 

 lbs. ; of red clover, 6580 lbs. ; of buckwheat, 1630 lbs. ; of 

 peas, 2400 lbs. ; of lupine, 2800 lbs. 



You see at once the bearing of these figures. You see that 

 when you have got your clover hay off the field, there remains, 

 within ten inches of the surface, twice as much vegetable 

 matter as is necessary to go into the next rye crop, and three 

 times as much as is necessary to go into the next wheat crop. 

 That helps to explain why clover is a good preparation for 

 these crops. Look at the column headed " Nitrogen." In 

 rye, we have 62 ; in wheat, 22 ; in clover, 180 lbs. Take lime. 

 In rye, 69 ; in clover, 246 ; and so on. What I want to show 

 mainly by this table is expressed in the first column of figures 

 — the amount of vegetable matter remaining in the roots. 



Here we have another set of figures which refer somewhat 

 in detail to two of our standard crops — Rye and Clover. 



Rye, before heading, 

 " headed, 

 " in bloom, 

 " ripe. 

 Clover, before bud, 

 " in bud, 

 " in blossom, 

 " ripe, 



In this experiment, due to Heiden, a mass of soil, one foot 

 wide, five feet long, and four feet in depth, was enclosed in 

 boards, then lifted out and the roots removed by careful pick-. 



