FORTY-FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT. 153 



the sweet clover, although the sweet clover runs from eight inches to 

 a foot and half high. But it does not seem to have the energy nor the 

 color that the common clover does. What next year Avill bring forth 

 is another question. I am not in a position to forecast any great amount 

 of success, nor have I any great degree of enthusiasm along the line 

 of growing sweet clover, although there are some fields in our vicinity, 

 Mr. Perkins, for instance, has had very good success in growing the 

 sweet clover on certain fields, hut on some other fields we do not seem 

 to do anything, and is very unsatisfactory. I, am inclined to think 

 that if we spend as much- money in buying potash as we do, for in- 

 stance, as we did on that experiment, |10 in lime and potash — that 

 which had potash, had a good healthy color, while that that didn't 

 have it, didn't amount to much. 



Question: How much did the seed cost? 



Answer : We sowed twelve to fifteen pounds to the acre, and it cost 

 $15 per bushel. 



Question: Was it hulled seed? 



Answer : Yes. 



Question: Did you try inoculating the seed? 



Answer : No. 



Question: What percentage of potash did you say you used? 



Answer: We did not use clear potash— the fertilizers were 10% 

 potash, 10% phosphoric acid, and the other brand was 6% potash, 8% 

 phosprohic acid and 2% nitrogen, but we had a strip right south on 

 which we did not use the potash and phosphoric acid, but where we 

 used only the phosphoric acid and lime, we did not get the result. But 

 on all the fields that we used potash, we got splendid results. The strip 

 on which we did not have any potash was unsatisfactory. 



A Member: I carried out an experiment like that. 1 took five rod 

 strips and then skipped a strip, used both the pliosphate clear, that is, 

 5% phosphate made over in Detroit; used three or four strips of that 

 then took a strip of muriate of potash and used that, then put several 

 tons of commercial sheep manure on it in a dry stage; put checks on 

 these, and I found there was a lot of ditference between the strip I 

 used the potash and the strips that I did not use anything on. And 

 the potasli seemed to be ahead of the phosphoric acid, but not ahead 

 of the sheep manure strips. The sheep manure strips showed better 

 than any of the otlier experiments. I sowed a mixture of clover, red 

 alsike, sweet clover and the alfalfa. The most marked results were 

 with the sheep manure. 



Chairman: We have a gentleman here, Mr. Hopkins, wlio has bad 

 considerable experience — we would like to hear from him. 



Mr. Hopkins: It is always interesting to me to sit and listen to 

 some people tell tlieir experience about what they have tried to do. 

 Standing on llie platform like I am here, I could tell you just as 

 nicely how to do this thing as anything could be. It sounds just as 

 plausible — tickles you all over — but the i)ractical side is what we Avant 

 — not theory. 



"I will go riglit back home'' you say, "and will conduct my farming 

 and fruit-growing operations according to scientific plans, and I will 



