EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 



191 



that the beets had about an equal chance. That is to say the beets in the wider rows 

 did not get a growth sufficient to decrease their sugar content. 



It must be remembered, however, that the work of caring for a crop with the narrower 

 spacings of the rows is proportionately larger, inasmuch as there are practically one- 

 third to one-sixth more rows in the field than with the 24 and 21-inch rows. 



From another series of plots, seventeen in all, the same spacing of rows was practiced, 

 giving results as follows: 



The seed for this experiment was planted on June 8, and the fertility of the ground 

 was such that a light yield only could be expected. This result, like the former, shows 

 an advantage in favor of the 18-inch rows, while the 21-inch rows fall but slightly 

 behind, being quite a good deal, however, in excess of the yield from the 24-inch rows. 



An experiment of this nature was conducted in 1900 as reported in Bulletin 188, giv- 

 ing the results in yields of beets slightly in favor of 21-inch spacings. 



Minnesota Experiment Station Bulletin 56 and Nebraska Experiment Station Bulletin 

 61 record experiments slightly in favor of 18-inch rows. 



Considering the extra work involved in the narrowing the space between rows together 

 with the inconvenience and even impossibility of cultivating with large farm horses in 

 narrow rows, it seems as yet full as wise to continue with the rows 21 inches apart 

 at least. 



EXPERIMENTS OF MAXIMUM, MINIMUM AND NORMAL AMOUNTS OF 

 SEVERAL FERTILIZING ELEMENTS WITH AVERAGES FOR THREE YEARS. 



A light sandy soil which had previously been employed for growing a crop of lathyrus 

 sylvestris was used for this experiment. The enormous growth of the lathyrus had 

 left a large amount of organic matter in the soil, so that although the natural fertility 

 of the land was not great, it was well supplied with humus. 



The reader is referred more particularly to the averages for three years which occur 

 in the last three columns of the following table. It will be seen that while there is some 

 relation between the tonnage and sugar content of the crop, high tonnage does not 

 always go with a large per cent of sugar. The actual number of pounds of sugar pro- 

 duced is the final test. The low yield of the unfertilized plots, although accompanied 

 by a percentage of sugar second only to the plot receiving potash and nitrogen, alone 

 indicates that fertilizers of the nature employed exert a beneficial influence upon this 

 crop. There is some incompatibility in the final results, although generally we may 

 conclude that there is a normal point at which applications of any one element in excess 

 of what the plant naturally uses will be employed with loss. In fact, none of the double 

 applications on plots Nos. 3, 7 and 9 show any appreciable gain over the normal appli- 

 cation, plot 5, which is the average of two plots. Leaving out one element entirely in 

 plots 2, G and S results either in producing a low tonnage of beets on one hand, or a very 

 low percentage of sugar on the other. Some interest is attached to the results from 

 plots 4 and 5 where ammonia nitrogen is compared with nitrate nitrogen. These figures 

 are used in another table found on page 194 where the results of several experiments 

 nf this nature are tabulated. From the above we may conclude that it is unsafe to leave 

 out entirely from a given fertilizer any one element, and that it is unwise and unprofit- 

 able to apply any particular element in excess. While the experiment does not bring us 

 to any definite formula of mixing the materials employed, it does suggest the use of a 

 certain balanced mixture which may probably be determined by future and more 

 extensive experiments along this line. 



