222 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Plot 5. The only difiference between this plot and the last was that the 

 fertilizer was not applied until the seed had been planted and covered one 

 inch. It was then scattered on and one inch of soil was placed upon it. 

 Level culture. 



Plot 6. Exactly like Plot 5, except that the rows were hilled when half- 

 grown. 



Plot 7. The seed was dropped in the bottom of the six-inch trench. It 

 was covered with one inch of soil and the trench was filled with strawy 

 manure. 



No manure or fertilizer was used except as noted and all the plots had 

 the same care throughout. 



CONCLUSIONS. ^ 



1. Comparing plots 4 and 5 on which fertilizers were iised it is seen that 

 slightly better results were obtained when they were applied over the seed. 



2. When fertilizers were used the best results were from level culture. 

 ( See plots 5 and 6. ) 



3. Wood ashes at the rate of 125 bushels per acre gave a larger yield than 

 1250 pounds of fertilizers. (Plot 3 compared with 4, 5, and 6. ) [In many 

 parts of the state wood ashes can be had for the hauling, and this experi- 

 ment indicates that, compared with chemical fertilizers, unleached wood 

 ashes are worth 20 cents per bushel on oui' land for manuring potatoes. 

 Leached ashes have a varying value, but average nearly half as valuable as 

 the unleached for most crops. It will always be a safe rule to secure all 

 the wood ashes possible before investing in commercial fertilizers. ] 



4. The use of stable manure gave better results than either ashes or fer- 

 tilizers. (Compare 1, 2, and 7 with 3, 4, 5, and 6.) 



5. Manure placed between the rows as a mulch, gave better results than 

 when used either over or under the seed. The last part of the season was 

 quite dry and the result might have been different in a wet season. It 

 should also be noted that for four weeks after planting the season was cold 

 and wet, and the great number of missed hills, particularly noticeable in 

 the plot where manure was placed in the bottom of the trench under the 

 seed, may have been owing to the fact that the manure acted as a sponge, 

 and holding water, caused the seed potato to decay. 



4. WHAT IS THE BEST DEPTH TO PLANT ? 



The soil and season have much to do with the answer to this question, 

 and no one trial can give an answer that will be correct in all cases. 



With a comjjact soil and a wet spring a shallow covering is generally 

 considered best, and our results this year seem to bear out this belief. 

 Duplicate rows were planted at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 inches depth in the follow- 

 ing manner: For the 1 inch covering the trenches were filled with soil 

 within 1 inch of the surface, the seed was then dropped, and covered 1 

 inch. For the 2 inch covering the trenches were filled within 2 inches of 

 the surface, and so on for the other depths. 



The fact that several hills failed to develop makes it difiScult to derive 

 any general conclusion from the results, but with the same number of hills 

 in each, the yield of the rows covered 1 inch deep exceeds the yield of 

 those covered 3 inches both in total and in marketable yield. The rows 

 covered 2 inches are also better than those covered 4 inches. There seems 



