316 Bulletin 179. 



Put all the samples together, after having picked out of each one all pebbles 

 over i to i inch in diameter. In a clean box large enough to hold them all, or 

 on some clean boards, mix the samples together as thoroughly as possible by- 

 stirring and shoveling over and over many times; then put four or five pecks of 

 this mixture into a strong sack, or into a box about large enough to hold it, and 

 tie the sack or cover the box tightly. The sack in which the fertilizers were sent 

 must not be used for this purpose. Too much care cannot be taken in preparing 

 this sample so that it shall represent the soil of the whole larger plat to be 

 divided up into smaller ones for the experiments. 



Make a record of the field, as complete as possible according to the following 

 plan: 



I — Location of Field. 



a — Upland. 



b — Lowland. (If lowland, do sidchills wash down upon it ?) 

 c — Hillside, etc. 

 Write answer here — The field was valley land and laid up towards tlie hills. 

 The sidehill did not icash down on it, 



II — Character of Soil. 

 a — Sandy. 



b — Gravelly. 

 c — Clayey, 

 d — Loamy, etc. 

 e — How deep is surface soil? 

 f — Is there a hard pan; if so, how deep is it? 

 g — Does soil hold moisture, or dry out rapidly? 

 Write answer here — T?ie soil teas dark loam and a little gravelly. The surface was 

 from 10 to 12 inches deep icith no hardpan and rather inclined to hold the moisture. 



III — Fertility of Soil. 



a — Does the soil possess the required amount of plant-food, or does it "run 



down" quickly and need enriching? 

 b — Have manures or fertilizers been applied in past years? If so, how 

 often, what kinds and how much per acre? 

 Write answer here — The soil possessed a good amount of plant-food and does not 

 run down easily. It has been manured about once in four years, generally 20 tons 

 per acre previous to raising a crop of corn in rotation. 



IV — History of Crops Previous to 1899. 



What crops have been grown and how much yield per acre, in past years? 

 In case of cereals give the number of bushels of grain and tons of straw 

 or stalks per acre. 

 Write answer here — Had raised in past years a rotation of hay, two years yield- 

 ing from two to four tons per a,cre ; then manured for corn or potatoes, either yield- 

 ing good crops — corn 125 bu. ears per acre, or potatoes 100 to 200 bu. per acre. This 

 followed with oats, yielding from 40 to 60 bu. per acre icith a large growth of straw ; 

 this completed the rotation. This year the ^potatoes were raised after corn which had 

 been manured. 



