Ni-W York Agricultceal Experiment Station. 243 



emphasizes the truth that the supply of plant-food is only one 

 factor of crop production. Farmers often remark that " fertil- 

 izers are of little use in a dry year," which is one way of saying 

 that in order for any manure to exercise its maximum influence, 

 other conditions such as temperature, soil texture and water 

 supply must be favorable. It is evident, then, that considering 

 the varying price of the marketable product, the close margin 

 of profit from heavy manuring with fertilizers even with fairly 

 good prices for the crop product, and the vicissitudes of the crop 

 due to the limitations of season, the onion grower runs great 

 risk of diminished profits when he uses 1500 and 2000 lbs. of 

 commercial fertilizer per acre. It should be remembered by 

 growers of all crops that the largest yields may be the least 

 profitable under certain conditions. 



It may be suggested that the consideration merely of the gross 

 weight of onions produced does not fairly represent the full rela- 

 tive influence of the several quantities of fertilizer, because the 

 quality of the crop may be better with the heavier manuring. 

 Data were secured from the experiment of 1901, the fourth year, 

 which bear on this point. Attention is called to the figures of 

 the next table. 



Table VI. — Quality of Onions, Crop of 1901. 



Yield Yield Percentage 



graded pickle of pickle 



Plat. Qaantity of fertilizer. onions. oniona. onions. 



Lbs. Lbs. Per ct. 



1 None 526 79 13 



2 500 lbs 1218 38 3 



3 1000 lbs 1398 27 1.9 



4 1500 lbs 1379 44 3.1 



5 2000 lbs 1434 65 4.3 



The proportion of small onions appears to be less where fer- 

 tilizer was applied than where it was not. but not less with the 

 heaviest manuring than with the lightest. 



In 1898 it was noticed that the onions where no fertilizer was 

 applied weighed less per barrel than those from the manured 

 plats and should be graded mostly as scullions. The barrel weight 

 seemed to be somewhat more where 1500 and 2000 lbs. of fer- 



