ISTew York Agricultural Experiment Station. 



51 



The potassium in 1000 pounds of 4-8-3.5 cost about SI. 65 and 

 has only about returned its cost in the increased yield produced, 

 while the larger amounts of potassium in the two other mixtures 

 have been used at an entire loss. These results are the more 

 significant in that they have been obtained on the sandy soils of 

 Long Island, soils which are commonly supposed to be in special 

 need of potassium. 



Fertilizing meadow lands. — In view of some recent experiments 

 it seems probable that better returns would have been realized from 

 the nitrogen and potassium used in the Ohio and Pennsylvania 

 experiments if a part had been applied as a top dressing for the hay 

 crop. Timothy meadows, at least on poor land, are very responsive 

 to applications of easily soluble plant food, especially nitrogen and 

 potassium. The lesser benefit of phosphorus fertilizers under these 

 conditions may be partly due to relatively smaller demands of timothy 

 for phosphorus and partly to the fact that, applied as a top dressing, 

 it does not leach down into the soil fast enough to be most profitably 

 utilized by the crop. 



The following table shows certain results from an experiment 

 as to the top dressing of meadow land carried on by the Cornell 

 Experiment Station. There were in all 14 different fertilizer treat- 

 ments. The treatment of plat 713 gave the highest percentage of 

 profit on the cost of fertilizer, while that of 725 gave the greatest net 

 profit of any treatment. Plat 731 receiving 10 tons barnyard manure 

 per acre once in 3 years is not considered in the comparison of profits. 



Table V. — Average of Three Years Results in Fertilizing Timothy 



Meadows (1905-07). 



Plat 

 No. 



712 

 713 

 715 



716 

 718 

 719 



725 

 731 



Pounds of fertilizers used 

 per acre annually. 



320 acid phosphate 



80 muriate of potassium 



160 nitrate of soda 



320 acid phosphate \ 



160 nitrate of soda 



320 acid phosphate 



80 muriate of potassium 



160 nitrate of soda 



80 muriate of potassium 



320 nitrate of soda 



320 acid phosphate 



80 muriate of potassium 



10 tons of manure once in three 

 years 



Cost of 

 fertilizers 



per acre 

 annually. 



$2 24 

 1 84 

 4 48 



6 72 

 4 08 

 6 32 



13 04 



Increase 



of hay 



per acre 



annually. 



Lbs. 

 682 

 988 



1,211 



1,614 

 1,079 

 2,111 



4,192 



2,975 



Value of 

 annual 



increase 

 at $10 



per ton. 



$3 41 



4 94 

 6 05 



8 07 



5 39 

 10 55 



20 96 



14 87 



Net 



gain 



per 



acre. 



$1 17 



3 10 

 1 57 



1 35 

 1 31 



4 23 



7 92 



