New York Agricultural Experiment Station. 53 



This gives some idea of what may be expected in the way of 

 immediate returns from the fertilizing of timothy meadows. Nitrogen 

 and potassium have been more profitably utilized here than when 

 applied to other crops in other experiments described, and yet the 

 profit from their use is largely absorbed in their cost. But the heavier 

 sod resulting from the fertilizing of the hay crop has its effect upon 

 succeeding crops as do also some fertilizer residues; so that the 

 average of several rotations should be considered to give a fair 

 estimate of this method of fertilizing. The results on a succeeding 

 crop of corn as published in Cornell Bulletin 273 are suggestive 

 of the effect on other crops in the rotation. 



It seems probable that at the outset of building up run-down 

 land nitrogen and potassium can be used profitably as a top dressing 

 for timothy meadows, thus producing a good crop and at the same 

 time improving the soil for following crops. For this purpose, 

 though, barnyard manure is better and should be used instead as 

 far as it is available. There is no evidence, however, that this method 

 of fertilizing will in the long run alter general results as to the com- 

 parative value of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers 

 brought out in the long time field experiments. The direct effect 

 of commercial nitrogen is almost all spent the first year, and the same 

 is largely true of potassium; while phosphorus benefits succeeding 

 crops as long as any is left. 



The question of manure. — The effect of farm manure is to supply 

 readily available nitrogen and potassium and to increase the organic 

 matter content of the soil. This tendency is decidedly to lessen the 

 effects of the application of commercial nitrogen and potassium. 

 The amount of phosphorus carried in manure is slight and the actual 

 effect of an application of manure or decaying vegetable matter 

 of any kind is to increase the benefits from an application of phos- 

 phorus fertilizer. Evidence on this point is found in the Ohio 

 experiments on the reenforcement of manure. The manure is 

 applied at the rate of 8 tons per acre once in three years, to the 

 corn crop, in a rotation of corn, wheat and hay. The experiment 

 was carried out on three different fields each year, and the results 

 here mentioned cover 15 years. The average value per acre of the 

 increase in the three crops for each rotation due to the treatment 

 of 8 tons of manure was $23.52. When the eight tons was reenforced 

 with 320 lbs. of acid phosphate the increase was $38.59. Thus the 

 increase due to the acid phosphate was $15.07. On the same farm 

 the increase due to 320 lbs. of acid phosphate per acre each five 

 years in a 5-year rotation covering nearly the same period of time 

 was $16.52 for the five crops instead of three. Other data given 

 later in these pages also illustrate this fact. 



Phosphorus and limestone. — In view of such evidence as has been 

 presented, and until any radically different evidence is obtained, 

 the conclusion seems justified that when growing general farm crops 



