New York Agricultural Experiment Station. 577 



STATION WORK IN GRAPE BELT. 



IN THE EXPERIMENTAL VINEYARD. 



In the spring of 1909 this Station leased the 30-acre farm of 

 H. B. Benjamin, Fredonia, New York. The soil on the Benjamin 

 farm is of three types: Dunkirk gravelly loam, Dunkirk silt loam 

 and Dunkirk clay loam. The fertilizer experiment was located 

 on the gravelly loam, described as follows: 



The Dunkirk gravelly loam is a deep, open soil quite inclined 

 to leaching. It is formed of alternating layers of varying degrees 

 of fineness. In the Benjamin vineyard it extends to a depth of 

 approximately 20 feet. This type of soil is generally preferred by 

 vineyardists in the Chautauqua Belt, not by reason of superiority 

 in its plant food content nor because grapes are grown better on it 

 but rather because it is naturally well drained and more easily 

 worked. It consequently commands a higher price per acre. In 

 1909 about one-third of the entire acreage of the Chautauqua Dis- 

 trict was located on Dunkirk gravel and Dunkirk gravelly loam. 

 Since then, however, the plantings have been largely on other soil 

 types as practically all land of this type had previously been planted 

 to grapes or other fruits. 



Chemical analyses of this type of soil, collected from the check 

 plats of the experiment, are given in Table II. 



Table II. — Summarized Chemical Analyses of Dunkirk Gravelly Loam Soil 



on Unfertilized Plats, Benjamin Farm, Fredonia, N. Y. 



Calculated to pounds per acre 



THE FERTILIZER SECTION. 



A section of approximately three acres was selected for the test 

 of commercial fertilizers. This area is very uniform and has a 

 gentle slope to the south. A slight depression extends across the 

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