144 Bulletin 129. 



and cropping, larger plats would be advisable than for a smaller 

 field of even character. The size of the plat must be determined 

 also by the kind of crop that is to be experimented with. For a 

 vineyard it should be larger than for corn ; and for corn larger 

 than for wheat or any similar sowed crop. 



Long and narrow plats are generally considered as better than 

 square ones, or broad and short ones. One advantage gained by 

 long and narrow plats is that if there is unlikeness in strips across 

 the field, all the plats can be laid out so as to run across those 

 unlike strips ; all the plats will then gain or lose alike. 



The best arrangement^ then, is to have plats as narrow as they 

 can be and still carry a reasonable number of rows of the crop, 

 and, unless the field is too large, extending from one side to the 

 other, and across all unlike strips. Such an arrangement would 

 reduce the labor of planting and tillage to a minimum, besides 

 securing the probable advantage of greater evenness in results, 



A set of plats seventeen and one-half feet wide would carry 

 five rows of corn or potatoes, with three and one-half feet 

 between the rows ; there would then be three rows to harvest for 

 the measurement of the crop, the two outside rows being rejected. 

 For cereals, as wheat, rye, barley and oats, plats as wide as could 

 be sown with the drill, with two or three feet vacant spaces 

 between the plats, would answer. For small fruits, plats carry- 

 ing three rows should be taken, the fruit of the inner row only 

 being harvested for the measurement of the crop. 



The fertilizers. — 'Bor phosphoric acid use what is called plain 

 superphosphate. Dissolved bone black comes nearest to this of 

 any fertilizer in the market. One responsible firm guarantees its 

 dissolved bone black to contain sixteen to eighteen per cent of 

 available phosphoric acid. 



For potash use the high-grade muriate, which is always of good 

 quality when obtained from reputable dealers. Only in excep- 

 tional cases would it be better to use the more expensive sulfate. 



For nitrogen, wherever the fertilizer can be applied as a top 

 dressing on the growing crop in early spring and again in early 

 summer, use nitrate of soda, the cheapest nitrogen fertilizer on the 

 market. But if for any reason it is impracticable to apply the 

 nitrogen in this manner, use fine ground tankage or dried and 



