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AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT. 



FIELD TRIALS WITH FERTILIZERS. 



Ever .since the Station was established in 1879, more or less work 

 has been done in the way of field trials with coniniercial fertilizers 

 and the almost universal experience has been that no marked re- 

 sults have immediately followed the application of such manures 

 especially phosphates. As the result of these trials and the 

 common experience of farmers in the localit}^ it seems reasonable 

 to assume that some peculiarity of the soil in a certain limited dis- 

 trict renders the soluble phosphoric acid almost immediately inert 

 so that the plant can not use it. That this phosphate is finally 

 available to the plant seems almost as certain to us a.s that the 

 plant cannot use it immediately. 



In the .season of 1888 three separate trials with fertilizers other 

 than phosphates were made on widely different localities of the 

 farm and on different crops. The results in general were much 

 the same as previous experience had led us to expect with phos- 

 phates and are given herewith, simply for what they are worth 

 with no attempt at generalization. 



The crops were ensilage corn, clover and timothy mixed, and 

 oats. In all cases four h indred pounds per acre of the fertilizer 

 was used broadcasted, in the ca.se of the corn and oats befere seed- 

 ing and in the case of the grass, on the sod early in" the spring, 

 Tlie plots were in all eases one-tenth acre in area and ranged side 

 by side. 



* Average of Duplicate plots. 



t Yield probably greater from moister situation of plot. 



