262 Agkicultural Experiment Station, Ithaca, N. Y. 



oughly incorporated with, the soil before spring — will give earlier 

 fruitage than similar manure applied in tlie spiing. We tried 

 this expex'iment tlie past season, but tlie soil in tlie plots proved 

 to be so keterogeneous in character that we have no confidence in 

 the results. We made a very suggestive testt in this direction last 

 year with nitrate of soda. Upon a certain area the mateiial was 

 applied all at once early in the season (June twenty-fifth), and 

 upon another equal area the same amount of nitrate of soda was 

 applied in four applications from June twenty-fifth to August 

 twenty-eighth. Up to about the fii-st of October, the yield from 

 the first or single treatment ai"ea was tw^enty per cent greater than 

 from the other; but when the last picking (October fifth) was added, 

 the single treatment area fell some eight per cemti behind. " This 

 means," as the bulletin states, " that the intennittlent application 

 of fertilizer in lot 2 was beginning to be felt late in the season, 

 while the single eai'ly application of the same amount of fertiliy.c^' 

 gave quicker results. Frost held off until the second week in Octo- 

 ber, so that it happened that the intennittent feiiJlizing gave us the 

 better result, but had frost come the last of ISeptembei', as it fre- 

 quently does at Ithaca, it would have given us the poorer result.'' 

 This year the frost did come eaiiy (October first), and the inbr^r- 

 mittent fertilizing gave us the poorer result. The figures which fol- 

 low afford a most striking confinnation of the foregoing remarks, 

 and they will bear careful study. Four plots, containing tiftt^^en 

 plants each, were under expeidment. In the first plot, thi-ee pounds 

 of nitrate of soda was applied at one time early in the season (June 

 twentieth); in the second, the same amount was applied in four 

 applications from June twentieth to July twenty -seventh; m the 

 third, this amount was applied at four different times from June 

 twentieth to August twenty-sixth, thereby extending the growing 

 season very greatly; the fourith plot had no fertilizer. The plants 

 were set in the field June fii-st, and they were all Ignotum. Table 1 

 gives the yields until fi-ost (October first). Table II gives the 

 total yield found by adding to Table I all the fruits wliicli 

 remained on the plants after they had been kilh^d by the 

 first frost. 



