340 Bulletin 241. 



pounds and in 1906, 1937 pounds per acre. Estimating the values 

 as before, the increase would be worth $25.82, or $2.58 per ton of 

 manure applied. 

 It is perfectly obvious from these, experiments, that on the Dunkirk 

 clay loam on which this experiment was conducted and in this climate and 

 under the conditions of this experiment, that stable manure at fifty cents 

 a load, brought much better financial results, than any application of com- 

 mercial fertilizer at current prices for the same. It also demonstrates, 

 that on this soil which has been under cultivation for two or three genera- 

 tions, when stable manure is available, magnificent crops of timothy 

 hay may be produced. Where stable manure can be procured in sufficient 

 quantity, the use of commercial fertilizers is not necessary. On the other 

 hand, these experiments give reason to believe, that when stable manure 

 is lacking or not sufficiently abundant, commercial fertilizers may be used, 

 if used judiciously, with good results. 



For the New York farmer, especially those who wish to raise the 

 maximum amount of hay, a judicial blending of stable manure, legumi- 

 nous crops and commercial fertilizers will probably bring both the maxi- 

 mum yield and the most economic returns. For the farmer who wishes 

 to raise a larger proportion of hay on Dunkirk clay loam, an eight-year 

 rotation may be suggested of hay, five years ; an intertilled crop, 

 such as corn, potatoes, beans, mangels, rutabagas or cabbages, one year ; 

 oats, one year ; winter wheat or rye, one y^ar. Timothy would be seeded 

 in the fall with the wheat or rye and a mixture of red and alsike clover 

 the following spring. In this rotation, stable manure should be applied 

 to the grass land before plowing for the cultivated crop. No fertilizer of 

 any sort need be applied for oats. To the wheat apply commercial fer- 

 tilizer relatively high in phosphoric acid and potash and low in nitrogen. 

 Apply in the spring to each grass crop, just as soon as the grass starts, 

 commercial fertilizers relatively high in nitrogen and low in phosphoric 

 acid and potash. Alixed fertilizers usually contain too high a propor- 

 tion of phosphoric acid and too low a proportion of nitrogen for the 

 production of timothy hay upon the soil and in the climate under con- 

 sideration. It would probably be best for the farmer to buy the separate 

 ingredients and mix them himself. The following mixture or its equiv- 

 alent is recommended : nitrate of soda, 200 pounds ; 16 per cent acid phos- 

 phate, 100 pounds, and muriate of potash, 80 per cent purity, 50 pounds. 

 Whether this quantity should be applied per acre or a greater or less 

 quantity can best be determined from the history of the land and the 

 appearance of the meadow from year to year. In the experiments under 

 consideration, only acid phosphate has been used as a source of phosphoric 

 acid, although experiments at the Pennsylvania and Illinois Stations 

 indicate that finely ground phosphate rock may, in the course of a rota- 

 tion, be equally useful. 



