180 Report of State Board of Horticulture. 



4. Yes, cannot get good stand of vines without it. 

 Grower No. 2 writes as follows: 



1. Yes. 



2. Yes, by the use of dissolved rock and potash. 



3. I could not say. 



4. I shall do so in the future. Have just had a lot put up of fifteen per 

 cent phosphoric acid and ten per cent muriate of potash. 



This grower further says: "I am much in favor of the use of phosphoric 

 acid, but I used a bone and potash fertilizer last year applied in the fall 

 with good results. I have taken the lead in yield and large fruits at this 

 place for the past two years." 



Grower No. 3 says in answer: 



1. The yield was twice as great as when no fertilizer was used. 



2. The fruits were firmer where fertilizers were used; in fact, no claim 

 was made by commission men that any of the fruit was soft. However, 

 where the nitrate of soda was used, the fruit was softer than where the 

 other applications were made. Further, my experience in growing straw- 

 berries has convinced me that nitrate of soda is not necessary here. 



3. Where potash and phosphoric acid were used, the fruits were better 

 colored and better flavored than when nitrate of soda was used. I shall 

 never buy any more nitrate of soda for strawberries. Neither shall I use 

 green manure in the soil before the plants are set. 



4. It pays to use commercial fertilizer on strawberries. The application 

 may be made before the plants are set, early in the season after they are 

 set, or during winter when the plants are in a dormant condition. 



Grower No. 4 replies: "I got a bigger yield by using the fertilizer, and 

 the berries were firmer and better color. My neighbor next to me had the 

 same kind of berries (Atlantic), and he said my berries sold from three 

 to six cents a quart more than his did." 



TESTIMONY OF THE CHEMIST. 



When fertilizer experiments are under way, one naturally consults the 

 chemist. One M'ants to know the chemical nature of the soil. The services 

 of the assistant chemist of the Experiment Station, G. W. Cavanaugh, 

 were therefore secured in these Oswego strawberry investigations. He 

 was asked to analyze the soils. He visited the region, inspected the experi- 

 ments, took samples, and submitted the following report: 



If the application of the various forms of plant food was the determining 

 factor in the productivity of a soil we might well expect definite results 

 from experiments with commercial fertilizers. It is the experience, how- 

 ever, of those who have conducted such experiments, that the results are 

 often at variance. Here one substance tends to increase a crop, and there 

 the same substance seems to have the opposite effect. In some cases that 

 the writer has seen, the check or blank plat jielded more than those 

 fertilized. 



When it is a question of restoring or maintaining the productivity of 

 a soil, there are other points to be considered than the application of fer- 



