82 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



of Chemistry an experiment on the influence of certain fertilizers and 

 certain crops on the fertility of the soil. This work has gone forward for 

 the past two years and results will be published in the winter of 1903. 



(e) For three years the Station has been cooperating with the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture in determining the relative value of home grown and 

 foreign clover seeds. As a net result it is safe to report that the largest 

 yields invariably come from American grown seed ; next from the seed of 

 northern Europe, while the seed from southern Hungary and Italy pro- 

 duces plants so weak as to succumb to gleosporum and other diseases. 



II. Sand Lucein. — The plots sown to this valuable legume still main- 

 tain a good stand. Early in 1903 it Avas harrowed rather severely and 

 more seed sown. Unfortunately, in 1901 the west rod of the plot was left 

 for seed and was not cut at all. No seed appeared, although there was an 

 abundance of blossoms. In the spring of 1902 there was a heavy mat of 

 dead tops on the ground which were raked up and hauled oJ5f early to pre- 

 vent smothering the living plants. The stand seemed to be injured by this 

 treatment although by the 14th of May there was a growth eight inches 

 high and promising half a crop. It must be remembered that this same 

 area had been pastured in 1900 and the pasturing may have aided in 

 the injury to the crop. 



The next strip east a rod wide was cut once in 1901 and then left for 

 seed. No seed appeared on this area but the crop was not harvested in 

 the fall of 1901. It was noted in 1902 that the stand was much better 

 and the plants much thicker on the ground than on the plot next west 

 which had not been cut at all in 1901. 



A strip a rod wide next east was cut twice in 1901 and left for seed. 

 Here the stand was good in 1902 and remains good in 1903. Frosts on 

 the evening of May 13th did not seriously affect the sand lucern, al- 

 though it blackened some of the tender leaves. The same frosts materi- 

 ally injured clover on adjacent plots. In 1902 the sand lucern was cut 

 three times, viz. : June 4th, July 21st, and August 5th. Yields of dry 

 hay were as follows: 



Yields per Yields per 

 plot. acre. 



June 4 2,591 lbs. 4,318 lbs. 



July 21 2,830 lbs. 4,716 lbs. 



August 5 1,800 lbs. 3,000 lbs. 



III. The recent investigations concerning the relation of soils to crop 

 production go far to convince experimenters that the available fertility 

 of a given soil cannot be measured by chemical analysis. Other factors 

 enter into the matter which seem to be of equal importance. The presence 

 of humus, for instance, and the microscopic life of the soil are of prime 

 importance in determining its fertility. 



Our experiments have been largely devoted to a study of unusual 

 legumes. A bulletin is ready for publication but is withheld for con- 

 firmation by larger plots. Vetches are new to Michigan and our study 

 to date show that under the name of ''hairy vetch" various species of the 

 vetch are sold, some of which are useful for the production of seed and 

 some for the production of forage only. The farmer has no indication 

 as to which kind he is getting. The matter is, therefore, being care- 

 fully investigated for a bulletin to appear in the autumn of 1903. There 



