No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 835 



State College haviug the longest continued fertility experiments of 

 any state in tlie Union. On the left where you see these three 

 piles of hay, three piles on each plot, over here this plot has re- 

 ceived burnt lime at the rate of 4,000 lbs. to the acre every fourth 

 year. That plot has also received G tons of manure every year in 

 rotation, a four year rotation. This centi'al plot has received lime 

 only at the rate of 4,000 lbs. to the acre every fourth year, while 

 (his plot has received nothing. 



These experiments have been in progress for 33 years. We haven't 

 time to stop to draw all the lessons that might be drawn from 

 these experiments. One lesson is that lime in large quantities alone 

 will flo no good whatever as a long term proposition. There are 

 former attempts to use lime which show that it does not maintain 

 the supply of organic fertility in the soil. There will be no benefit 

 whatever from it, because the crops on this farm where nothing 

 has been applied for 33 years are practically just as good as on 

 this where lime has been used. We also learn that the use of 

 any fertilizer which keeps the soil in a highly acid condition is 

 undesirable, tliat tlie judicious use of fertilizer on this land will 

 maintain fertility and re.^ult in crops just as satisfactory as where 

 manure has been used. Now that is a strong statement to make, 

 and yet we can back it up. A few years ago farmers came down 

 and looked over the fertilizer plots and they would go down the 

 alley and look at this plot and say "There is a fine X'^ot; how has 

 it been treated?" "Why, we used manure and lime on that land 

 for 30 or 33 years." Then they would go down and say "Here is 

 a plot that looks just as good, how have you fertilized this?" "We 

 have used commercial fertilizer on this plot." "No manure, no 

 lime?" "No, no lime; nitrate_of soda has gone into that plot and 

 helped to keep the soil SM'eet." Then the farmers would say, "That's 

 all right on a little plot of land but it won't work on a big farm." 

 They used to say that to Dean Hunt, so finally Dean Hunt said, "All 

 right, let's try it out on a big farm;" so he went across the road 

 and renter! a farm. We have been farming that land five or six 

 years and T want to say that we are handling that land successfully 

 without manure; there is no manure used on that farm and hasn't 

 been for five or six years. We harvested there year before last over 

 30 bushels of wheat to the acre, threshed out 37 bushels last year 

 and the fertility is being maintained by the use of commercial fer- 

 tilizers and lime. 



Sometimes we are taken to task for calling attention io this ex- 

 periment on the Mitchell farm. Last year a banker, very much 

 interested in the development of agriculture in this State said, 

 that we were makincr a big mistake. I told him we had no right 

 to keep that fact from the farmers of Pennsylvania. While we 

 want to encourage the livestock industry because it is one of our 

 most important things in Pennsylvania, yet every farmer should 

 understand that by the judicious use of lime and fertiiiz'-rs he 

 ran increase the productiveness of his farm and increase hi? earn- 

 ings. It does not necessarily mean that Pennsylvania is to rbandon 

 the keeping of livestock, but it does mean that every man should 

 study the use of fertilizprs and lime and that the productive .Jovrer 

 of a limestone soil can be mnintained by the use o" fertilisers and 

 lime. 



