EXPERIMENT STATION REPORTS. 329 



vide sufficient drainage. However, some of the plats were found to be 

 poorly drained, especially during the wet spring of 1912 and an addi- 

 tional system of tile drainage was put in in the fall of 1912. Additional 

 drainage is still required for a few of the plats in the 200 series. 



Each plat is 311/2 feet by 138.3 and contains one-tenth of an acre, ad- 

 jacent plats being separated by alleys three and one-half feet wide. 



It should be noted that in the fertilizer plate Series I, in which the 

 fertilizer is applied to a corn, wheat, clover rotation, the plats are tri- 

 plicated (in the same series) so that each crop of the rotation is grown 

 eacTi year. Likewise that the rotation and manure experiments in 

 Series II are triplicated in Series III and IV for the same purpose. 



During the spring of 1912, or the second year of the experiment, the 

 north half of all of the plats in Series I and II were treated with ground 

 limestone at the rate of two tons per acre. It was the plan at the time 

 to apply lime to all the plats later if it was found beneficial. However, 

 in 1912, 1913 and 1914 very little if any difference could be observed in' 

 the growth of the clover on the limed and unlimed portions of the plats. 

 In putting in the tile drains in the fall of 1912, lime-bearing subsoil was 

 found so that conclusion was reached that a general application of lime 

 was not essential at that time. In 1915 there was no apparent difference 

 between the limed and unlimed portions of the check plats but on all 

 the fertilizer plats the limed portions produced an appreciably larger 

 growth of clover with less grass and weeds than the unlimed portion. 



In 1916 the effect of the lime applied to Series I was much more no- 

 ticeable than previously and could be readily observed on most of the 

 clover plats. The plats to which fertilizers Avere applied, however, 

 showed a much more marked effect from the lime than the unfertilized 

 plats, the unlimed portions containing more June grass, red top, sorrel 

 and other weeds, and more alsike clover and less red clover, as well as a 

 smaller total yield as compared with the limed portion. - 



In the fall of 1916 carbonate of lime secured from I. E. DuPont De 

 Nemours Company of Bay City was applied in a \evj dry condition at 

 the rate of three tons per acre on all the plats in Series I, II and III. 

 (It is planned to lime Series IV during 1917). A chemical analysis 

 made of several samples taken late in the fall after the application had 

 been made, indicated a slight acidity still, but it may be that this will 

 not be true after lime has been more thoroughly incorporated into the 

 soil. 



The cultural conditions have on the whole been as favorable as could 

 well be provided. Early maturing varieties of corn and the pedigreed 

 varieties of small grain developed by the Experiment Station have been 

 used. The yields of small grain have been very satisfactory, in fact all 

 that could be expected. The yields of clover have been medium to good 

 but somewhat spotted. The corn yields on many of the plats have been 

 rather low, the corn making a slow growth throughout the season and 

 maturing poorly doubtless on account of the rather unproductive con- 

 dition of this field and the fact that no manure has been applied during 

 the rotation. ' 



FERTILIZER EXPERIMENT. 



In this experiment the fertilizer is applied to wheat in a corn, wheat, 

 clover rotation. All the fertilizer has been applied in the fall at the time 

 of seeding with the exception that one-half the nitrate has been applied 



