8 



Muriate of pjtash 16 lbs. 



Plot 8. No fertilizer. 



The acid phospliate in these experiments should con- 

 tain not less than 8 to 10% of available phosphoric acid. 

 If cotton is to be used in tlie experiment, use kainit in 

 the place of muriate potash, taking 48 lbs. If legumes, 

 such as clover, peas, beans or vetch, are to be used, cut 

 the amount of nitrate of soda one-half. It is recom- 

 mended that that crop be used in the experiments which 

 is to be grown in the field the following season, in order 

 that the results of the experiment may be directly ap- 

 plicable. In planting care should be taken to have the 

 plants uniformly distributed over the plots, and dS nearly 

 as possible the same number of plants in each plot. The 

 plots should be treated alike in all respects as to the 

 time and manner of cultivation, and in passing from one 

 plot to another, extreme care should be taken not to 

 mingle the soil from one with that of another. This 

 lasfc caution is particularly applicable, when the plow 

 is used in the cultivation. The harvest from each plot 

 should be accurately weighed and the weights recorded. 

 The importance of keeping a full and accurate record 

 for each plot — the kind and amount of fertilizer used, 

 the system of cultivation, and the harvest yield — cannot 

 be too strongly urged. It will be observed that plots 

 1 and 6 have no fertilizer. These are check plots and 

 are designed to show what the unfertilized soil can do. 

 They will be especially useful in comparatively new soil 

 or in soil that has been previously fertilized, but they 

 should in no case be omitted. 



If these experiments have been properly conducted, 

 reasonable inferences may be drawn from a study of 

 the results as to the fertilizer needs of the soil. Too 

 much importance cannot be attached to the conscien- 

 ces; 



