lio 



MISSOURI AGRICULTURAt. REPORT. 



In Other words, the presistent use of a complete chemical fertilizer 

 of very high grade, on crops grown in systematic rotation, has brought 

 up this run down farm to such a state of productiveness that it is now 

 producing, as a 7-year average, more than 47 bushels of corn and 55 

 bushels of oats to the acre, 27 bushels of wheat, and more than a ton and 

 a half of hay, and while bringing the land up to this point the fertilizer 

 not only paid for itself, but has paid a high annual rental on the land 

 besides. 



The question will naturally arise, whether the fertilizing materials 

 have been used in this test in the most economical proportions to each 

 other, and especially whether a larger proportion of phosphorus to nitro- 

 gen might not have been employed to advantage. This question is 

 partially answered by one of the plots in this experiment on which, for 

 the last 7 years, the total dressing of acid phosphate has been increased 

 to 480 pounds, and that of nitrate of soda has been reduced to 240 pounds 

 for the rotation, the quantity of muriate of potash remaining unchanged ; 

 this change reducing the cost of the fertilizer to $16.10 for the entire 

 rotation. 



The result is given in table VIII. 



VIII. 



-AVERAGE TOTAL YIELD AND INCREASE PER ACRE FRO.M COMPLETE 

 FERTILIZER WITH MORE PHOSPHORUS AND LESS NITROGEN. 



It will be observed that the total yields from this combination are 

 smaller in everp crop exccj;t the com than from the one carrying nunc 

 nitrogen and less phosphorous. The increase appears slightly larger in 

 the corn and oats crops, but the wheat and hay crops show the opposite 

 effect, and the net value of the increase, which amounts to $21.32, is 

 slightly smaller than from the more expensive fertilizer. 



On the other hand, is it possible to still further increase the nitrogen 

 in the fertilizer to advantage? This question has been put to test on a 

 plot which has received for each rotation 720 pounds of nitrate of soda — 

 240 pounds on each of the cereal crops — combined with the standard 



