127 



obtained tlir(iu};li tluH iiuitluKl of iiivcstijfation, ilic, Htation inukes the following 

 proposition : 



To any fanner who will nndertake to carry out carefully (Ui oats or wheat such a 

 series of box tests as that illustrated in plates I to III, and to send the crops produced 

 to the station for final determinations, the station will furnish free the fertilizer's 

 necessary for the experiment, with instructions for carrying out all its details. 



Ackiiowiedgments are matle to Mr. J. Fremont Hickman, station 

 agriculturist, for valuable assistance in supervising these experiments, 

 and to J. A. Alwood, ftirm foreman, 



General concluKiom. — These experiments seem to justify the conclu- 

 sions [which ap[)l.y to the soils used in these experiments] that — 



(1) " In fertilizing for wheat a much greater crop may be produced by 

 using phosphoric acid and nitrogen in approximately equal quantities, 

 the phosphoric acid being applied in the fall, the nitrogen (if used as 

 nitrate) chiefly in the spring, than by the ordinary practice of using 

 phosphates only. 



(2) "That nitrogen may often, but not always, be omitted from a fer- 

 tilizer for corn without detriment to the crop. 



(3) "That in very many, if not the majority of cases, neither wheat 

 nor corn will return sufficient increase of crop to cover the cost of any 

 artificial fertilizer, at present prices of grain and fertilizers respectively." 



It is believed, however, that the grass or clover following the wheat 

 is much improved by the fertilizers, but whether the loss resulting in 

 the wheat crop is thus compensated for is a question for solution by 

 systematic experiment. 



Analyses and valuation of fertilizers (pp. 04-73). — These include tabu- 

 lated analyses by Prof. N. W. Lord, chemist of the Ohio State Board 

 of Agriculture, and valuations, by the secretary of the board, of two 

 hundred brands of superphosphates and acidulated fertilizers; and forty- 

 seven brands of bone and "untreated" orgauic matter. 



Pennsylvania Station, Bulletin No. 11, April, 1890 (pp. 16). 



Indian corn as a gkain and fodder crop, W. H. Caldwell, 

 B. S. — In Pennsylvania, according to the census of 18S0 for the corn 

 crop, the money value of the ear corn exceeded, and that of the ear corn 

 and stover was double that of the wheat crop. Corn is important in 

 rotation, is a profitable hoed, cultivated, or restorative crop ; helps to 

 keep land free from weeds and to maintain fertility, and particularly to 

 improve the mechanical condition of the soil. To the feeder of animals 

 this crop has a threefold value. The corn meal is fed to beef and dairy 

 cattle ; the stover is more prized as land is more largely cultivated and 

 Western competition grows sharper, making cheapened products neces- 

 sary j and the silage of this crop forms a succulent and nutritive fodder 

 for winter, which is appetizing for the animals and cheaper to grow than 

 roots. 



An experiment was carried on at this station in 1888, to study the 



