406 



Studies of fertilizers (pp. 143-149). — Experiments in tlic field and 

 Ibicing house during- 3 years have uniformly shown that liberal manur- 

 ing increases the yield of tomatoes. In order to determine whether the 

 late application of fertilizers tends to decrease j^roductiveness before 

 frost, an experiment was made in 1891 on 34 plats of light, gTavelly 

 loam. Each x)lat contained about one fifty-fourth of an acre, and 

 received 10 pounds of nitrate of soda (at the rate of 540 pounds per acre). 

 On 17 plats the fertilizer was all applied at one time — June 25, 15 days 

 after the plants were set in the field. On the other 17 plats the ferti- 

 lizer was applied at intervals, as follows: 2 pounds June 25, 2 pounds 

 July 13, 3 pounds August 3, 3 pounds August 28. Three plants of the 

 Igiiotuin variety were grown on each plat. '"The results of the exju-ri- 

 niiMit are presented in two tal)les, tlie former showing the yields previous 

 to the last picking and the latter including the last picking (Octobers)." 



Yields of tomatoes with different methods of applying fertilizers. 



C'rii\t provioiis to last pick i ng. 

 To;iil (•n)p 



Lot I, one application (10 pounds). 



Average 

 niinib!>r of 

 fruits pin- 

 plant. 



14.2 

 23.0 



Average 



weight of 



crop i)i!r 



]>lant. 



Pound*. 



Average 

 weight of 



iufuvid- 

 ual fruits. 



Ounce*. 

 5.7 

 5.4 



Lot II, foar applicaUons (10 

 pounds). 



Average 



number of 



fruit-s per 



plant. 



Average Average 



weight of weight <> 



cnipjKT indiviil- 



plaut. ual fruit.' 



13.2 

 24.5 



Pound*. 

 4.6 



8.1 



Ounce*. 



5.6 



5.4 



Tiicse results indicate that up to tlic last picking the single applica 

 tion of the fertilizer gave the best yields, but that the eflfect of the inter 

 niittcnt ai>pli(:ition of tlic fertilizer was to increase the yield at the last 

 ]iieking so materially tliat the entire seastm's crop favored this method 

 of a|>]>lieatioii, 



I'rost held oti' until tho second week of Octoher, so that it happoiierl tli.it tlie 

 iiifcrmittciit fcitilizinj; RUVf ns tho bettiM- result, but bad frost conn' the last of 

 Scptembor. as it fioquoutlv doo.'< at ithm-a, it wouhl have given us th • poorer result. 

 It is therefore not advisable to apply nitrate of soda to tomatoes in this eliniate so late 

 as the latter part of August. Ou the other hand, the tables show that the nitrato 

 gives better results when applied two or three times than when the same amount i-^ 

 applied at once. 



IJefeionce is made to somewhat similar experiments reported in 

 ]>ulh'tin Xo. 79 of the Xew Jersey Stations (see Experiment Station 

 Kecord, \o\. in. ]>. 3H). in which it was found that two ai^plications 

 of nitrate of soda on the croj) m inuring in July and August increased 

 the yield without delaying m iturity. while one h m \ e irl\- apidiratiou 

 increased the yield at tiie expense of mituritv. 



Tn anotherexpevimenton 7f(H-tieth-arrei)latsof stony clay loainof poor 

 ([uality. nitrate of sod i. boneblaek, and muiiate of potash were a]>]»lied 

 singly, two by two. and all three together on Ignotum tomatoes .set in 

 the Held June 12. The results, as tabulated, indicate that in single 



