HORTICULTURE. 873 



the soil dries up after such rain it becomes caked and aa hard as brick, being quite 

 unworkable under such conditions." 



In the following discussion wherever commercial fertilizers were used they were 

 compounded as follows: Potassium sulphate 94 lbs., superphosphate L52 lbs., mag- 

 nesium sulphate 32 lbs., and sodium nitrate 97 His. per acre, respectively. It is 

 believed that such a mixture is probably equivalent to a dressing of 1- tons of manure 

 per acre. This mixture was taken as the normal fertilizer. 



Strawberries (pp. 10-26, 91). — Manurial experiments with strawberries at Wbburn 

 have been under way now for 7 years. The results secured during the first :! years 

 have been previously noted ( K. S. K., 12, p. 646). The purpose of the work is to 

 test the effect of general manures on the crop, the comparative effect of natural ami 

 artificial manures, and the comparative effect of small ami large dressings of these 

 manures. London city manure was used at the rate of 12 and 30 tons per acre, 

 respectively, on some plats, and commercial fertilizers equivalent to these amounts 

 on others. Six varieties of strawberries were used. 



The detailed results secured in different years show very great irregularities. A 

 variety yielding two or three times as much as another one year might rank as far 

 below it the next. The manured plats in 1899 and 1900 were less prolific than the 

 unmanured plats, while in 1901 and 1902 the reverse was the case. On the whole 

 the use of fertilizers has increased the average yield over the unfertilized plats for 

 the 7 years about 12 per cent. 



If only the fighter dressings are considered, the yield is about 25 per cent in excess 

 of that of unfertilized plats. Differentiating the fertilizers themselves, the manured 

 plats gave about 2 per cent heavier yield for the whole period than the plats receiv- 

 ing commercial fertilizers, but lighter applications of fertilizers gave about 10 per 

 cent higher yields than where 30 tons of manure or its equivalent of commercial fer- 

 tilizers was used. Applying the larger amount of commercial fertilizers in 2 separate 

 applications increased the average yield during the 7 years only about 1 per cent. 



During the last 4 years of the experiment it was noticed that the fruit from the 

 manured plats was much superior in size and quality to that from the plats receiving 

 commercial fertilizers ami the strawberry plants were more healthy, as shown by 

 the smaller number that died. Not the slightest effect of either London city manure 

 or the commercial fertilizers on the period of ripening or duration of the cropping 

 season could be detected. 



Summarizing the results for the whole period the authors state that "it does not 

 appear that artificial manures present any advantages over dung, and in view of the 

 marked superiority in size and quality of berry obtained from the dunged plots, and 

 the smaller mortality suffered by the plants in these plots, we shoufd certainly, at 

 present, give a preference to the use of dung, wherever the economic reasons against 

 its use are not too strong." 



The application <»/' !i<jui<l manures to strawberries during tin- swelling <</' the fruit (pp. 

 27-34, 91). — This experiment is a continuation of that reported by the authors 4 

 years ago (E. S. R., 12, p. 645) and deals with the effect of watering strawberries 

 during the month preceding the ripening of the fruit with solutions containing 

 different mineral substances. Each plant received 1 qt. of liquid per week for 4 

 weeks in succession. The different plats were treated as follows: (1) Nothing, (2) 

 water only, (•">) water with 3.3 lbs. ammonium sulphate, (4) water with 4.S lbs. 

 sodium nitrate, (5) water with 5.8 lbs. potassium nitrate, (6) water with :'>.:; lbs. 

 ammonium sulphate and 1.4 lbs. crystallized iron sulphate. Each plat contained 

 4.">2 plants occupying one twenty-fifth of an acre. 



The results obtained during the 8 years in which the experiment has been under 

 way are extremely contradictory; for example, the use of water alone resulted in the 

 lowest yields during the lirst 4 years, but gave the highest yields during the last 4 

 years. The potassium nitrate plat, winch gave the highest yield during the first 



