888 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



pp. 1S-2G). — These experiments were conducted in the favorable season 

 of 1803 on 12 farms in the southwestern i)art of Scotland. In estimat- 

 ing: profits only the first cutting or main crop of hay was considered. 

 Were the value of the aftermath included, all fertilizers would show a 

 profit. 



Halt was applied early in May at the rate of 768 lbs. per acre, and as 

 no rainfall followed the salt scorched the vegetation. However, the 

 deep-rooted and valuable forage plants on most farms recovered from 

 this injury, while the shallow-rooted weeds, esi)e(;ially the yellow rat- 

 tle (Miwa/M'/tit.s- cr/.9te-^rf7/t) and Holcus lanatuft, were to a considerable 

 extent eradicated by the application of salt. This killing of weeds 

 improved the quality of the hay on the plats receiving salt. Salt was 

 more uniformly effective in augmenting the yield of timothy than of 

 mixtures ot other grasses and clover. 



Nitrate of potash alone, at the rate of 224 lbs. per acre, increased 

 the yield of hay, especially on the plats where there were some clover 

 plants. 



Potash in the form of muriate and kainit proved of practically equal 

 value. 



Muriate of potash, 224 lbs., and nitrate of soda, 208 lbs. per acre, in 

 combination, largely increased the yield of hay and was profitable. 

 Witli the addition to this of 312 lbs. of nitrate of potash the yield of 

 hay very largely increased, especially on the timothy i)lat, the average 

 increase being one fifth of a ton per acre. 



Su[)erphosphate gave variable results on different farms and on 

 difteient s[)ecies of grasses; on clover its action was especially favora- 

 ble, but on the average its application to grass was not profitable. Non- 

 nitrogenous mixed minerals proved beneficial on clover, but only 

 slightly effective ou grasses. Nitrate of soda alone and in combination 

 resulted in a large and profitable increase in the yield of hay. In 

 every case a complete fertilizer returned a profit. 



In a grazing experiment cattle showed a preference for the grasses 

 growing on the i)lats fertilized with nitrates, either alone or in combi- 

 nation. 



Effect of fertilizers on the composition of hay, J. Hendrtck, 

 {Rpt. Expls. Manuring^ 1893, Glasgoic and West Scotland Tech. Col. 

 Glasgow : 1894, pp. 27, 28). — The author's analyses controvert the view 

 sometimes expressed that the hay made from grasses fertilized with 

 nitrates is of inferior nutritive value on account of its large proportion 

 of non-albuminoid nitrogen. The plat receiving a complete fertilizer, 

 in which the nitrogen was in the form of nitrate of soda, yielded hay 

 richer both in total and in albuminoid nitrogen than that from any 

 other fertilized plat. 



When potash was applied alone the percentage of total nitrogen was 

 small, but a large proportion of this was in the form of albuminoids. 



