128 



by the purchase of ci'ikU' fcrtilizinji' materials, wa.ste iirodiicts and chemicals 

 than hy the use of the many prepared goods that are bought. The results 

 from the use of all fertilizers are more striking on the hill farms on soils of low 

 tiatui'dJ capacity for production than they are on the river lands which produce 

 larger natural croi>s. 



Soil tests Oil, tJie Station farm,. — These were conducted on twenty- 

 four plats durino- four years (1885-88) to find a "ration" suited to 

 plants o:rown on the soil of the experiments. The fertilizing mate- 

 rials were selected so as to give the same niunber of dollars' worth ($8 

 per acre) on all the plats, regardless of composition. Materials con- 

 taining nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash were used singly and in 

 combination on corn, oats, and grass in a three years" rotation. 

 Details are given in tabular form. In general the results indicate 

 that potash led in effectiveness, with phosphoric acid second and 

 nitrogen last. Similar and even more marked results have been 

 obtained from experiments in this line in other ])arts of the State. 



A part of the experiment is devoted to a comjjarison of nitrogen 

 in the different forms of nitric acid, ammonia, and organic nitrogen 

 in nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia, and dried blood. '' There 

 seems to be very little choice between the three forms of nitrogen 

 used, but it does not appear in this case that nitrogen increased the 

 crop." 



Farm maiiifves rs. artifcinJ fertilizers. — This tells of an experiment 

 to ol)tain light uj)()n tlu^ question, " Can chemical fertilizers compete 

 with farm manures ( "' It was conducted on '2 acres of land adjoining 

 that of the previously described experiment. On one acre farm 

 manure was used and on the other a mixtui'e of dissolved bone-black, 

 muriate of potash, and sulphate of anunonia. In 1885 and 1886 corn 

 was grown on both acres; in 1887, oats; and in 1888, grass. Tables 

 show amounts and cost of fertilizers and amount and value of crops. 

 Comparisons are made between the amounts of potash, j^hosphoric 

 acid, and nitrogen supplied by the soil to crops on unmanured plats, 

 applied in fertilizers and removed by crops. On the assumption 

 that no nitrogen was taken from the air by the soil or by the plants, 

 an assumption to which later research is opposed, there is still, accord- 

 ing to these estimates, an excess of nitrogen in farm manures in 

 comparison with the potash and phosphoric acid. 



Effect of fertilizers on vegetation. — Though both of the acres men- 

 tioned above were seeded and treated in the same way, throughout 

 the season there was an abundance of clover on the acre where com- 

 mercial fertilizers were used and a marked absence of clover where 

 the barn-yard manure Avas used. In another field where nothing but 

 commercial fertilizers had been used for five years and where part 

 of the field was dressed with a mixture unusually rich in potash, the 

 same difference has been plainly observed for two years. The plat 

 experiments show even more plainly that the amount of clover follows 

 very closely the per cent of potash in the fertilizer. A table is given 



