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small fruits. " Commercial fertilizers are recognized as necessities 

 and are used as freely as good management will warrant." At the 

 close of the first rotation, the following conclusioiis were reached : 



(1) l*otash used alone gi'eatly increased the profits. In this case 

 the net Aalue of increase was e(}ual to 180 per cent on the cost of the 

 nniriat(» of potash i[>iH\. 



(2) Potash in (•<)ml)iiiati()n with nitrogen and })hosi)horic acid, 

 respectively, was also prolitahic, while the combination of nitrogen, 

 phosphoric acid, and potash, though it re(iuired the largest invest- 

 ment, yielded the largest j^rolit — namely, 110 per cent on the market 

 A'alue of the com])lete potato manure used. 



In 1887 the iini)rovement in the value of the sweet potato crop, 

 due to the continued use of potash, varied from 8 to 107 per cent in 

 the dilferwit plats. " In the cases where potash was excluded, the 

 decrease in the value of the second i)otato crop was serious, ranging 

 from 3() to C))) per cent." Muriate of potash caused an improvement 

 of 35 per cent in the ('i-<)p-i)roducing power of the plat on which it 

 was used, as well as a large increase in the net value of the crops 

 produced, ho that the increase in the crop-producing power of the 

 land was gained without sacrifice of any kind. 



General e.vperie/ice of Xea: ■Jer^eij farniers hi the use of potash. — 

 Questions relating to the quantity, quality, and form of potash used 

 and to the results obtained with this fertilizer were sent to a few 

 farmers in each county of the State. 'Vnswers were received from 

 twenty-three farniers, representing ten counties; of these, seventeen, 

 representing nine counties, reported the profitable and continued use 

 of either nuiriate of potash, kainit, or unleached wood ashes. T^velve 

 farmers, i-epresenting eight counties, fa\ored the use of muriate of 

 jDotash, Avhile five, having used both muriate and kainit, were satis- 

 fied that kainit gave the largest returns for the money inA'ested. 

 AMiile these results are only to be accej)ted for the farms and crops 

 represented, they indicate a general lack of potash in the soils of 

 the State and show the importance of soil tests by the farmers them- 

 selves. The Station intends to perform experiments during the 

 present season to further test the efi'ect of potash as nuiriate and as 

 kainit upon corn and })otatoes. As kainit contains from W to 40 

 per cent of connnon salt it is very desii-able to determine what i)ro- 

 l)ortion of its good efi'ects may be due to that substance. In the 

 ju'esent year, therefore, connnon salt will be used on one [)lat. 



Directions are gi\'en for exjjerinients by farniers who may desire 

 to test the needs of tlieii- soil> and <'i'o|)s without further aid ivoxu the 

 Station. It is believed that a plan which includes the study of a 

 single kind of plant food with simple directions will encourage those 

 individual expcrinienls by farmers which are so necessary an adjunct 

 to ex])eriinent station work, ^^'hen the method of work in studying 

 rational fei'tili/.ation is Avell undei-stood " ]>lats may be added for the 

 study c)f the other elements — phosphoiic acid and nitrogen." 



