FTEIJI CHOPS. 



633 



ewt. per acre, produced grain correspondingly inferior as indicated by milling 

 and baking tests. Soil to which magnesia had been applied appeared darlcer, 

 moister, and more sticky. 



Good results followed the spraying of potatoes with Bordeaux mixture, 

 Woburn paste, and Strawsonite. Cutting off the tops of the plants when the 

 leaves became infected appeared to multiply the yield of sound, merchantable 

 potatoes by li and that of diseased tubers by 3^. One cwt. of sulphate of 

 ammonia was tested as a source of nitrogen in comparison with nitrate of soda, 

 calcium cyanamid, and calcium nitrate supplying equal amounts of nitrogen. 



On wheat, nitrate of soda and calcium nitrate produced the most immaliate 

 results and sulphate of ammonia the slowest. The results with different crops 

 are summarized in the following table: 



Yields per acre following nitrogenou.'i top (lres.'iing.<<. 



Fertilizer. 



Sulphate of ammonia... 



Nitrate of soda 



Calcium nitrate 



Calcium cyanamid 



None 



Standard dressing only. 



Wheat. 



Lbs. 

 1,118.0 

 1,336.0 

 1,117.0 

 1,134.5 



823.5 



Barlev. 



Lbs. 

 2,982.5 

 3,001.0 

 3,014.5 

 2,703.0 

 3,051.0 



Mangels. 



Tons. Cwt. 



32 2 



.■?() 16 



40 16 



37 5 



Potatoes. 



Tons. Cut. 

 15 19 



15 9 



15 6 



15 7 



40 



15 



14 



12 



In addition to the- nitrogenous fex'tilizers mentioned in the table all the mangel 

 plats were treated with a standard dressing of 12 tons dung, 3 cwt. superphos- 

 phate, 1 ewt. sulphate of potash, and 2 cwt. salt per acre, while the potato 

 plats received the same application except for the omission of salt. Applica- 

 tions of 3 and 6 cwt. of magnesia or carbonate of magnesia and of 6 cwt. of 

 magnesium lime and of 10 cwt. of ground limestone to potatoes in addition to 

 the standard dressing almost invariably produced yields 1 ton or more less 

 than followed the application of the standard dressing alone. The larger the 

 quantity of magnesia applied the more marked was the decrease in yield. 



Report of cooperative fertilizer and variety tests, 1909, O. II. Laesen {Ber. 

 Lamlbofor. Virks. Planteavl. Sjalland, 1909, pp. 360). — The trials here re- 

 ported were conducted by Danish farmers under the direction of the various 

 county agricultural societies in Zealand. They include 230 fertilizer trials with 

 winter and spring grains, root crojis, grasses and soiling crops, 303 field experi- 

 ments with lime and marl, observations of the residual effects of fertilizers, 

 variety tests with small grains, roots, and legumes, notes on weeds and plant 

 diseases, and on methods and time of sowing grains and root crops. 



Under the fertilizer trials were included 3G series of comparisons of Chile and 

 Norway saltpeter, containing 16 and 13.15 per cent of nitrogen, respectively, 

 applied to mangels, sugar beets, ruta-bagas, turnips, potatoes, and small grains. 

 Chile saltpeter proved su[)erior to Norway salti)eter in its fertilizer effect in 

 the case of all crops except ruta-l)agas. with which in S experiments there was 

 a 30 i)er cent greater average increase from the Norway saltpeter. In 27 series 

 of trials with mangels the yields from the two fertilizers were approximately 

 equal. The results obtained with mangels veriiied tliose of the 3 prectnling 

 seasons when this experiniont was tried by the agricultural societies, but Norway 

 saltpeter has been applied to ruta-bagas only 1 year. 



[Experiments with drought-resistant forage plants], J. .1. Tiiornbkr (.iri- 

 zona Hta. Rpt. 1909, pp. 51 5-5 80). —These pages outline the range conditions 

 during the year. Opuntia phtracnnthn and O. mamillata were discarded from 

 the test of economic cacti i)ecause of slow growth and the liability of the latter 

 to destruction by rabbits. The i)lanting of cuttings was continued with 100 



