FIELD CROPS. 527 



" Phosphorus hastens maturity. Valley land that is slow in maturiuj; a 

 crop can be vei\v greatly benefited by its use. 



"The use of potash, either alone or in combination with other elements, 

 appears to be unnecessarj- in these soils. 



" On thin uplands, the use of an equal njixture of acid phosphate and cotton- 

 seed meal, at the rate of 200 to 300 lbs. per acre, gives very satisfactory 

 results, and has done so for the past 8 years. Two hundred lbs. of this 

 mixture has increased the yield of seed cotton in many instances over 500 lbs. 

 l)er year. On the more fertile soils the quantity of phosphorus may be increased 

 to advantage. 



"Acid phosphate alone, 200 to 300 lbs. per acre, can be used to profit after 

 leguminous orop.s." 



It is noted that in fertilizer and lime tests with cowpeas " one application of 

 lime, at the rate of 2 tons of crushed stone or 1 ton of air-slaked lime per acre, 

 will increase the yield of most legumes each year for several years. Lime will 

 give better results when used under leguminous crops; however, on these soils 

 almost any crop will respond to the use of lime. Ten tons of lime per acre for 

 the contents of the first 7 in. of a soil is considered the minimum amount of 

 lime for a maximum crop production, whereas these soils contain only about 

 4,500 lbs." 



Yields of tests of 15 varieties of cowpeas and 6 varieties of soy beans are 

 given. 



Cultural methods are noted for alfalfa and crimson clover. Cultural methods 

 for Lespedeza clover are described with reference to beneficial results obtained 

 from the use of acid phosphate. Cultural and storage methods for use in the 

 production of sweet potatoes are also given. 



Report of the department of farm crops, I. L. Owen et ax. (Neto Jersey 

 8tas. Rpt. 1913, pp. 391-417, pi. 1, fig. 1)'. — In this report, continuing previous 

 work (E. S. R., 30, p. 333) are given the costs of production of various field 

 crops as derived from carefully kept records in 1913 on the station farms. 



Records of a 9-acre field of alfalfa show the. average cost of producing hay 

 per acre to have been $19.17, the average cost per ton, $5.50, and the average 

 yield per acre, 3.48 tons. Similar items of a 10-acre timothy field are given 

 as $34.05, $8.58, and 2.98 tons; of a 14i-acre field of oats and pea hay, $15.80, 

 $6.83, and 1.6G tons; of a 19-acre field of alfalfa, $12..5G, $5.03, and 2.5 tons; 

 of a 10-acre field of oat and pea hay, $14.50, $9.67, and 1.5 tons; of a 6-acre 

 field of silage, $28.88, $3.32, and 8.68 tons; and of a 24-acre field of silage 

 corn, $29.36, $3.73, and 7.87 tons. 



The total cost of seeding a 14^-acre field of timothy and clover is given as 

 $23.10 per acre. The total labor cost of producing rye and vetch on acres 

 is given as $98.93 and the total income as $296.50. The average cost per acre 

 of a 3i-acre field of rye straw and soy beans is given as $6.15, the cost per ton 

 as $3.40, and the yield as 1.8 tons. 



The total value of the crop from a 13-acre field of soy beans for seed is given 

 as $424 and the cost of production as $207.32. The total cost of seeding a 

 10-acre field of alfalfa is given as $168.42. Data are also recorded for buck- 

 wheat. 



It is noted that the use of 16 per cent acid phosphate in mixing fertilizers in 

 the place of 14 per cent acid phosphate caused the mixture to cake in the 

 spreaders and made it necessary to distribute by hand. 



[Field crops experiments, 19051, O. A. Thompson and J. H. Shepperd 

 (North Dalcota 8ta.. Rpt. EdgeJcy Substa. 1905, pp. 5-16, pi. i).— These pages 

 record results of variety tests with wheat, oats, barley, emmer, flax, corn. 



