FIELD CROPS, 733 



" Consiileriuj? otlier experinieuLs, us well as thesf, the writers make the fol- 

 lowing general rec'oiumeuda lions regarding the fertilization of corn: That so 

 far as i)raeticable stable manure and the remains of soil-improving i)lants, sucli 

 as cowpeas, velvet beans, and crimson clover, be preferred to most kinds of 

 commercial fertilizers. That the amounts of commercial fertilizer be limited. 

 That most of the money invested in fertilizers be used in the jiurchase of 

 nitrogen. That where a pound of nitrogen can be bought in nitrate of soda at 

 the same or at a lower price than in cotton-seed meal, the preference be given 

 to nitrate of soda as a fertilizer. 



'• That in view of results of unpublished experiments to determine the best 

 time of applying nitrate of soda it is reconmiended that it be ai)plied as a side 

 application when the corn plants are between 2* and 4 ft. high. That on soils 

 known to be deficient in phosphoric acid, and especially where heavy aitplica- 

 tions have not been applied to preceding crops, a moderate amount of acid 

 phosphate be employed. That no investment be made in potash as a fertilizer 

 for corn, especially at the high prices which will doubtless prevail in 191."), ex- 

 cept whej-e experience has shown the need of it. 



" For the farmer wishing to make only a small investment in the fertilization 

 of corn the following forumla. for corn grown under average conditions, is sug- 

 gested : 1(X> lbs. acid phosphate, before planting or by the time plants are 2 J ft. 

 high; GO to 100 lbs. nitrate of soda, api)lied when the plants are 22 to 4 ft. high; 

 or, 120 to 2o0 lbs. cotton-seed meal, applied at the same time as the phosphate, 

 may be substituted for the nitrate of soda." 



Local fertilizer experiments with corn in north Alabama in 1911, 1912, 

 1913, and 1914, J. F. Duggar and J. T. Williamson (Alabama Col. Sta. Bui. 

 J82 (1914), PP- 185-211). — This bulletin gives detailed data of experiments cor- 

 responding to the above on each of the princii)al soils of the northern half 

 of Alabama. 



The general conclusions noted above are repeated, except as follows: "On 

 about half of the experiments nitrogen, when employed as cotton-seed meal, 

 gave an incre.ase sufficient to be profitable. Acid phosphate, like cotton-seed 

 meal, gave small increases in most cases, l)Ut under the conditions of the 

 unfavorable seasons these increases were profitable in only about 50 per cent of 

 the experiments. • 



"Nitrate of soda, applied when the corn plants were 2 to 3 ft. high, and on 

 plats which had previously received acid pho.sphate and kainit afforded, in 72 

 per cent of these experiments, a profit above the cost of the nitrate. Moreover, 

 the complete fertilizer containing 100 lbs. of nitrate soda, 240 lbs. acid phos- 

 phate, and 100 lbs. kainit afforded a profit in 71 per cent of these exix^rimeuts ; 

 but when nitrogen in a complete fertilizer was supplied in the form of cotton- 

 seed meal, the resulting increase was sufiicient to afford a profit in only 39 per 

 cent of these experiments. 



"In most of these experiments kainit at the r.ite of 200 Ib.s. per acre was the 

 least profitiible of the fertilizers tested. While this amount of kainit was 

 usually unprofitable when used alone or with only one other fertilizer, yet in 

 many of the experiments it proved slightly profitable as a part of a complete 

 fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphate, and potash. 



Selecting and breeding corn for protein and oil in South Dakota, A. N. 

 Hume, M. Champlin, and H. LooMis (South Dakota Sta. Bui. 153 (1914), PP- 

 59-78, fig. 1). — This bulletin gives results of selection of cora for high and low 

 protein and for high and low oil content of kernels, covering a period from 

 1910 to 1913, inclusive. 



