140 EXPERIMENT STATION" EECORD. 



were grown under various fertilizer treatments and compared with a standard 

 fertilizer consisting of 468 lbs. of acid phosphate, 36 lbs. of muriate of potash, 

 and 130 lbs. of nitrate of soda per acre. 



" The obvious indications of these results, as compared with those yielded by 

 application of the standard fertilizer, are that substantial diminution in amount 

 of either of the principal ingredients of the plant's food, phosphorus, calcium, 

 potassium, or nitrogen, involve (1) substantial retluction in the weight (dry 

 matter) of the plant in its entirety and in the several periods of growth, particu- 

 larly after setting of the form, and (2) the increase in time period from form 

 to bloom, from bloom to open boll, and in the maturing of the plant. The pro- 

 portion of ash to dry matter at any stage of growth or relative amounts of nitro- 

 gen and mineral ingredients do not appear to be seriously aflfecteil by the amount 

 of the food supply. This would seem to indicate the important fact of the absence 

 of a power in the plant to store food in any particular period of growth beyond 

 the needs of the plant for the period." 



A study of the effect of various fertilizers on the fat content of the .seed pro- 

 duced in these experiments showed that " the season affected notably the weight 

 of the seed and the fat content ; a similar effect is note<l in the total weights of 

 dry matter produced. The fertilizer .seems, however, to affect the relative fat 

 content. Assuming the product from the standard fertilizer to be ' normal,' it 

 appears that lack of phosphorus diminishes notably the storage of fat anil of 

 potassium and nitrogen to some but a lesser degree." 



The field pea as a forage crop, H. N. Vinall {U. 8. Dcpt. Agr., Farmers' Bui. 

 690 {1915), pp. 23, figs. 16). — Tins publication describes several varieties of 

 field peas, discusses methods of cultivation and harvest, and notes their value 

 as a forage crop, alone and in mixture with cereals, as grain, hay, silage, and 

 green manure and cover crops, and in rotations. Brief notes are given on 

 diseases and insect enemies. 



Factors influencing the protein content of soy beans, J. G. Lipman, A. W. 

 Blair, H. C. McLean, and L. K. AV^ilkins (.Ycir .Jersey 8tas. Rpt. 191If, pp. 

 240-2.^5). — To study the influence of the thickness of planting on the protein 

 content of soy beans, 2, 5, 8, 12. and 20 plants were grown per pot in ix»ts of 

 sand and of soil. " In both cases the yield of dry matter increased with the in- 

 crease in planting, and the increase is much more rapid with sand than with 

 soil. The average yield for the 3 pots with 2 plants in soil is 43.85 gm. and for 

 20 plants is 65.8 gm. The average yield for the 3 pots with 2 plants in sand is 

 4.83 gm. and for 20 plants it is 33.67 gm. With soil the percentage of nitrogen 

 in all cases is above 3 per cent, the average being close to 3.5, with a slight 

 tendency to a higher percentage with the thinner plantings. With sand the 

 plantings from 8 to 20 give slightly higher percentages than those from 2 to 5. 

 Here the lowest yield and lowest average percentage of nitrogen is with 2 

 plants per pot." 



In studying the influence of the date of harvest, plants were grown In pots 

 of soil and harvested 6, 8, 10, 12. In. and 18 weeks from the date of planting. 

 " PYom these results it is quite evident that if the beans are to be harvestetl as 

 forage, harvesting from the end of the tenth to the fifteenth week will result in 

 giving the maxinnim protein content. Earlier than the tenth week they have not 

 sufiiciently matured to give the maximum percentage of nitrogen, and after the 

 fifteenth week the loss of the leaves may result in a lower percentage since the 

 leaves are richer in nitrogen than the stems." 



In studying the effect of different fertilizers, pots of soil fertilizt^l with 

 nitrate of soda, calciiim carbonate, acid phospliate, and calcium sulphate were 

 planted to soy beans. The plants were harvested at maturity, .\nalysis showed 

 the percentage of nitrogen to be fairly constant and in no case to fall below 3 



