690 



Agricultural Journal of Victoria. 



should be to demand, before purchase, a copy of the analysis of the 

 article he intends buying. The manures used in the present experi- 

 ments are not picked manures, but represent the general character of 

 the great bulk offering. An article may be offered which at times 

 slightly exceeds or fails to come up to these standards, but anything 

 materially falling away from these standards can be regarded as of a 

 lower money value and incapable of producing results at all equivalent 

 to those which have just been given. 



The Limits of the Pkofitable Applications of Phosphatic Manures. 



The average yield of the 50 fields on Plots 1, 3 and 4, will indicate 

 the probable limits of the profitable applications of superphosphate 

 in the growing of hay crops on Southern soils generally. These 

 quantities refer to applications with the drill ; where applied broad- 

 cast, heavier dressings would probably be required to produce 

 corresponding results. The average yields of 50 fields resulcing from 

 varying quantities of superphosphate with the gains in each case were 

 as follows : — 



Yields of Hay. 



■Average yield of 30 fields, 1902-3. 

 Gain due to manures 

 Average yield of 50 fields, 1903-4. , 

 Gain due to manures 



Unmanured 

 per acre. 



Tons. 



1-66 

 1-46 



1 cwt. 

 Superphos- 

 phate 

 per acre. 



Tons. 



2-18 

 •52 



2-03 

 •57 



2 cwt. 

 Superphos- 

 phate 

 per acre. 



Tons. 



2-32 

 •66 



2-26 

 •80 



3 cwt. 

 Superphos- 

 phate 

 per acre. 



Tons. 



2-44 



•78 



2-28 



•82 



It would appear from these figures that anything above 2 cwt. 

 to .the acre could not be expected to produce material increases in 

 yield. A study of the individual returns of Table A indicates that 

 the average figures may in this respect be accepted as a fair guide, 

 generally speaking, for in only 30 out of the 50 fields of last year are 

 the returns from the 2 cwt. exceeded by those from the 3 cwt., and in 

 the majority of cases where this does take place, the difference is not 

 a considerable one. As, however, field results show a response of 

 Southern soils to nitrogenous fertilizers also, it is probable tl^at 

 perhaps even less than 2 cwt. of superphosphate in combination with 

 a nitrogenous manure might be found advisable on many soils of the 

 South. 



The Effect of Nitrogen. 

 The results under review give striking evidence of the effects pro- 

 duced by niti'ogenous manures on hay crops on Southern soils. The 

 present results in this respect confirm fully those obtained in the 

 preceding year, although the increased yields, taking the average of 

 the 50 fields for the season 1903-4, are not quite so large as they 

 were for the average of 30 fields in the preceding season. The 

 returns for the two seasons were as follows : — 



