New Yorn AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 321 
AMOUNTS OF PLANT-Foop Usep Per AcnrrE. 
a 
wae Number of = Phosphorie | Potash Lime | Magnesia! 
Variety. trees an acre. Nitrogen. | acid (Pz Os).| (K20) | (CaO). (Mgo), 
Lbs. ds Lbs Lbs. Lbs 
PAP Oe tos aah rae 35 515 14.0 55.0 57.0 23.0 
TESOL See oe oe One 120 74.5 18.0 72.0 114.0 35.0 
LEYS FOS Sie i gh et Mae 120 29.5 7.0 03.0 38.0 11.0 
Plum Pei syavay esc ete el 2 120 29.5 8.5 38.0 41.0 13.0 
Olimar) ig cere ee 240 45.5 1b.O 5720 65.5 19.0 
FERTILIZERS FOR FORCING HEAD LETTUCE. 
This investigation was inaugurated in the autumn of 1895, the 
object being to determine the comparative value of different soil 
mixtures in forcing lettuce under glass. This work was continued 
for several years, reports of progress being made in bulletins and 
in the annual reports.” 
“A soil mixture which had been used for forcing lettuce with 
good results, composed of three parts rotted sod from a clay loam, 
one part sand and one part stable manure, was at first compared 
with the other. mixtures which were made from it by adding dif- 
ferent amounts of sand. In some later tests the amount of sand 
was still further varied or omitted entirely. In one case sand and 
stable manure were used without any loam.”’ Commercial fertilizers 
were also used on some of the soils, both alone and in combination 
with the stable manure. The effects of the various soil mixtures 
on the following points were carefully noted: Earliness, texture, 
shape and size of head; that combination being considered best 
which gave the best results in all of these particulars. It was 
found that, all things considered, the clay loam with a heavy appli- 
cation of stable manure gave the best results. A heavy application 
in this instance means about 30 per ct. stable manure. The addi- 
tion of nitrate of soda to this soil gave practically no increase in 
growth. With half this quantity, or 15 per ct. of manure, the 
use of nitrate of soda did give a slight increase in growth. In 
every instance the use of barnyard manure on the clay loam in- 
creased the crop. This was probably due to the fact that it bene- 
fited the soil physically as well as adding plant nutrients. On the 
other hand, the use of barnyard manure on sandy loam was dis- 
astrous in its effects, the poorest crop of all coming from this com- 
bination; and the heavier the application of manure, the poorer, 
™ Rpt. 14:108 (1895). 
II 
