136 STORRS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 



the fact that the crop on these plots never reached full maturity, 

 owing to a lack of available plant food. Under such conditions 

 the percentages of nitrogen are usually higher. This has been 

 explained in previous reports* and need not be enlarged upon 

 here. 



With one exception the percentages of protein in the crops 

 from the sections of the mineral plots were lower than in the 

 crops from sections of the plots supplied with nitrogen. For 

 this reason, and because the yields of crop were small, the 

 total yields of protein on the sections supplied with only min- 

 eral fertilizers were light. The averages of the yields of dry 

 matter and of protein obtained on these sections are used as a 

 basis in discussing the yields on plots supplied with nitrogen. 



It will be noticed that in the majority of cases the percent- 

 ages of protein in the crop on sections supplied with nitrogen 

 were higher than in the crop from areas where the minerals 

 only were applied; the percentages of protein, however, in 

 many cases did not correspond with the quantities of nitrogen 

 used as fertilizer; in other words, there was not a regular in- 

 crease in protein as the nitrogen was increased. The irregu- 

 larities in this respect were much more noticeable than in some 

 seasons in the past. For example, in the experiment on this 

 field in 1900 the percentages of protein were increased corres- 

 pondingly with the amounts of nitrogen used as fertilizer in 

 every ca.se except where the largest amounts of nitrogen in the 

 form of sulphate of ammonia were used, and the irregularity in 

 this case might perhaps be accounted for by abnormal condi- 

 tions caused by an acidity of the soil. The irregularity in the 

 percentages and yields of protein in the experiments of igoi 

 may have been caused by the unusually wet season. This con- 

 dition was pointed out in the case of the yields of the crop, and 

 it vSeems reasonable to assume that the percentages of protein 

 might have been affected by the same condition. 



By examining the relative yields in the last two columns in 

 Tables 68 and 69 it will be noticed that in many cases on the 

 sections supplied with nitrogen the yields of protein increased 

 more rapidly than the yields of the dry matter. This points 

 to the conclusion that the nitrogen in the fertilizer tends to 



* See discussion of the results of analysis of "good " and "poor" corn, page 2S, 

 Report of this Station for 1890. 



