94 



Our seed was sown in drills fourteen inches apart, at the rate of 

 about two quarts per acre. It was planted May 14th; cut and 

 stooked Sept. ISth, and threshed Oct. 5th and 7th. 



COMPOSITION OF POTATOES AS AFFECTED BY 

 FERTILIZERS. 



It was thought desirable with a view to the study of the effect of 

 fertilizers upon the composition and quality of the potato, to have 

 moisture and starch determinations made in a series of samples 

 taken from all the different plots of some of our soil-test acres. With 

 this end in view, medium tubers of good appearance were selected 

 from the crop of each plot in three of our experiments, viz. : Hadley, 

 Shelburue, and Amherst. The soil in Hadley was a moderately 

 heavy loam of alluvial origin, and last year was the first season it 

 had been under such an experiment. In Shelburne, the soil of 

 glacial origin was a meduim gravelly loam, much drier than the 

 Hadley soil. It is part of an elevated tract of land in a hilly region, 

 and last year was the third in such an experiment. The soil in the sev- 

 eral plots, therefore, must have been thoroughly under the influence of 

 the special treatment to which each had been subjected. In Amherst 

 the soil of alluvial origin, was a medium loam thoroughly well- 

 draineti and inclining to be dry. It was what is ordinarily spoken 

 of as good corn land, with particles so fine that it is not apt to 

 suffer from drought. The past season was the second in a soil-test 

 experiment, and the soil of the several plots, therefore, must have 

 been fairly well under the influence of the special fertilizers used on 

 each. For these determinations, a sample amounting to two quarts 

 was picked up from different parts of the middle row of each plot. 

 The entii'e sample was in each case used in making the determina- 

 tions which should, therefore, fairly represent the merchantable 

 tubers in the several plots. The table below shows the analytical 

 results. 



