114 WHEAT 



the soil, it will doubtless not be necessary to use 

 more than one-half of the theoretically required 

 amount of phosphate in order to insure the pro- 

 duction of normal crops; a heavier application 

 would make larger yields possible. 



Other commercial phosphate fertilizers are super- 

 phosphate, bone meal and Thomas slag. These 

 forms may be used in place of the ground rock 

 phosphate but are rather more expensive. There 

 are other commercial fertilizers which may be 

 used to advantage on some soils but it seems best 

 not to mention them here lest it confuse the 

 reader. 



METHODS OF FERTILIZATION 



If commercial fertilizers are used in growing 

 wheat, they had best be applied to the wheat 

 crop at seeding time by the use of a fertilizer drill. 

 Manure may be applied directly to wheat, prefer- 

 ably as a surface dressing after seeding and often 

 with good results. The writer increased the yield 

 of wheat thirty per cent on upland at the Kansas 

 experiment station, by applying ten tons of well 

 rotted manure per acre as a surface dressing to fall 

 wheat. Coarse strawy manure should not be used 

 for this purpose. A better plan is to supply the 

 necessary plant food for the wheat crop by manur- 

 ing or fertilizing other crops in the rotation. The 

 manure may be profitably applied to corn, alfalfa, 

 clover or grasses, and the clovers and grasses 

 respond well also to phosphate and limestone. 



There is a double advantage in applying fer- 

 tilizer to the legume crop, since it not only causes 



