the picture of persistence by using 

 only minimal levels of the major 

 nutrients. 



During 1950, the droughtiness of 

 the Stratham gravelly loam soil at 

 Greenland expressed itself forcefully 

 hy causing almost a complete loss of 

 the seeding of all four of the legumes 

 used: alfalfa, ladino clover, red 

 clover (a perennial strain), and 

 birdsfoot trefoil. The alfalfa persisted 

 best under the severe drought and 

 trefoil was a poor second. 



The same plantings of legumes 

 made on a Paxton loam at North- 

 wood Ridge also suffered from the 

 drought, but ladino and red clover 

 showed up more favorably because 

 of the better moisture supply which 

 the Paxton loam afforded. 

 L. T. Kardos 

 P. T. Blood 



Proper Width and Slope of Beds 

 For Draining Whately and 

 Biddeford Soils 



Open V-shaped drainage ditches 

 were constructed in 1950 to drain 

 an 80-acre field on the University 

 farm. 



Most of the ditches were 100 feet 

 apart but, because there is some 

 question whether this is the best dis- 

 tance, "beds" that are 75, 100, and 

 200 feet wide were made for experi- 

 mental purposes. Height of ground 

 water on these beds have been meas- 

 ured at intervals during the past 

 ^vear, and yield data of the hay grow- 

 ing on these plots is being obtained. 



Water table studies show that the 

 water that falls on the 200-foot plot 

 is not removed nearly as rapidly as 

 on the 75- and 100-foot plots. Water 

 ponded on the surface of the 200- 

 foot plot and killed out the clovers 

 in many places. Both the 75- and 

 100-foot plots had a good stand of 

 clover in contrast to the 200-foot 

 plot. Yield data are not yet avail- 

 able but, on the basis of observation 

 alone, it is fairly certain that the 



yields on the 200-foot plot will be 

 less. 



The initial cost of constructing the 

 large plot was greater than for con- 

 structing two individual 100-foot 

 plots. This, and the fact that water 

 is removed less readily and yields are 

 lower, are sufficient to allow us to 

 make a statement that 200-foot beds 

 are too wide. The 75-foot bed, at 

 present, seems to have no particular 

 advantage over the 100-foot bed. 

 W. Lyford 



Rotted Sawdust Shows Promise in 

 Soil Improvement 



Tests with corn on field plots using 

 treatments of fresh sawdust and 

 rotted sawdust, compared to manure 

 and plots with no organic matter 

 added, have shown best yields with 

 rotted sawdust over a three-year peri- 

 od. Each plot received an equal 

 amount of commercial fertilizer. For 

 two of the three seasons the fresh 

 sawdust plots gave lowest yields of 

 all. 



Composting of fresh sawdust may 

 be done fairly rapidly with mixtures 

 of it with poultry manure or with the 

 latter plus fresh chopped vegetation. 

 Such mixtures after thorough de- 

 composition have produced crops in 

 greenhouse pot cultures which out- 

 yielded control plants growing in 

 good potting soil. High moisture and 

 fairly high temperatures are import- 

 ant factors in rapid composting. 

 S. Dunn 

 L. P. Wolfe, Jr. 

 W. MacDonald 



Soil Types Vary in 



Their Potassium Supplying Power 



Chemical studies made on twelve 

 of the principal soil types in New 

 Hampshire indicate that under virgin 

 conditions the soils vary considerably 

 in their ability to release potassium 

 from their relatively insoluble re- 

 serve supply. In general, the soils de- 



37 



