20 FIELD AND GARDEN PRODUCTS 



in quantity and coarser in quality than if the blades and culms grew 

 close and fine. In North Dakota there were seen timothy plants 

 which had the bulb so modified that but little further change would 

 produce underground root-stalks. Such plants would be even better 

 foundation stock to start with than that first used in the work above 

 mentioned. This report of progress is here given to illustrate the 

 possibilities in this line of field crop experiments rather than to 

 report finished results. Heads of barbed timothy are observed at 

 very rare intervals in fields. The variation in timothy plants is even 

 more than is observed between the scrubbiest stalk of corn and the 

 stalk which grows tall and produces one or more large ears. The 

 same may be said of other grasses and clovers. (Minn. Bui. 20.) 



In an experiment at Cornell the question was the subsequent 

 influence of fertilizers in the production of timothy hay. The in- 

 crease or decrease in yield of oats enters into the final problem. Two 

 circumstances conspired to make the fertilizers less effective probably 

 than normally in increasing the yield of oats, namely, the fertilizers 

 were applied in the previous year and the seasonal conditions were 

 favorable to a high yield of oats upon the untreated plats. The oat 

 crop is known as a weather crop, that is to say, the crop is sensitive 

 to the temperature and moisture conditions during the growing sea- 

 son, and if these are just right the soil is relatively less important. 

 The residual influence of stable manure was quite marked upon the 

 timothy hay, although it did not greatly increase the yield of oats. 

 In no case did the increase in the yield of oats pay for the cost of 

 the fertilizer applied, and on two plats where only mineral fertilizers 

 were applied there was a decrease in yield. 



After the removal of oats in 1904 nothing was done to the plats 

 until April 5th, when each plat was fertilized as indicated in the 

 table on page 39 except Plat 728, which received all fertilizers desig- 

 nated except "Niterlime." Plats 731 and 732, which had received 

 10 and 20 tons of stable manure respectively in 1903 wer,e left un- 

 treated in 1905. On July 7, 1905, the timothy was mown and on 

 July 12, 1905, the hay was weighed. The following table gives the 

 yields of hay per acre, the increased yield of hay due to treatment, 

 total value of the increase, and the net gain or loss from fertilizers. 

 The total value of the increase is obtained by multiplying the in- 

 crease in yield in tons by $10.60. This, according to the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, is the average December farm 

 price of hay in New York State for the ten years ending 1903. 



Upon timothy the influence of nitrogen was most marked as 

 shown both in the growing crops and in the yield of hay. The 

 results are striking and unmistakable. The average yield of hay on 

 eight plats receiving no fertilizer was at the rate of 2,160 pounds per 

 acre; on three plats receiving only mineral fertilizers 2,890 pounds; 

 on eight plats receiving nitrogen as nitrate of soda 4,676 pounds; 

 and on two plats receiving nitrogen in stable manure 4,805 pounds. 

 An apparent increase in yield of 10.3 bushels of oats and 4,137 

 pounds of timothy hay was obtained from two applications of 320 

 pounds of nitrate of soda, 320 pounds of acid phosphate and 80 



