30 FIELD AND GARDEN PRODUCTS 



were obtained in West Virginia where annual applications of farm 

 manure were made for six years at the rate of 10 to 15 tons per acre. 

 In the latter case, applications were made in the fall as a top-dressing 

 and in the spring the land was harrowed thoroughly and rolled. In 

 addition to giving the best immediate returns, the farm manure im- 

 proved the physical condition of the soil. The meadow produced 

 hay during the six years of the test to the value of more than $36 

 per acre, after paying for the manure applied, while the land at the 

 close of the test was more valuable than at the beginning. The 

 lasting effects or the value of farm manure to later crops should 

 always be considered when comparing it with the value of commer- 

 cial fertilizers. The best financial returns may be expected from the 

 use of farm manure when the latter can be purchased for 50 cents a 

 load. This estimate does not include the effect on subsequent crops 

 to which a value should be assigned. 



For the farmer who wishes to raise a large proportion of hay 

 on this type of soil, an eight-year rotation may be suggested: wheat 

 one year, hay five years, corn one year, and oats one year. The farm 

 manure should be incorporated with the soil previous to seeding 

 with timothy and wheat in the fall. In the following spring a mix- 

 ture of red and alsike clover may be seeded. Annual applications 

 of farm manure should then be made for the grass crops, the appli- 

 cations being given as top-dressings in the fall and harrowed in the 

 following spring. It might be advisable in some cases to make top- 

 dressings of manure once in two years, in which case larger applica- 

 tions should be made. 



When farm manure can be produced in sufficient quantity 

 the use of commercial fertilizers is not necessary. But the farmer 

 often finds it advantageous to reserve a large part of the farm manure 

 for other than his grass crops, in which case commercial fertilizers 

 may be substituted wholly or in part if used judiciously. When the 

 supply of farm manure is limited it would be advisable to use smaller 

 applications in the fall than stated above, supplementing this in the 

 early spring by small applications of the commercial fertilizers. Of 

 the commercial fertilizers, the most satisfactory returns were obtained 

 on Dunkirk clay loam by the use of a complete fertilizer, consisting 

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

 80 pounds of muriate of potash, per acre. The results indicate that 

 a still smaller proportion of acid phosphate would have been more 

 economical. The following mixture, therefore, is suggested: 200 

 pounds of nitrate of soda, 100 pounds of acid phosphate, and 50 

 pounds of muriate of potash, per acre. It would be best for the 

 farmer to determine by actual field tests the quantity most desirable 

 for his land. As the mixed fertilizers found on the market usually 

 do not contain the elements in the proportion suggested by the above 

 formula, it would be best for the farmer to buy the separate ingredi- 

 ents and mix them himself. The ingredients called for are usually 

 sold under guaranty by the fertilizer companies and vary but little 

 from the following composition : Nitrate of soda, 15 to 16 percent 

 nitrogen; acid phosphate, 12 to 14 percent available phosphoric 



