446 FIELD AND GARDEN PRODUCTS 



pound, and phosphoric acid and potash at 5 cents, a ton of straw 

 represents a cash value of $1.92 for nitrogen, 20 cents for phosphoric 

 acid, and 60 cents for potash, or a total of $2.72, while the essential 

 fertilizing elements contained in a ton of the grain would cost $6.40 

 for nitrogen, 85 cents for phosphoric acid, and 55 cents for potash, 

 or in all $7.80 if bought in an available form in commercial fer- 

 tilizers. These figures call attention to the importance of returning 

 at least the straw in the form of manure to the land and also point 

 to the fact that continued wheat growing for the market must 

 deplete the fertility of the soil. 



Barnyard manure is preferably applied to the corn before 

 wheat. When manure is directly applied to winter wheat it should 

 be spread and plowed under immediately after the preceding crop 

 is removed, in order that it may become well embedded in the soil 

 before the seed is sown. In such cases the use of 10 tons per acre 

 is sufficient and will generally give better results than double that 

 quantity. When barnyard manure is used as a top-dressing for 

 wheat it should be well rotted and finely divided, and preferably 

 spread with a wide-tired manure spreader. On most loams and 

 alluvial soils, which grow wheat in rotation, the use of barnyard 

 manure especially its direct use is unnecessary, but on light clay 

 soils it often proves profitable. 



The application of large quantities of available nitrogen, either 

 in commercial fertilizers or barnyard manure, usually results in a 

 heavy growth of straw and a consequent tendency to lodge. A com- 

 plete fertilizer, or one containing nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and 

 potash, is generally to be recommended, and while no rule ap- 

 plicable to all cases can be laid down, the use of 300 to 500 pounds 

 of a fertilizer mixture furnishing in plant food 3.3 per cent of nitro- 

 gen, 12 per cent of available phosphoric acid, and 4 per cent of 

 potash is quite common. On poor soils the application of nitrogen 

 and potash may be relatively high, while on soils in a fairly good 

 state of fertility the phosphoric acid should be relatively increased, 

 as comparatively large quantities of this substance in the form of 

 superphosphate or soluble phosphates act favorably on the crop in 

 that they tend to prevent or reduce lodging. Commercial fertilizers 

 are more profitable as a rule on clay soils than on the richer loams, 

 and throughout the western wheat area of the country they are 

 little used. Applications of 25 to 40 bushels of lime per acre are 

 often very beneficial, especially on soils treated with sulphate and 

 chlorid of ammonia for a series of years. Top-dressings with nitrate 

 of soda are sometimes given after the crop has made some growth, 

 but if the plants are in a vigorous condition in the spring no top- 

 dressing is necessary. 



Green manuring with leguminous crops is very desirable, but 

 when a heavy green crop is plowed under it is best to follow it with 

 a hoed crop oefore putting the land into wheat. Benefit is also de- 

 rived when leguminous plants are grown before wheat and othe* 

 crops and only the stubble is plowed under. 



Summer fallowing, which is seldom followed in humid seo 



