250 AGRICULTURAL EXPERLMEXT STATION. [Jan. 



Observations during the Winter of 1893-94. 



The soil turned to account in these experiments was 

 obtained two feet below the surface of an abandoned past- 

 ure, which had not received any addition of manurial matter 

 from an outside source for many years.* The soil was 

 screened, thus being freed from coarse material of every 

 description. It consisted of a light loam. Twelve boxes, 

 corresponding in size to those of the previous year (32 by 

 32 by 8 inches), were employed, each containing about three 

 hundred pounds of the soil, being filled to within one inch 

 of the top. To secure a thorough mixing of the fertilizer 

 and soil, they were worked together with the shovel and the 

 mixture sent twice through the screen. The addition of the 

 fertilizer to the soil was made two weeks in advance of the 

 seeding. A greater variety of fertilizer mixtures was turned 

 to account, including those of the preceding year. The 

 potassium oxide was furnished by muriate of potash (1, 2 

 and 3), sulphate of potash (4, 5, 6 and 12), carbonate of 

 potash-magnesia (7, 8, 9 and 10) and phosphate of potash 

 (11). The phosphoric acid was supplied by dissolved bone- 

 black (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9), odorless phosphate (6), 

 double superphosphate (10), phosphate of potash (11) and 

 phosphate of ammonia (12). The nitrogen was added in 

 the form of nitrate of soda (1, 4, 7, 10 and 11), sulphate of 

 ammonia (2, 5 and 8), phosphate of ammonia (12) and 

 organic nitrogen (dried blood) (3, 6 and 9). The relative 

 ratio of essential fertilizing constituents applied was four 

 parts potassium oxide, one part phosphoric acid and one part 

 nitrogen. The percentage of the essential elements of plant 

 food applied to the soil was as follows : — 



Per Cent. 



Potassium oxide, 0004 



Pliosphoric acid, 0001 



Nitrogen, 0001 



Following is a statement of the fertilizer mixtures 

 used : — 



• Analysis of this soil showed : moisture, 14.25 per cent. ; potassium oxide, .084 

 per cent.; and phosphoric acid, .134 per cent. 



