146 



HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. 



[Jan. 



heaps, to be spread just before ploughing the land in the 

 spring. A full account of the plan of the experiment will 

 be found in the last annual report. The field contains five 

 plots, one-half of each having the manure spread in winter, 

 the other half put into a large heap and spread in spring. 

 We have, in reality, then, five parallel experiments yearly. 

 In 1901 this field produced a crop of Japanese barnyard 

 millet. After the millet was harvested, the field was 

 ploughed and sown to winter rye, which served as a cover 

 crop. During the past season the field has been in corn for 

 the silo. The soil is naturally cold, and with the cool sum- 

 mer it produced but a small yield. The actual and relative 

 yields of the several plots of rather more than one-fourth 

 acre each are shown in the following table : — 



Actual and Relative Yields of Ensilage Corn. 



Manuring Previous 

 TO 1899. 



Barnyard manure 



Wood ashes, ....;. 

 No manure, 



Fine-ground bone and muriate of pot- 

 ash. 



Fine-ground bone and sulfate of pot- 

 ash. 



Actual Yields 

 (Pounds). 







4,780 

 2,600 

 4,480 

 4,905 





5,480 

 4,650 

 3,900 

 4,105 

 5,325 



Relative Yields 

 (Per Cent.). 



i5 



100 

 100 

 100 

 100 

 100 



"bc.2 



■^ u o 



CO 



103.9 

 97.3 



150.0 

 91.6 



108.6 



In previous years the south half (spring manured) of 

 each plot has without exception given a much superior yield 

 ^o the north half. This year there are two exceptions : 

 plot 2, where the dificrence, however, is very small ; and 

 plot 4, where there is a diiference of 375 pounds in favor 

 of the north or winter-manured half. It must be stated, 

 however, that, owing to unavoidable conditions, one load 

 of the Qorn on the south half of plot 4 lay upon the ground 

 as it was cut from Saturday night until Monday. There 

 can be no doubt that there Avas a considerable loss of weight, 

 due to drying. We must not, therefore, attach any special 



