114 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



appear to indicate that it is not essential to feed a mixture 

 of feeds giving a narrow nutritive ratio for satisfactory egg 

 production. They indicate, further, that the proportion of 

 fat in the ration is a matter of much importance, a large 

 proportion favoring egg production ; and that, on the other 

 hand, a large proportion of fiber in the ration, such as would 

 be furnished when grains like oats and barley are largely 

 used, is unfavorable to egg production. A ration in which 

 corn is prominent has given results considerably superior to 

 those obtained with the ration in which wheat is prominent ; 

 and the economic results in feeding corn largely in connec- 

 tion Avith a suitable amount of animal food are much superior 

 to the similar results with w^heat. 



I. — Manure and Fertilizers furnishing Nitrogen 

 COMPARED. (Field A.) 



A full description of the plan of the experiment on Field 

 A was given in the twelfth annual report of the Hatch Ex- 

 periment Station. There are two objects in view : first, to 

 compare the efiiciency (as measured by crop production) of 

 a few of the standard materials that may be used on the farm 

 as sources of nitrogen ; second, to determine to what extent 

 the introduction of a crop belonging to the clover family is 

 capable of rendering the application of nitrogen to a succeed- 

 ing crop of another family unnecessary. The materials fur- 

 nishing nitrogen under comparison are barnyard manure, 

 nitrate of soda, sulfate of ammonia, and dried blood. There 

 are eleven plots in the field, and with few and practically 

 unimportant exceptions each has been manured in the same 

 way since 1899. All plots are liberally manured each 3^ear 

 with materials supplying phosphoric acid and potash, and in 

 quantities to furnish these elements in equal amounts. Ma- 

 nure or fertilizers supplying nitrogen are applied yearly to 

 eight of the eleven plots, and in quantities to furnish nitro- 

 gen at the rate of 45 pounds per acre to each. Barnyard 

 manure is applied to one plot, nitrate of soda to two, sulfate 

 of ammonia to three, and dried blood to two plots. Three 

 plots have had no nitrogen applied to them since 1884. The 

 potash applied to these plots is supplied in the form of nmri- 



