120 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



cost per egg was lowest on the food mixtures containing a 

 large proportion of corn. The combination of feeds includ- 

 ing a considerable portion of rice and rice meal gave the 

 most satisfactory egg yield of any combination tested, but 

 the cost of rice is too great to make it an economical food 

 for poultry. 



I. — Manures and Fertilizers furnishing Nitrogen 

 COMPARED. (Field A.) 



The experiments in Field A have two principal ol)jects in 

 view : first, to compare the efficiency (as measured by crop 

 production) of a few standard materials which may be used 

 on the farm as sources of nitrogen ; second, to determine to 

 what extent the introduction of a legume will render the 

 application of nitrogen to a succeeding crop of another family 

 unnecessary. The field includes eleven plots of one-tenth 

 acre each. A full description of the plan followed will be 

 found in the twelfth annual report of the Hatch Experiment 

 Station. The materials furnishing nitrogen under compari- 

 son are barnyard manure, nitrate of soda, sulfate of ammonia 

 and dried blood. With few and unimportant exceptions, 

 each plot has been manured in the same way since 1890. 

 All the plots annually receive equal and liberal amounts of 

 materials supplying phos[)horic acid and potash. Tlu*ee plots 

 in the field have had no nitrogen applied to them since 1884; 

 the materials under comparison on the other plots in the 

 field are applied in such quantities as to furnish nitrogen at 

 the rate of 45 pounds per acre to each. Barnyard manure 

 is applied to one plot, nitrate of soda to two, sulfate of am- 

 monia to three and dried blood to two plots. The potash 

 applied to these plots is supplied in the form of muriate to 

 six plots, namely, 1, 3, 6, 7, 8 and 9. It is supplied in the 

 form of low-grade sulfate to four plots, namely, 2, 4, 5 and 

 10. The crops grown in this experiment previous to this 

 year in the order of their succession have been : oats, rye, 

 soy beans, oats, soy beans, oats, soy beans, oats, oats, 

 clover, potatoes, soy beans, potatoes, soy beans. 



The crop of this year was potatoes. The variety was the 

 (rrecii Mountain. The seed, which was of fine (|uality, was 

 grown ill northern Maine. The land was ])l()wed on May 



