30 a EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



REPORT OF THE ASSISTANT AGRICULTURIST. 



E. F. GASKILL. 



The experimental work in the agricultural department during 

 the past year has followed the same general lines of investiga- 

 tion as in previous years. Most of the experiments in this de- 

 partment have dealt with some phases of the question of soil 

 fertility. Such work to be of value must be conducted over a 

 long period of years; and some of the fertilizer experiments 

 started by the late Dr. Goessmann are continued with minor 

 modifications. The work this year has involved the use of 189 

 plots, 13 orchard plots, 4 pasture plots and 147 closed plots. 

 The latter are used to check results obtained in the field. 



The results obtained from year to year have been published 

 in annual reports of the station, but it is hoped in the near 

 future to bring all of this information for each experiment to- 

 gether in bulletin form. 



It has not been the custom to report the work in detail each 

 year, therefore only a few of what seem to be the more striking 

 results will be presented. 



Field A, or the Nitrogen Experiment, 

 This experiment was begun in 1890 and is a study of the 

 relative value as sources of nitrogen of barnyard manure, nitrate 

 of soda, sulfate of ammonia and dried blood. 



In 1913 the west half of each plot received an application 

 of hydrated lime at the rate of 2 tons per acre. 



This year the field was seeded on May 16 with a mixture of 

 timothy, red-top and clover. Oats (1 bushel per acre) were 

 soMTi as a nurse crop. The oats were cut July 23 and made into 

 hay. The average yield for this year on the different nitrogen 

 and no-nitrogen plots is shown in the following table : — 



