These fertilizers have always been applied broadcast just before 

 planting hoed crops and harrowed in. They have been applied in 

 early spring to grass-land. The rotation upon the acre longest 

 under experiment has been : — corn, corn, oats (with grass and clover 

 seeds), grass and clover, grass and clover, corn, rye followed by 

 white mustard as a catch crop, soy beans and white mustard follow- 

 ing a failure to get onions started. The area of the plots in these 

 experiments has always been one-twentieth of an acre. 



The conclusions presented are based upon some thirty such exper- 

 iments with corn, some six with oats, twelve with grass and clover, 

 and one each with rye, soy beans, turnips and cabbages. 



SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND TEACTICAL ADVICE. 



A brief statement is here made of the conditions affecting the ex- 

 periments described in these pages. The reasons why the experi- 

 ments were begun and the questions upon which it was hoped the 

 experiments might shed light are stated ; and a brief account of the 

 leading results and conclusious, and practical advice based thereon 

 are given. 



CONDITIONS AFFECTING THE EXPEKIMENTS HEREIN DESCRIBED. 



1. Our soils, mosti}' of glacial origin, exhibit great variety in 

 mechanical condition and composition. 



2. These soils have been for the most part long cultivated, and 

 profitable crops can be produced only when the soil is enriched. 



3. The supply of home-made manure is in most cases insufhcient ; 

 and our farmers purchase and use fertilizers in large quantities. 



4. Their ideas as to what had best be purchased are in most in- 

 stances vague ; and they, in the majority of cases, buy either some 

 " phosphate" or some "special complete" fertilizer. 



5. These "• specials" bear the iu»me of the crop Cor which" each 

 is supposed to be suited. Most of them are nominally specialized 

 with reference to the crop only. With few exceptions they contain 

 about twice as much phosphoric acid as potash ; in many cases there 

 is four times as much. Fertilizers recommended for one and the 

 same crop exhibit most astonishing variations. The same fertilizer 

 is in many cases recommended for several crops, as for corn, oats 

 and grass. 



