CO-OPERATIVE FERTILIZER EXPERIMENTS. 



It is commonly believed that experiments with fertilizers 

 are of little use, except in the immediate locality in which they 

 are made ; some even advocating the idea that no two parts of 

 the same farm have the same needs, and that the use of fertil- 

 izing materials is, and must be, from the nature of the case, a 

 hap-hazzard undertaking, upon which study and investigation 

 can throw little if any light. 



I do not believe, however, that the case is as hopelessly in- 

 volved in darkness as this view would lead us to conclude, and 

 I am convinced that the feeding of plants will in time be placed 

 on footing more nearly approaching that on which the feeding 

 of animals now stands. It is not the purpose of this Bulletin 

 to discuss this part of the subject but rather to present the re- 

 sults of a series of coopera' ive experiments carried on by direc- 

 tion of the Station on farms in various parts of the State. 



OBJECT OF THE EXPERIMENTS. 



The object was to determine, by field tests, the relative 

 proportion of JVittogen, Phosphoric acid and Potash which should 

 form the most perfect crop ration for the soils and crops experi- 

 mented on, and in connection with this, as a means of compari- 

 son, four plots in each set were left with no fertilizer of any 

 kind, to determine the natural capacity of the soil; one plot had 

 one of the best commercial fertilizers found in our market, 

 one plot had ashes and concerning one plot, No. 6, no sug- 

 gestion was made, the intention being for each farmer 

 to use whatever he might have, either in the. way of manures or 

 commercial goods on this. 



COST OF FERTILIZER. 



In each case, except plot 8 where manure was used, the 

 fertilizer or chemicals cost 50 cents per plot or $10.00 per 

 acre; the manured plot had 30 bushels of farm yard manure, 

 which is at the rate of about 7 cords per acre, the value of 



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