29 



nitrogen and too rich in protein; but it has not been known 

 how exceedingly great the requirement of barley for potash 

 fertilization is, and tnat barley can be forced, by sufficiently 

 liberal fertilization with potash and phosphoric acid, to produce 

 a much larger harvest of less protein in the crop-substance, 

 and hence much more valuable for brewing purposes." Pro- 

 fessor Marker's experiments, and those of Hellriegel, demon- 

 strate how much barley stands in need of potash fertilization. 



An average crop of barley takes about fifty pounds of potash 

 (K,O) per acre out of the soil. Averaging the crops of 1885, 

 1886 and 1887, each year about 70,000 tons of potash have been 

 removed by the barley crops of the United States. Provided 

 phosphoric acid and potash (kali) had been furnished in sufficient 

 quantities, the barley crops on the area in barley could have 

 been doubled. 



Barley, the most grateful of all cereals for liberal kainit sup- 

 ply, was planted in the 



Year 1885 on 2,729,359 acres, yielding 58,360,000 bushels. 

 41 1886 on 2,652,957 " 59,428,000 " 



" 1887 on 2,901,953 " 56,812,000 



Now there were imported according to the Report of the 

 Department of Agriculture, in 



1885 9,986,507 bushels, at a cost of $7,177,889. 

 188610,197,115 6,173,208. 



188710,831,461 " " 8,076,082. 



Now by referring to what Professor Wagner says, namely r 

 that the yield of barley per acre can be easily doubled by giving 

 it a proper fertilization with potash and phosphate, namely 300 

 pounds of kainit per acre or a ton for 7 acres, the aggregate cost 

 of this proper potash fertilization would have amounted to about 

 400, ooo tons of kainit, costing, freight included, about 3, 000,000. 

 The result calculated at only one-third of what might reasonably 

 be expected, would have represented according to the figures of 

 the Report of the Department of Agriculture $9,821,463, be- 

 cause the crop instead of being only 56,000,000 bushels, would 

 have amounted to 74,000,000 bushels. The money spent for 

 foreign barley would have remained in the country, and the 

 farmer would have been better off by the difference between the 



