MASSACHUSETTS 

 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 



OF THE 



MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, 



AMHEKST, MASS. 



TWENTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT. 

 Part II. 



SUMMARY OF LEADING CONCLUSIONS. 



WM. P. BROOKS, DIRECTOR. 



The papers included in this part of the annual report cover 

 a wide variety of subjects, and many of them are of such a 

 character that the conclusions cannot be briefly stated. A full 

 list of the papers is included in the table of contents, and in 

 cases where deemed desirable the principal sub-topics are in- 

 cluded. The papers themselves are concise, and should be read 

 in full by those interested in them. Some of the more im- 

 portant conclusions may be stated as follows : — 



1. Profitable hay crops may be produced in permanent mow- 

 ings by top-dressing with fertilizers only. 



2. A combination of slag meal and a potash salt produces 

 hay made up chiefly of Kentucky blue grass and white clovers. 

 The addition of nitrate of soda in amounts varying from 150 

 to 200 pounds per acre is usually profitable. The hay pro- 

 duced ranks exceptionally high in nutritive value, especially 

 where the slag meal and potash only are used. 



3. The use of slag meal and low-grade sulfate of potash is 

 strongly recommended as a top-dressing for pastures. In ex- 

 periments continuing two years it has profoundly modified the 

 character of the herbage, the most striking change being a re- 



