120 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



2. Liquid Fertilizer sent on from, Natick, Mass. 



rer Cent. 



Moisture, 90.46 



Solid residue, 9.64 



Phosphoric acid, 1.24 



Potassium oxide, 2.79 



Sodium oxide, . . 1 . 67 



Calcium oxide, 1.82 



Magnesium oxide, 07 



Chlorine, 02 



Sulphuric acid (SO3), 



Total nitrogen, 1.12 



Nitrogen as ammoniates, 39 



Nitrogen as nitrates, 73 



Reaction strongly acid. 



The importance of the interests involved induced the 

 writer some years ago to enter upon a series of experi- 

 ments, to assist in the development of a more efficient 

 system of manuring several important industrial crops, 

 fruits and garden vegetables. The iirst results of that 

 investigation are published in the eleventh and twelfth re- 

 ports of the director of the iNIassachusetts State Agricultural 

 Experiment Station, to which I have to refer for details. 

 Those of later years are contained in the annual report of 

 the Hatch Experiment Station of the Massachusetts Agri- 

 cultural College for 1896 and 1897. 



In the course of my discussion of the lessons to be de- 

 rived from the above-stated experiment in field and vegeta- 

 tion house, it was recommended to observe the following 

 rules : — 



1. To avoid an accumulation of half-decayed vegetable 

 matter in the soil, and to enrich the latter in the desired 

 direction by means of concentrated chemical manures. 



2. To change, wherever practicable, from season to season 

 the position of the various crops, to favor the destruction of 

 parasites and to economize the inherent sources of plant food. 



3. To avoid an accumulation of salines in the soil, not 

 called for by the crops, or considered injurious to the 

 chemical or physical properties of the soil. 



4. To prevent a marked acidity of the soil, by a period- 

 ical application of air-slacked lime, wood ashes, etc. 



