1899.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 135 



field consisted of eleven plats, one-tenth of an acre each, 

 with a space of from five to six feet between the adjoinin<;- 

 plats. This space was cultivated in connection with the 

 planted plats, yet received no fertilizing material of any de- 

 scription, nor were they seeded down at any time during 

 the experiment. Each plat was provided in the centre wath 

 a tile drain running at a depth of from three and a half 

 to four feet through the entire length, which terminated in 

 an open well, to allow the collection of the drainage water 

 for examination whenever desired, to study the character of 

 the soil constituents carried off. The entire field of eleven 

 separate plats were surrounded by a tile drain with an in- 

 dependent outlet, to prevent an access of drainage waters 

 from adjoining fields. A marked gradual decline in the 

 yield of several plats, in spite of a uniform liberal supply 

 of the fertilizer used during the earlier years of the experi- 

 ment, rendered an examination into the cause or causes of 

 the reduction in the annual yield desirable. 



As an examination of the drainage waters coming from the 

 different plats promised to throw some light on the action of 

 the several mixtures of fertilizers used on the soil resources 

 of the field employed in the observation, it was decided to 

 subject them to a careful chemical analysis. The samples 

 used for these analyses were collected in all cases as far as 

 practical )le soon after each tile drain began to discharge 

 drainage water. As the temporary flow of the drains in the 

 different plats differed widely in quantity, no attempt was 

 made to ascertain in each case the exact amount discharijed 

 in a given time. The examination was instituted for the 

 purpose of ascertaining the general character of the dis- 

 charge of the drains, and to determine the relative jpro- 

 portion of various soil constituents they contained. The 

 results of this investigation are stated farther on, after a 

 brief descrii)tion of the general management of the field, 

 as well as a detailed statement of the fertilizers used. 



