THE GENESEE FARMER. 



139 



lime -vvere also treated in tlie same way. It is well 

 Iniown that unleachetl ashes, mixed either with 

 guano, sulphate of ammonia, or s^iperphosphate, 

 mutually decompose -each other, setting free the 

 ammonia of the guano and' sulplaate of ammonia, 

 and converting the soluble pho^^phate of the super- 

 phosphate of lime into the insoluble form in Avhich 

 it existed before treatment with suiphuric acid. — 

 All the plots were planted on the same day, and 

 the manures weighed and applied under my own 

 snmiediate supervision. Everything was done that 

 was deemed necesisary to secuie accuracy. 



The follovring table gives the results of the 

 experiments : 



TABLE SHOWING TUB EESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS ON IxDIAN 

 ■COEN, MADE IS 1857, NEAR EoCIIESTER, N. Y. 



Descriptions of manures and 

 quantities .applied perawe. 



IjNo manure 



2 1 100 lbs. plaster (gypsum or sul- 



I pAdie of lime} 



31400 lbs. unleached wood ashes 



and 100 lbs. plaster (mixed) . . . 



4hfin lbs. sulphdte of ammonia. . . . 



•Sj.BOO lbs. superphosphate of lime., 



150 lbs. sulphate of ammonia and 



800 lbs. superphosphate ot lime 



(mixed) 



400 lbs. -unleached wood asiies 



(uncertain) 



1.50 lbs. sulphate of ammonia and 

 400 lbs. unleached wood ashes 



(sowii separately) 



»i300 lbs. superphosphate of lime. 

 150 Jbs. sulph. ammonia, and 

 400 lbs. unleached wood ashes 

 10 40«1bs. unJoached wood ashes. 

 •11 100 lbs. plaster, 400 lbs. unleached 

 wood ashes, .300 lbs. superphns- 

 phate of lime, and 200 lbs. Pe- 

 ruvian guano. 



12 75 lbs. sulphate of ammonia. 



1.5 200 lbs. Peruvian guano 



14 400 lbs. unleached wood '.ashes. 

 100 lbs. plaster, and 500 lbs. 

 Peruvian guano 



The superphosphate of lime was made on pur- 

 pose for these experiments, and was a pure mineral 

 manure of superior qvuality, made from calcined 

 hones ; it cost about 2i cents per pound. The sul- 

 phate of ammonia was a good, commercial article, 

 obtained from tendon, at a cost of about seven 

 cents per pound. The ashes Avere made from beech 

 and hard maple {Acer saccharinum) wood, and 

 were sifted through a fine sieve before being 

 weighed. The guano was the best Peruvian, cost"^ 

 mg about three cents per pound. It was crushed 

 and sifted before using. In sowing the ashes on 

 Plot r, an error occurred in their application, and 

 for the purpose of checking the result, it Avas 

 deemed advisable to repeat the experiment on 



On Plot 5, with 300 pounds of superphosphate of 

 Inne per acre, the plants came up first, and exhib- 

 ited a healthy, dark green appearance, which they 

 retained for some time. This result was not anti- 

 cipated, though it is well knov.'u that superphos- 

 pliats of lime lias the effect of stimulating the sr-r- 

 mmation of turnip seed and the earlv growth ot^he 



plants to an astonishing degree; yet, as it has no 

 such efl'ect on Avheat, it appeared probable that it 

 would not produce this effect on Indian corn, which 

 in chemi'cal composition, is very similar to wheat. 

 The result shows how uncertain "are all fipecuktions 

 in regard to the inanurial requirements of plants. — 

 This immediate eftect of superphosphate of lime on 

 corn was so marked, that the men (who Avere at 

 the time of planting somewhat inclined to be skep- 

 tical, in regai-d to the value of such small doses of 

 manure,) declared that " superphosphate beats all 

 creation for corn." The difference in favor of 

 superphosphate, at the time of hoeing, Avas very 

 perceptible, even at some distance. 



Although eA^ery precaution was taken that was 

 deemed necessary, to prevent the manures from 

 mixing in the hill, or from injuring the seed, yet, it 

 was found, that those plots dressed with ashes and 

 guano, or Avith ashes aiuT sulphate of ammonia, were 

 injured to some e'xtent. Shortly after the corn 

 Avas planted, heavy rain set in, and Avashed the sul- 

 phate of ammonia and guano, down into the ashes, 

 and, mutual decomposition took place, Avith more or 

 less l-oss' cff ammonia. In addition to this loss of 

 ammonia, these manures came up to the surface of 

 the ground in the form of an excrescence, so hard 

 that the plants could with difliculty penetrate 

 through it. This is a fact which should be borne 

 in mind in instituting future experiments. It 

 would have been better i-indoubtedly, to have 

 sown these manures broadcast; and I should have 

 done so, except for the difficulty of sowing them 

 evenly by hand'^on so narrow a plot, without risk 

 of having some part of the manures blown upon 

 the adjoining plots. 



It will be seen by examining the table, that 

 although the superphosphate of "lime had a good 

 eftect 'diiring the early stages of th<3 growth of the 

 plants, yet the increase of ears of corn in the end 

 did not come up to these eai-ly indications. On 

 Plot 5, Avith 300 lbs, of superphosphate of lime per 

 acte, the yield is precisely the same as on Plot 2, 

 Avith 100 lbs. of plaster (sulphate of lime) per acre, 

 NoAV, superphosphate of lime, is composed necessa- 

 rily of soluble phosphate of lime and plaster, or 

 sulphate of lime, formed from a combination of the 

 sulphuric acid, employed in the manufacture of 

 superphosphate, witli the lime of the bones. In 

 the 300 lbs. of superphosphate of lime, sown on 

 Plot 5, there would be about 100 lbs. of plaster; 

 and as the effect of this dressing is no greater than 

 Ava.s obtained from the 100 lbs. of plaster, sown on 

 Plot 2, it follows, that the good eftect of the super- 

 phosphate of lime, was due to the plaster that it 

 contained. 



Again, on Plot 4, with 150 lbs. of sulphate of 

 ammonia per acre, we have 90 bushels of ears of 

 sound corn, and 15 bushels of ears of soft corn, 

 ("nubbin?,") per acre; or a total increase over the 

 plot without manure, of 38 bushels. Now, the 

 sulphate of ammonia contains no phosphate of lime, 

 and the fact that such a manure gives a consider- 

 able increase of crop, confirms the conclusion we 

 have arrived at, from a comparison of the results 

 on Plots 2 and 5: that the increase from the super- 

 phosphate of lime, is not due to the phosphate of 

 lime which it contnins, unless we are to conclude 

 that the snlpliafe of ainmonia rendered the ph.is- 

 phate of lime in the soil more readily soluble, i,.ji<\ 



