1906.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 37 



nearly 1 ton per acre. During all the years that this experi- 

 ment has been tried on this land it has been found that the 

 yield on Plot 8 has been much the largest in the fall. True, 

 this receives the heaviest application of nitrate, but it is not 

 believed that the superiority in yield is entirely due to this 

 diiference. The moisture conditions are more favorable to 

 growth during the late summer in this plot than in the 

 others. During the five years that this experiment in the 

 use of nitrate of soda for the rowen crop has been tried on 

 this field, it has seemed to give increases sufficient to make 

 the application profitable only in two trials ; and, on the 

 whole, the results of our experiments are not favorable to 

 the conclusion that it will usually be found profitable to use 

 nitrate of soda for the rowen crop. The soil in this field is 

 a strong and retentive loam. It is, of course, quite possible 

 that on soils of difterent character the results of the use of 

 nitrate for rowen will be more favorable. 



IX. — Fertilizers for Garden Crops. (Field C.) 



In this experiment the principal object in view is to 

 study the effect of some of the standard fertilizing ma- 

 terials upon the yield and quality of garden crops. During 

 the earlier years of the experiment, 1891 to 1897 inclusive, 

 fertilizers alone were applied to the land. It was then de- 

 cided that, since market gardeners as a rule employ large 

 quantities of manure, the value of the experiment to those 

 engaged in that branch of agriculture would be increased by 

 applying manure equally to all the plots, while still con- 

 tinuing the application of fertilizers. During the earlier 

 years of the experiment there were but six plots, on all of 

 which fertilizers were used. With the change in system 

 alluded to a seventh plot was introduced, and to all of the 

 seven plots stable manm'e at the rate of 30 tons per acre 

 has since been annually applied. It is intended that the 

 seventh plot, on which manure alone is applied, shall serve 

 as a basis of comparison with the others, in order that we 

 may learn whether, and, if so, to what extent, any fertilizers 

 prove beneficial. The seventh plot immediately adjoins the 

 others, but previous to its inclusion in this experiment it 



