Excess of Value of Hay Over Cost of Fertilizers. Food for 



Pkants 



Nitrate of Soda „ . 



applied. '^99- 1900- ^9°^- '9°^- Average. 97 



None $6.09 $13-42 $^2'^3 $ 7-U $9-77 



150 lbs.* I4-34- 20.37 23-97 16.52 18.80 



450 lbs.* 19.62 30.40 40.70 32.74 30.86 



* Slightly reduced in 1901 and 1902. 



Practical Conclusions. 



From these striking results it must be evident that grass 



land as well as tilled fields is greatly benefited by fertilizers ; 



and that it would be to the advantage of most farmers to 



improve the fertility of their soils by growing good crops 



of grass, aided thereto by liberal fertilizing. 



The application should be in the form ^ r. 



c J • r J 1 • ^u ^op iJressmg 



or a top dressmg, applied very early in the ^ t h 



J ii i ^1 r" X 1 vjrass Lanes. 



spring in order that the first growth may 



find readily available material for its support and be carried 



through the season with no check from partial starvation. 



On land which shows any tendency to sourness, a ton 

 to the acre of slaked lime should be used every five or six 

 years. This makes the land sweet and promotes the growth 

 of grass plants of the best kinds. 



Lime should be sown upon the furrows and harrowed 



into the soil. Top dressing with lime after seeding will not 



answer, and, in the case of very acid soils, the omission of 



lime at the proper time will necessitate re-seeding to secure 



a good stand of grass. 



All the elements of fertility are essen- t- • i 



. , , J. ., 1 r r Economical 



tial so that ordinarily complete rertilizers . y-. p. . , 



, , J , J .1 u -I • L and Profitable 



should be used, though on some soils rich »-, 



L \, ■ -A ^ \, 11 Practice, 



in phosphoric acid or potash, one or both 



of these ingredients may be used in smaller quantity than 

 usually recommended. This is particularly true of phos- 

 phoric acid after lime has been applied to the soil, since 

 lime aids to set the phosphoric acid free from its natural 

 combinations in the soil which are insoluble and so useless 

 to plants. 



Grass on this soil demands less phosphoric acid than 

 was applied in the test; and it responds with increasing 

 profit to applications of Nitrate of Soda up to at least 350 

 pounds to the acre. 



