SOIL CULTURE, CEREALS AND FRUITS. 23 



Committee Eoom 46, 



House op Commons, 



Thursday, March 22, 1900. 



The Select Standing Committee on Agriculture and Colonization met here this 

 day at 11 o'clock a.m., Mr. McMillan, Chairman, presiding. 



Dr. W. Saunders, Director, Dominion Experimental Farms, was present at the 

 request of the Committee and made the following statement : — 



PLANT FOOD TAKEN PROM THE SOIL BY DIFFERENT CROP?, 



Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen, — Before presenting the subject I proposed to 

 take up to-day, I wish to take the opportunity of replying to a question asked yes- 

 terday and upon which I promised to bring information this morning, as to the 

 relative quantities of fertilizing materials which are taken from the soil by different 

 crops. A wheat crop of 24 bushels of grain per acre with 2,200 lbs. of straw lakes 

 from the soil 40-53 lbs. of nitrogen, 17 b'4 lbs. of phosphoric acid, and 19'11 lbs. of 

 potash. 



Barley, with a crop of 35 bushels of grain and 2,000 lbs. of straw, takes 45-48 

 lbs. of nitrogen, 17*14 lbs. of phosphoric acid, and 28-25 lbs. of potash, as against 

 19-11 lbs. taken by wheat, showing that barley has a more exhaustive effect upon 

 the soil in potash but takes up about the same as wheat with regard to nitrogen and 

 phosphoric acid. 



Oats, with a crop of 50 bushels of grain and 2,200 lbs. of straw, takes from the 

 soil 46*;-! lbs. of nitrogen, 15 22 lbs. of phosphoric acid, a little less than the barley 

 or wheat, and 32 88 of potash, a little more than that taken from the soil by the 

 barley and considerably more than that taken up by wheat. 



Indian corn when cut for ensilage at 15 tons per acre will take from the soil 87 

 lbs. of nitrogen as against 40-53, 45*48 and 4H03 for wheat, barley and oats; the 

 Indian corn crop also takes up 44*40 lbs. of phosphoric acid and 98-10 lbs. of potash. 

 That is 98-10 for corn against 19-11 by the wheat crop, 28-25 by the barley and 32-88 

 by the oat crop. 



I think similar information was also asked with regard lo turnips, — taking a 

 crop of 15 tons of roots only, and leaving the tops on the ground to be ploughed 

 under, this takes from the soil 49-50 lbs. of nitrogen, 27 - 90 lbs. of phosphoric acid, 

 and 82-25 lbs. of potash. Mangels take practically about the same of nitrogen and 

 phosphoric acid and a larger proportion of potash. The quantities are nitrogen 

 45-45 lbs., phosphric acid 27-60 lbs., and potash 114-90 lbs. taken from the soil where 

 15 tons of mangels are produced per acre. 



In the case of carrots with a similar crop of 15 tons per acre of roots only, 35-25 

 lbs. of nitrogen, 33*30 lbs. of phosphoric acid and 97*95 lbs. of potash. 



Sugar beets are especially exhaustive of potash and take up 135-90 lbs. per 

 acre where 15 tons of roots are grown, which is a larger proportion of potash than 

 is required by any other crop I have named. 



By Mr. Wilson : 



Q. That is a different statement to what a gentleman made here the other day? 



A. Yes, it is, but the analyses which have been made show that 15 tons of these 

 roots grown on an acre take from the land 71*85 lbs. of nitrogen, 28*80 lbs. of phos- 

 phoric acid, and 135-90 lbs. of potash. 



Potatoes take much smaller proportions of these elements from the soil. A 

 crop of 200 bushels per acre of tubers takes 25-20 lbs. of nitrogen, 8-40 lbs. of phos- 



