1898.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 



REPORT OF THE AGRICULTURIST. 



WILLIAM P. BROOKS, 



Soil Tests. 



Four soil tests upon the plan heretofore followed were 

 attempted during the past year; viz., with corn in Norwell 

 and Montague, with potatoes and with onions (and later 

 cabbages) upon our home grounds. Only the tests in Nor- 

 well and with potatoes upon our home grounds were suc- 

 cessfully carried through. 



Unfavorable weather conditions destroyed the onions and 

 cabbages upon our south soil-test acre. The field was sown 

 to white mustard late in July. But four plots furnished 

 sufiicient growth to cut and weigh; viz., lime plot, 1 

 pound; manure plot, 425 pounds; nitrate and dissolved 

 bone-black, 45 pounds ; potash and dissolved bone-black, 

 25 pounds ; nitrate, dissolved bone-l)lack and potash plot, 

 255 pounds, — all green weights. 



The field has now been used nine years in soil-test work, 

 and we have a high degree of one-sided exhaustion on most 

 of the plots. The close dependence of the mustard upon a 

 supply of phosphoric acid (furnished by the bone-black) is 

 brought out, as was the case in 1895 ; but phosphoric acid 

 alone can no longer produce any growth of mustard upon 

 this soil. The addition of either nitrogen or potash helps 

 it, the former most ; but not much growth is produced un- 

 less all three are supplied. 



The soil test with corn in Montague was ruined by wire 

 and cut worms. As nearly as could be determined from the 

 portion of the crop left, nitrogen seemed the most neces- 

 sary element upon this soil. 



