Fertilizer Experiments 

 on "Run-Out" Hay Land 



By Ford S. Prince, Paul T. Blood, T. G. Phillips and G. P. Percival 



In 1925 shortly after the passage of the Purnell act, the New Hamp- 

 shire Experiment Station leased a field on the AVhenal farm in the town 

 of Greenland, to experiment with alfalfa and to observe the effect of 

 top dressing on hay yields. The field chosen was "run out" hay land, 

 no part of which had been plowed for about 10 years. 



Yields of hay on nearby unplowed land in this field for the six-year 

 period have been as follows: 



Ave. of 6 plots, 

 lbs. hay per A. 



1926 379 



1927 727 



1928 1465 



1929 1520 



1930 1228 



1931 569 



Average, six years 981 



Yields of hay on this field are dependent largely on the amount and 

 timeliness of spring rainfall, as the soil is somewhat coarse and not well 

 suited to the production of fibrous-rooted grass crops. A mechanical 

 analysis of the soil by the Bouyoucous method gave the following aver- 

 age ior four trials : sand, 57.9 per cent. ; silt, 20.4 per cent. ; clay, 21.7 

 per cent. 



I FERTILIZING ALFALFA 

 The objects of the experimental work with alfalfa were : 



1. To see if the crop could be grown successfully on the worn hay 

 lands of the state without first growing cultivated crops for two or 

 three years. 



2. To determine what fertilizer element or combination of elements 

 is most necessary in stimulating yields and adding to the life of the 

 alfalfa crop. 



3. To study the acidity changes in the soil after liming and to note 

 the effects, if any, on the composition of the hay produced under dif- 

 ferent treatments. 



Prior to 1925 much demonstrational work had been done with alfalfa 

 over the state. The necessity for using lime and hardy seed and for 

 inoculating the seed at planting time were well established. 



In laying out this experiment, therefore, Grimm seed was used. This 

 was inoculated with a pure commercial culture. The plots were limed 

 uniformly at the rate of two tons of ground limestone per acre. This 

 basic application of lime and also a basic treatment of 20 tons of manure 

 should be kept in mind in studying this publication. 



The field was plowed in October 1925 and left in the furrow during 



