EXPERIMENTS WITH POTATOES ON HOME 



MIXED FERTILIZERS. 



Chas. D. Woods. 



In answer to numerous inquiries for a formula for potatoes in 

 which tankage could be used, the following- newspaper bulletin 

 was sent out and generally printed in the papers of the State in 

 the early spring. 



A crop of 300 bushels of potatoes removes from the soil about 

 55 pounds nitrogen, 25 pounds phosphoric acid and 85 pounds 

 potash. A formula on this basis would carry five parts nitrogen, 

 two parts phosphoric acid, and eight parts potash. 



In preparing a field for a crop, the needs of the soil to render 

 it fertile are, however, of greater moment than the special needs 

 of a particular crop. The results of numerous field experiments 

 indicate that the potato does best in a soil abundantly supplied 

 with all fertilizing elements. 



If a farmer has not experimented with his soil so as to know 

 to what fertilizing elements it most readily and profitably 

 responds, he must use a formula, and one carrying about 3 to 

 33^ per cent nitrogen, 5 to 6 per cent available phosphoric acid, 

 and 4 to 5 per cent potash will usually be found as profitable as 

 any. Bearing in mind that there is no such thing as a "best" 

 fertilizer and that different conditions make different demands, 

 some such formula as the following can be satisfactorily used 

 per acre until, by experimental knowledge of his own soil 

 requirements, the individual farmer has learned a better one. 



One hundred pounds nitrate of soda, 200 pounds cottonseed 

 meal, 500 pounds fine bone tankage, 400 pounds acid phosphate, 

 and 200 pounds muriate, or perhaps better, sulphate, of potash. 

 These goods are very concentrated and would probably be more 

 evenly applied if mixed with 500 pounds dry loam, muck, or 

 some similar fine material. This weight of materials would 

 carry 62 pounds nitrogen, of which about two-fifths is water 



