ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 281 



ly reduced through long continued cropping and which will be 

 greatly benefited by applications of farmyard manure, should 

 receive a general fertilizer containing all three valuable fertili- 

 zer ingredients, nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash. Sandy 

 and light soils are especially benefited by applications of potash 

 and nitrogen, and will also in general respond to phosphoric 

 acid fertilization, while our clay and loam soils do not often 

 need much potash, but are apt to be low in phosphoric acid. 

 Humus and marshy soils, like all low-lying moist soils, are 

 rich in organic matter and in nitrogen, and require, as a rule, 

 phosphoric acid and potash, and sometimes lime. Potash fer- 

 tilizers have been found very beneficial in growing corn on 

 black marsh soils. The soils in the southeastern and eastern 

 parts of our state do not appear to need lime fertilizers, but it 

 is possible that the light sandy and clayey soils in the central 

 and northwestern counties of the state and the clay soils in the 

 southwestern counties will be benefited by applications of lime 

 fertilizers, like slaked lime, land plaster, marl, etc. 



No definite rule call be laid down with regard to the quanti- 

 ties of commercial fertilizers to be applied, as the amounts nec- 

 essary to produce good crops will vary with the character and 

 the state of fertility of the soil, the kind of crop to be grown, 

 and other conditions. For ordinary farm crops 500 pounds per 

 acre may be considered a heavy application; applications of 

 half a ton or more will only give economical returns in the case 

 of special crops grown under an intensive system of farming. 

 Farmers who expect to use commercial fertilizers on their land 

 are advised to make applications on a small area at first, say 

 at the rate of 200 pounds per acre, or at different rates per 

 acre, so that they may gain some experience as to the best 

 methods of applying the fertilizers and as to the profitable- 

 ness of the applications on their land, before they spend much 

 money for these. The poorer the soils on which artificial fer- 

 tilizers are used, the better returns may, in general, be ex- 

 pected. Lime may be applied at the rate of 1,000 pounds per 

 acre on light soils, and double this amount on heavy soils, in 

 the sections of the state where this constituent is likely to pro- 



