102 The Principles of Vegetable- Gardening 



Apply the fertilizers broadcast on the whole of each plat, 

 being careful not to sow any fertilizer on the check or blank plat 

 No. 4, and harrow into the soil as thoroughly as possible. Har- 

 row the plats lengthwise, because particular care must be taken 

 that none of the fertilizer for one plat is sown on or is dragged 

 on another . plat. In many cases muriate of potash injures the 

 plant if applied just previous to putting in a crop ; so that the 

 earlier this fertilizer is applied in the spring the less will be 

 the danger of injury. 



The blank or check plat No. 4, with no fertilizer, must 

 not be omitted. This is the most important of any single plat, 

 because all of the others must be compared with the blank in 

 order to learn how much benefit the fertilizers have been to the 

 crop. 



You may grow any crop you wish on these plats. The same 

 kind and same amount of seed is to be sown on each of the series 

 of nine plats in the set. ^ It must be remembered that these 

 experiments are to be tried upon the crop planted and not upon 

 an accidental crop of weeds. In no case will the experiments be 

 of value if the weeds are allowed to grow on the plats. Thorough 

 tillage is one of the most important features of the field test. 



Following are some of the things to be noted in the study of 

 the plats: 



I. Location of field, 



a. Upland. 



h. Lowland. (If lowland, does the soil from the side- 

 hills wash down upon it ?) 

 c. Hillside, etc. 



II. Character of soil, 



a. Sandy. 



h. G-ravelly. 



c. Clayey. 



d. Loamy, etc. 



€. How deep is surface soil ? 



/. Is there a hard-pan ; if so, how deep is it ? 



g. Does soil hold moisture, or dry out rapidly ? 



