1910.] Summary of Agricultural Experiments. 665 



SUMMARY OF AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENTS.* 



Miscellaneous Experiments. 



Turnip Manuring Experiments, 1909 (Aberdeen and N. of Scot. Coll. 

 of Agric, Leaflet No. 11). — Manurial trials with turnips have been car- 

 ried on for six years, the results of a complete dressing being compared 

 with dressings from which one of the ingredients was omitted. The 

 average crops in six years were : — Without phosphates, 10 tons 18 cwt. ; 

 without nitrogen, 17 tons 1 cwt. ; without potash, 16 tons 6 cwt. ; com- 

 plete dressing, 19 tons 6 cwt. ; unmanured, 8 tons 12 cwt. 



Calcium cyanamide and nitrate of lime as manures for the turnip 

 crop were compared with sulphate of ammonia and nitrate of soda. 

 Four plots were treated with superphosphate and potash, and with 

 nitrogenous manures in the following quantities : — Calcium cyanamide, 

 I cwt. ; nitrate of lime, if cwt. ; nitrate of soda, if cwt. ; sulphate of 

 ammonia | cwt. The yields from the four fertilisers, both with and 

 without the application of dung were, on the average, practically 

 identical. 



The effects of Algerian, Belgian, and Florida phosphates 

 were compared with superphosphate. The quantities of each used 

 were : — Superphosphate, 5! cwt. ; Florida phosphate, 2^ cwt. ; Belgian 

 phosphate, 4f cwt. ; Algerian phosphate, 3J cwt. With farmyard 

 manure the yields from the three were equal ; without it Algerian 

 phosphate gave the best results, taking the average of ten trials, though 

 it was not quite equal to superphosphate. 



Experiments with Swedes and Turnips (Northumberland C.C. Educ. 

 Com., Bull. 14, Guide to Expts. at Cockle Park for 1910). — Experi- 

 ments with different varieties of swedes and turnips have been in 

 progress at this station for a number of years, and the average yield, 

 percentage of dry matter, and the number of roots per acre are given 

 in this Bulletin. 



The percentage of dry matter in five varieties of swedes has been 

 ascertained during ten years and indicates that the feeding value of 

 swedes varies greatly from season to season. A comparison of these 

 percentages with the summer frosts at Cockle Park has been made, 

 and suggests that swedes are likely to be richer in dry matter when 

 such frosts are not very prevalent. 



A trial was also made as to the most profitable form of application 

 of potash manures to swedes. The differences in the crops were too 

 small to admit of any conclusions being drawn. 



Experiments with Mangolds and Cabbage (Northumberland C.C. 

 Educ. Com., Bull. 14, Guide to Expts. at Cockle Park for 1910). — Tests' 

 of two varieties of mangolds have been conducted during the years 1905-9, 

 Mammoth Long Red being selected as a deep-growing tankard variety 

 and Prizewinner Yellow Globe as a shallower growing and more easily 

 raised variety. The average crops were : — Mammoth Long Red, 20 



* The summaries of agricultural experiments which have appeared in the present 

 volume have been as follows :— Cereals, April ; Cereals and Root Crops, May ; 

 I Root Crops, June; Root Crops and Potatoes, July; Grass and Clover, August; 

 ; Cereals, September ; and Miscellaneous Experiments, October. The Board would be 

 J glad to receive for inclusion copies of reports on inquiries, whether carried out 

 by agricultural colleges, societies, or private persons. 



3 A 



