4 BULLETIN 42, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
was greater with peas than with barley. Manganese sulphate used 
in the same manner caused a stimulation in the growth of wheat. 
Yoelcker * at the Woburn Experimental Station, England, made 
experiments in pots to study the effect of the different compounds of 
manganese on wheat and barley. The chloride, sulphate, phosphate, 
and nitrate of manganese stimulated growth in both wheat and bar- 
ley. The stimulation was greatest with barley. The iodide and car- 
bonate had a detrimental effect. The oxides were harmful to both 
cereals. The surface of the soil in these pots was stiff and hard and 
turned dark, which indicated excessive oxidation. 
Fukutome 2 secured results showing that the joint application of 
manganese chloride and ferrous sulphate had a beneficial effect on 
the growth of flax, while each alone in the proportion of 0.4 grams 
to 8 kilos of soil had but little effect. 
A continuous culture experiment 3 with wheat and maize was con- 
ducted at Suessola, Italy, using manganese dioxide with manure. In 
some years there was an increase and in others a decrease. 
Namba 4 effected increases by the use of manganese sulphate in 
amounts of 0.1 and 0.2 gram to 8 kilos of soil with the culture of 
onions. He secured an increase of 59 and 38 per cent, respectively. 
Amounts as high as 0.5 gram in a pot of 8 kilos of soil depressed 
growth considerably. Gregoire, Hendrick, and Carpiaux 5 worked on 
the action of manganese sulphate on potatoes on a rich soil without 
securing any beneficial action. Loew 6 working with pots secured 
very little stimulation with tobacco and only a slight increase with 
potatoes. He also found that manganese chloride decreased the 
yield of millet, where the manganese was applied the previous year 
to another crop. 
Loew and Honda 7 obtained an interesting result with young 
cypress trees (Cryptomeria japonica), which received manganese sul- 
phate as a top dressing in monthly applications for one year and a 
half. The organic production was doubled compared with the con- 
trol trees. Manganese proved beneficial to vine culture and the 
culture of trees in general. 
Ray and Pradier 8 fertilized apricot trees with manganese, which 
increased vegetation and produced larger fruit. 
Bertrand 9 secured beneficial effects with oats, using manganese 
sulphate in field plots in amounts of 45 pounds per acre. In more 
i Voelcker, Jour. Royal Agr. Soc, 64, 348 (1903); 65, 306 (1904). 
2 Fukutome, Y., On the influence of manganese salts on flax. Bui. Col. Agr. Tokyo, 6, 137 (1904-5). 
3 Italo Giglioli. Annali scuola agricoltura Portici. Ser. 2, p. 159(1901). 
« Namba, L., On the behavior of onion to stimulants. Bull. Col. Agr. Tokyo, 7, 635 (1906-1908). 
s Bui. Agricole, Bruxelles, 23, 388 (1907). 
« Loew, O., On the treatment of crops by stimulating compounds. Bui. Col. Agr. Tokyo, 6, 161 (1904-5). 
7 Loew, O., and Honda, S., Ueber den Einfluss des Mangans auf Waldbaume. Bui. Col. Agr. Tokyo, 6, 
125 (1904-5). 
s Ray, G., and Pradier, G., Nitrate d'uranium et sulfate de manganese, leur emploi avantageux en 
arboriculture fruitiere. L'Engrais, 24, 1029 (1909). 
» Bertrand, G., Compt. rend. 141, 1255 (1905). 
