EFFECT OF BORAX ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF CROPS. 25 
borax in small amounts is harmful to cotton and that its effect is 
influenced to a certain degree by weather conditions. Wherever 
light rains occurred soon after planting, followed by a dry spell, the 
effect was severest. If heavy rains followed periodically after plant- 
ing the effect was less severe. 
THE RESIDUAL EFFECT OF BORAX. 
In order to determine whether there was any residual effect of 
borax onthe succeeding crop, the field which was used for beans, 
potatoes, and corn in the experiments at Arlington, Va., was planted to 
wheat in October, 1920, following the harvesting of summer crops. 
eer soil was disked and harrowed and the seed drilled over the entire 
field. 
As the wheat pushed through the soil, the plants in the drill rows 
immediately over the area where the borax fertilizer had been applied 
in quantities of 50, 100, 200, and 400 Saray per acre showed a 
bleached appearance, and the stand on the 200 and 400 pound plats 
was poor. Plants taken from the fertilizer drill rows are shown in 
Plate X. These plants weakened as the winter came on, and by early 
spring the stand was not more than 25 per cent on the plats with 
fie 200 and 400 pound applications. At harvest time in June, 1921, 
the single drill rows immediately over the original fertilizer-borax 
drill row were cut separately and the weight of straw and grain is 
given in Table 17. 
TABLE 17.—Hffect of borax on wheat planted after potatoes and corn which had received 
fertilizer containing borax in various quantities, at Arlington, Va., in 1920. 
| 
Yield of wheat per plat (pounds). | Yield of wheat per plat (pounds). 
. iJ | 
Borax per acre. | Potato section.| Corn section. | Borax per acre. | Potato section.| Corn section. 
Straw.| Grain.| Straw.| Grain. | Straw. | Grain. | Straw. } Grain. 
| : | | | 
ASD QUITE eee 21.0 1.75 21 3.0 20 pounds....... 21.0 15 18 1. 75. 
APOUNGS 4.5 oes 14.5 2.0 21 2.25 || 30 pounds....... 20.0 15 19 | 2.0 
3 pounds......... 12.0 1.5 19 3.2 50 pounds.....-. 18.0 1.0 17 1.6 
(01 0S ae 21.0 1.75 20 2.5 OWES . asso 9: 23.0 2. 25 21 3.0 
4 pounds.....-.... 16.5 1.5 19 2.7 100 pounds...... 10.0 1.0 19 1, 25: 
5 pounds......... 14.5 1.2 18 2.6 200 pounds....-. 8.0 Bi (5) 12 1.0 
IG-pounds=:% 2 =... 17.0 ey 17 2.75 || 400 pounds...... 4.0 .6 6 . 75: 
GHe Sas. bass: 26.0 2.0 18 2: 250} INometss. Sse ei 19.0 1.6 18 2.0 
The yield of straw and grain from each drill row in the potato 
section varies considerably among the checks. While the growth 
was less in the rows where the smaller quantities of borax were used, 
it was as great as in the rows which had received 20 and 30 pound 
applications, so it would be presumed that these decreases may be 
due to causes other than borax. The yield from the 50-pound plat 
is slightly under the no-borax plat, and where larger quantities of 
borax were used the yield is cut more than 50 per cent. A somewhat 
similar effect is noted in the corn section. It is apparent that the 
borax, when used in the higher quantities, still remained of sufficient 
concentration in the soil to exert a harmful residual effect on the 
succeeding crop. It should be remembered, however, that the soil 
was disked and not plowed in the preparation for the wheat, so there 
