The  Woburn  Field  Experiments,  1909. 
365 
(1897-1906)  since  the  experiments  began.  The  unmanured 
produce  was  7|  bushels  per  acre,  the  highest  produce  that 
with  farmyard  manure,  viz.,  27‘8  bushels  of  corn  with  33^ 
cwt.  of  straw  per  acre,  whilst  next  best  was  the  yield  of 
plot  5b  (minerals  and  sulphate  of  ammonia,  following  the 
application  of  1 ton  per  acre  of  lime  in  1905),  this  reaching 
23^  bushels  of  corn  with  22  cwt.  of  straw  per  acre.  Rape  cake 
(plot  10b)  yielded  only  1 bushel  of  corn  less,  and  the  plots  here 
mentioned  gave  results  well  in  advance  of  all  the  remainder. 
The  influence  of  nitrate  of  soda  in  such  a season  as  that 
experienced  was  by  no  means  a favourable  one,  resulting,  as 
it  did,  in  the  production  of  the  most  “ tail  ” corn,  and  the 
lowest  weight  per  bushel.  Comparing  plots  3a  and  3b,  the 
extra  1 cwt.  or  so  (125  lb.)  of  nitrate  of  soda  gave  only 
4 bushels  of  corn  additional.  The  omission  of  nitrate  of  soda 
on  plot  9b  for  a single  year  took  the  produce  down  to  that  of 
the  unmanured  plot. 
With  sulphate  of  ammonia  applied,  results  much  as  in 
recent  years  were  obtained,  there  being  an  absence  of  crop, 
or  a reduced  crop,  when  no  lime  was  given,  but  a fair  one 
in  all  cases  where  lime — not  less  than  10  cwt.  to  the  acre — 
was  applied.  Plot  5a  (not  limed),  which  in  1908  showed  a 
reduction  of  5 bushels  as  compared  with  the  similar  plot  5b 
(limed),  again  gave  this  difference,  and  this  plot  is  clearly 
showing  the  need  of  lime.  It  is  remarkable  that  on  plot  2b, 
the  influence'  of  lime,  2 tons  per  acre,  put  on  as  far  back  as 
1897  and  not  since  repeated,  continues  to  tell,  and  that  here 
sulphate  of  ammonia  can  still  be  quite  well  given.  Indeed, 
plot  2bb,  on  which  the  lime  application  was  repeated  in  1905, 
has  not  as  yet  given  a yield  equal  to  that  of  2b.  The  omission 
— on  plot  8bb — of  sulphate  of  ammonia  for  a single  year  gave 
nothing  like  the  lowering  of  crop  that  was  experienced  when 
nitrate  of  soda  was  omitted. 
As  between  plots  10a  and  11a,  the  use  of  phosphate  on  the 
former  would  seem,  as  in  1908,  to  be  more  necessary  than 
that  of  potash. 
The  duplicate  unmanured  plots  (1  and  7)  were  very 
uniform,  and  minerals  only  (plot  4)  gave,  as  usual,  a slightly 
lower  yield,  though  in  its  early  stages  the  corn  certainly  looked 
better  here. 
For  reasons  already  given,  too  much  importance  must  not 
be  attached  to  the  weights  of  straw  recorded  ; the  straw  was 
in  too  damp  and  spoilt  a condition  to  make  these  really 
comparable  in  all  cases. 
The  valuation  of  the  corn  was  carried  out  on  January  20, 
1910  The  wheat,  as  a whole,  was  reported  on  as  being  below 
average,  and  as  lacking  strength  and  quality.  The  condition 
