1879. J 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
129 
Ss, those having only their “natural strength,” and 
little or no richness left from former manuring. 
The soil must be uniform, or the tests will mislead. 
lVIiat ihe Experiment will Tell: 
FIRST: By watching the growth, and measuring 
the gathered crop, it will be easy to see how the 
crop on that soil is affected by Potash, or by Ni¬ 
trogen, or by Phosphoric Acid, or by a combina¬ 
tion of all of them as provided for in plot G. 
SECOND; By comparing each plot with the no fer¬ 
tilizer plot 0, it will be easy to see which fertilizer 
pays expenses, or a profit, and which pays best. 
THIRD: Such an experiment will be interesting, 
•will stimulate thought, and prepare for more extend¬ 
ed investigations. If there are boys on the farm, it 
will awaken interest in their minds, and be a good 
agricultural school, on a small scale, at home. The 
pamphlets sent with each Setwill greatly help in this. 
FOURTH: It will be a good step towards help¬ 
ing each experimenter to decide for himself, and 
for his neighbors, what fertilizers, if any, they can 
•go into more largely in the future. (We do not dis¬ 
cuss here, the effects of the season, the after effects 
next year, nor other special circumstances that may 
vary the results in any one set of experiments, etc. 
These are matters that we will talk over while the 
experiments are in progress during the summer. 
What we now want is for farmers, generally, all of 
them, to go to work and put in practice such a 
set of most valuable and important experiments.) 
* AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST I , 8 - g • 
FERTILIZER EXPERIMENTS, f • 
l 1^0. 2—A Half Acre Plot. * 
; Cost, of Set. of Fertilizers, in bags, shipped, $5.00. ; 
This wi” consist of eig'lit Bags, A, JB, C, D, E, F, 
G, II, to be used on ten plots. This is of course a 
much better Set than No. 1. It includes all of No. 
1, and four more. We have, first, the three ingre¬ 
dients singly in A, S, C; then we have them in 
mixture two by two in D, E, F, to see their effects 
when used in pairs; then all three together in 
G, and finally Plaster in H. Select the soil as for 
No. 1, and treat in the same way. Lay it off thus : 
EIGHT RODS. 
Plot O.... 
No fertilizer, for comparison. 
Plot A— Nitrogen. 
Bag A. containing 10 lbs. of Nitrate of Soda. 
t: I 
T 
a 
.& 
a 
g * 
Plot B_ Phosphoric Acid. 
Bag B, containing 15 lbs. of Superphosphate. 
Plot C ...Potash. 
Bag C, containing 10 lbs. of Muriate of Potash. 
Plot D... .Nitrogen and Phosphoric Acid. 
Rao- T» 5 containing (7K lbs. of Nitrate of Soda. 
" u, i mixture of (15 lbs. of Superphosphate. 
Plot £_ Nitrogen and Potash. 
rr 5 containing ( 7% lbs. of Nitrate Soda, 
nag is, ^ m i x t ure 0 f J io jba. 0 f Muriate of Pot 
Potash. 
Plot F... .Phosphoric Acid and Potash. 
to < containing S15 lbs. of Superphosphate, 
t, j mixture oft 10 lbs. of Muriate of Potash. 
Plot G .. Nitrogen,Phosphoric Acid,Potash. 
< fnntiinino- (?'4 lbs. of Nitrate of Soda. 
Bag G» ] mivfn T-t 15 lbs. of Superphosphate. 
i mixture ot f 10 , bs . of Mllriate 0 fp 0 t ae h. 
Plot H— Plaster (10 lbs.) 
Bag H, to learn the effects of this fertilizer. 
Plot OQ. 
No fertilizer, for comparison. 
Note.—I t will be a good plan to add other similar 
Plots, and apply on them severally, stable manure, lime, 
and any other fertilizer at hand, for making a comparison. 
"Take note, that the above is very simple. The 
bags are all of accurate weight, with standard fer¬ 
tilizers of known quality and composition, and all 
the experimenter has to do is to mark out the plots, 
and use the bag marked for each plot. The result 
in the growth and in the yield will indicate what 
each fertiliser will do, on any soil for the crop 
or crops grown, also what any two of them will 
do if used together, and what all will do used 
together. The different materials in each bag are 
thoroughly mixed and prepared, so that they have 
only to be sown without further mixing or care.* 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST ) |8 -„ 
; FERTILIZER EXPERIMENTS, f ‘ ' 
MO. 3—® ne Acre Plot. 
: Cost of Set of Fertilizers, in bags, shipped, $8. 30. I 
This is the same as No. 2, except that the quan¬ 
tity in each bag is doubled, for plots of double size 
(one-tenth acre each). As the expense for bags, put¬ 
ting up, shipping, etc., will be the same, for each 
set, the double amount of fertilizer put in will 
cost only $8.30, instead of $10. With larger plots, 
more valuable results will be obtained, and more 
than one crop can be tried. The expense of the 
fertilizers, $8.30 per acre, will very likely be more 
than returned in the increased crop on a part of 
the plots. We strongly advise all who can to try 
Set No. 3. (This Set No. 3, is the same as the Set 
A of last year, with the No. XIII. of 1878 added. 
Those who experimented last year, and desire to 
repeat the same trials, can obtain the Set A of 1878. 
Blow llse Fertilizers arc Supplied : 
We invited the leading dealers in fertilizers to meet 
at the American Agriculturist office, and laid before 
them our plans, and invited them to cooperate with 
us. They were informed that no profit would be 
provided for, but we wished them to put up the 
samples according to our plan and forward them at 
cost, and asked them to do this as a public enter¬ 
prise. For reasons named above, we could not ex¬ 
tend the invitation to points outside our immediate 
observation. The following parties entered heartily 
into the arrangement, agreeing to equally share any 
extra expense of printing, cartage, shipping, etc. 
(It was estimated that they will have to pay for cart¬ 
age and shipping each single set 50 cts. or more, in 
addition to cost of fertilizers, bags, carefully weigh¬ 
ing, putting up, labeling,etc.—freight not included.) 
Henry J. Baker & Bro,, 215 Pearl St., New York. 
Bowker Fertilizer Co., 43 Chatham St., Boston, 
and 3 Park Place, New York. 
Mapes’ Formula & Peruvian Guano Co., 
158 Front St., New York. 
All of the above bouses will put up precisely 
the same articles. Prof. Atwater, in our behalf, 
will look after the quality, purity, and composition 
of the fertilizers, and test them by chemical- analy¬ 
sis.—Our readers can send their orders direct to 
any one of the above parties, or they may be sent 
to the office of the American Agriculturist, and we 
will hand them to the dealers ; we will send those 
to Boston which can be forwarded most cheaply 
from that point.—We receive not a penny for this, 
directly or indirectly, and only ask that correspond¬ 
ence and remittances on this subject be in a sepa¬ 
rate letter, distinct from other business, and save 
us as much as possible from correspondence. 
•Quality, etc., of the Fertilizers.—The Nitbate of 
Soda, to be sent in the bags, is to he guaranteed to contain 
95 per cent of the pure salt. This will yield 15)4 per cent 
of Nitrogen....The Superphosphate is to be guaranteed to 
contain 15 to 16 per cent of soluble phosphoric acid. We 
do not take into account the reverted and insoluble... .The 
Muriate of Potash, is to be guaranteed to contain 80 per 
cent of the pure salt, corresponding to 50 per cent of actual 
potash....The Plaster will be of the best quality of that ar¬ 
ticle. The Per Acre Applications, provided in the bags for 
Sets Nos. 1 and 2 above, with the cost per acre at the 
present ton prices of the Articles will be about as follows: 
Kate per Acre, 
Nitrate Soda....,. 
(Suppin’g Nitrogen.) 
Superphosphate... .. 
(Sap Sol. I’hos.Acid ) 
Muriate Potash 
(Supplying Potash ), 
Plaster..... 
Cost per Acre.. .$ 
7.50 
5.23 4.00 
D 
lbs. 
150 
23 
300 
45 
E 
lbs. 
150 
23 
200 
100 
G 
16 . 9 . 
150 
zr 
300 
45 
200 
100 
I 800 
10.87 9.62 9.25 14.S7 80c. 
Science Applied to Farming.-—L. 
MORE ABOUT THE FARM EXPERIMENTS WITH 
FERTILIZERS. 
Instead of continuing from last month (page 91), 
the details of the Experiments of last year, of 
which full accounts are given in the Report of the 
Conn. Board of Agriculture for 1878, now in press, 
and in a pamphlet to go to the experimenters of last 
year and this, the Editors desire a summary of the 
main results, and suggestions for this year’s work. 
RESULTS WITH CORN. 
1. In general, the complete fertilizers containing 
nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash, brought bet¬ 
ter results than even farm manures, as the latter 
were used. In the experiments with corn, on 
soils good, bad, and indifferent, but mostly very 
poor, the average yield with 150 lbs. nitrate of soda, 
300 of dissolved bone-black, and 200 lbs. muriate of 
potash, No. VI. (the same as No. G, of sets proposed 
this year), was 48.6 bushels of shelled corn against 
45.9 bushels with the farm manures. Taken singly, 
the phosphoric acid was decidedly the most effica¬ 
cious. The corn responded well to the superphos¬ 
phate, No. II. (B, of this year’s sets), iu nearly all 
the trials. In some it paid little heed to anything 
else. The potash salts, No. III. (No. C, this year), 
were more or less effective in perhaps two-thirds 
of the trials. The nitrogenous fertilizers paid their 
cost in only 9 trials out of 53. The average loss 
was larger or smaller in proportion, as more or less 
nitrogen was used. The mixture of superphos¬ 
phate and potash, No. F, was the most profitable 
for corn. With this the crop averaged 43 bushels 
per acre, and gathered so much nitrogen for itself 
that if the com were fed out on the farm it would 
contribute more nitrogen to the manure than could 
be bought for the whole price of the fertilizer. 
The corn experiments have given more light on 
the feeding capacities of that crop, and the ef¬ 
fects of different fertilizers upon it, than all the 
other data I have ever been able to gather from 
home or foreign sources, and I feel certain that the 
light to come from future work in this line will be 
still more valuable. 
RESULTS ON POTATOES—GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. 
2. With Potatoes, the comparative yields were 
still more favorable for the chemicals, as compared 
with farm manures. The complete fertilizer, in 
the trials reported, averaged the most profitable. 
Potash showed good results in nearly every case. 
3. If I had to prescribe fertilizers for general use, 
on the basis of last year’s experiments, I should say 
for Com : a mixture of superphosphate with potash 
salts, and for Potatoes, the same, with the addition 
of some nitrate of soda. But I offer no such pre¬ 
scription ; because of the difference in soils, and 
the need of more knowledge about the feeding 
capabilities of the plants. 
4. The experiments confirm me in the belief that 
the proper policy, after making as much and as good 
manure as possible on the farm, is to piece out with 
superphosphates, bone, guano, potash salts, or 
other materials, such as the experiments and ex¬ 
perience show to be most profitable on each farm. 
5. The experience of two seasons confirms me in 
the belief that the experiments rightly conducted 
do serve the purpose for which they are proposed. 
The men who are respected as authorities in 
agricultural chemistry the world over, unanimously 
recommend them, and continue to do so year 
after year. Of the ways the results sometimes 
differ from what is expected, and the ways of 
interpreting them, I shall speak hereafter. 
6. A number of last year’s trials failed of their 
purpose, because they were made on land already 
in very good condition. “ Worn out” soils, those 
that have only their “natural strength” to rely 
upon, are the ones to work on. Such a soil will 
be apt to do next year what it does this with the 
same manure. But if the soil has a store of availa¬ 
ble plant-food, accumulated from its own resources 
or left over from previous manuring, we can not 
tell how much of the yield is due to that and how 
much to the fertilizer. Another important point 
