Vol. LVI. No. 2484. 
NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 4, 1897. 
81.00. PER YEAR. 
A VISIT TO SIR JOHN B. LAWES. 
I’ROF. C. S. PLUMB AT ROTHAMSTED. 
Something About the Experiments, 
Readers of The Rural New-Yorker have, for a long 
time, known something of Sir John B. Lawes, of Eng¬ 
land, who has for over 50 years maintained, at private 
expense, at Harpenden, what is now one of the most 
celebrated experiment stations in the world. Sir John 
has favored The R, N.-Y. with many contributions 
during the past 20 years, while it has made frequent 
references during those years to the Rothamsted ex¬ 
periments. It has been my pleasure recently to visit 
Rothamsted and see the work there in progress, and I 
have thought that some facts concerning it might be 
of more than passing interest to R. N.-Y. readers. 
Harpenden lies 27 miles northeast of London, in a 
pretty, undulating country, which is largely devoted 
to meadows and growing wheat, barley, 
oats, mangels and turnips. The estate of 
Rothamsted has its main entrance right 
at the village, and a walk of 20 minutes 
from the railway station, largely up a 
beautiful drive, with fine shade trees 
here and there, brings one to the home 
of Sir John, which has been the family 
residence for generations. I use the 
term Sir John, because, in common with 
English custom, since being knighted by 
the Queen, it is the proper method of ad¬ 
dressing him. The family residence is 
a large, unpretentious one, containing 
many rooms, I judge, which would be of 
much interest to American farmers in 
their size, age and general appearance. 
The rooms I saw are all heavily finished 
with oak, darkened with age, and the 
walls are hung with numerous paintings 
and portraits, and of a class only found 
in old mansions. 
After being cordially received by Sir 
John, with him, a visit was made to the 
experiment fields. Rothamsted, from 
what I could learn, embraces about 1,000 
acres. Most of this is in meadow and 
pasture, and some of the experiment 
fields are located in widely separated 
places. The soil at the surface was a 
sort of clay loam on which were scat¬ 
tered many small broken flint stones of 
the general size of an egg or smaller, 
stones such as I have rarely seen in 
America. After going down through 
this soil for, perhaps, 10 feet, if I re¬ 
member correctly, a very deep layer of 
white chalk is reached. 
The great importance of Rothamsted 
field experiments, is in their permanent 
character. Sir John said to me in speak¬ 
ing of this feature, “We never change 
anything.” And so Broadbalk Field has been con¬ 
tinuously in wheat experiments for 53 years ; Hoos 
Field in barley for 45, leguminous crops for 48, pota¬ 
toes for 21, and wheat for 45 years, while Aydell Field 
has maintained a four-course rotation with turnips, 
barley, beans and wheat for 48 years. In going over 
the experiments, one is impressed with the great im¬ 
portance of the nitrates as sources of plant food. We 
saw the wheat and barley just before harvesting 
time ; and the same lesson ran through it all. The 
plant must have nitrogen. 
We first visited Broadbalk Field. Here were 20 
plots that had continuously grown wheat for 53 years. 
About 11 acres are devoted to them, most of the plots 
being one-half acre in size, but with several of three- 
tenths and one of one-sixth acre. There was a strik¬ 
ing difference in the appearance of the plots. The 
unmanured ones, of course, showed the smallest, 
17. During the past 44 years, the plot receiving no 
extra nitrogen has averaged a yield of 15 ^ bushels of 
grain per acre, while the other has averaged 30k£ bush¬ 
els, nearly twice as much. As the yield where nitro¬ 
gen is not added, is about the same as that of plot 5, 
it would seem that the crop entirely exhausts the 80 
pounds of nitrogen supplied each year. 
On Hoos Field, with barley, practically the same 
character of results ensues through the different com¬ 
binations, although not so much nitrogen is supplied 
to the crop. Interesting experiments have been con¬ 
tinued for 48 years with leguminous crops. It has 
been impossible to grow Red clover at Rothamsted as 
a farm crop on the same land continuously. After 
the first few years, no real crop has been obtained. 
It had been sown 12 times in 29 years, and out of the 
last ten times, have failed eight. It is interesting and 
important to note that, on this same land where a crop 
of Red clover will not grow, the other 
legumes will find an abundance of nitro¬ 
gen, and grow luxuriantly. Red clover, 
when it would grow, could only find 22 
pounds of nitrogen per acre in five years 
of crop. The small White clover, on the 
same land, has been able to secure, in 
six years of crop, 47 pounds of nitrogen 
per acre ; the vetch, an average of 75 
pounds for over 14 years ; while Sir John 
specially called our attention to the 
robust growth of the Bokhara clover, 
which, for 11 years, has averaged 64 
pounds per annum. Alfalfa, for over 12 
years, has secured from this soil an aver¬ 
age of 160 pounds of nitrogen per acre 
In other words, says Sir John, “ When 
various other leguminous plants were 
sown where Red clover had failed, they 
grew luxuriantly, and yielded much 
larger, and in some cases, very large 
amounts of nitrogen. The surface soils 
also gained rather than lost nitrogen.” 
The experiments on permanent grass 
land I unfortunately did not see, owing 
to the limited time at my command ; yet 
these experiments simply show the great 
importance of supplying nitrogen to the 
soil to secure the best results. 
There is much of interest and import¬ 
ance to see at Rothamsted. Besides the 
home of Sir John, Sir Henry Gilbert, as 
the important co-worker with Sir John 
for over 50 years, also has a residence on 
the estate, and besides these, there is a 
small buildiug for keeping samples of 
the crops harvested each year, a chemical 
laboratory, and a set of unpretentious 
farm buildings. England is a great ale 
or beer drinking country, and the people 
generally patronize the tavern bar to an 
extent Americans who have not been 
abroad can little realize. The farm laborer here 
drinks away each year a good percentage of his little 
earnings. In order to keep his laborers away from 
public inns as much as possible, Sir John erected a 
small building on his estate, near the village, where 
the men could get their beer, instead of hanging about 
the village. Then about this, he has given quite a 
considerable area of land to the villagers, for garden 
purposes. Each person who desires, here has the free 
privilege of possessing a small garden, in which he 
may grow his family vegetables. This is one way Sir 
John shows his interest in the English farm laborers 
at Harpenden. The idea of a barroom on his estate 
did not meet with favor among some, but he said to 
me that he saw no reason why any one should object, 
so long as social clubs were accorded the privilege, 
while his plan was simply to minimize and control 
the saloon question as much as possible where it 
shortest plants. Where superphosphate and sulphates 
of potash, soda and magnesia were used, the yield 
was a little better. This is known as plot 5. Follow¬ 
ing this plot are five others, each of which receives 
the same mineral manure as 5, but with gradually in¬ 
creased addition of nitrogen in the form of nitrate of 
soda or ammonium salts. Plot 6 received 43 pounds, 
plot 7, 86, and plot 8, 129 pounds of nitrogen, each in 
the form of ammonium salts. The result of this com¬ 
bination shows a gradual development in height of 
straw, thickness of plant, growth and yield of grain, 
in favor of increased nitrogen application. These 
figures show the average yield of gram for 44 years : 
Plot Yield, bushels. 
3-4. Unmanured. 13^ 
5. Superphosphate and sulp. potash, soda and magnesia.. 15 
6 . Same as 5Xammonium salts=43 pounds of nitrogen 24t4 
7. Same as 5Xammonium salts=86 pounds of nitrogen 33VA 
8 . Same as 5Xatnmonium salts=129 pounds of nitrogen. . 36!4 
2B Farm yard manure, 14 tons per acre. 35 
SIR JOHN B. LAWES. From a Photograph Taken in 1889. Fig. 238. 
I have added 2 B. as showing the great influence of 
stable manure, results quite in accordance with those 
we have secured in similar experiments conducted at 
the Indiana Station, on wheat, for a long term of 
years in succession, on quite different soil from that 
at Rothamsted. In fact, at the Indiana Station, stable 
manure has given us the most profitable returns of 
any fertility applied. 
The most striking and significant story told on 
Broadbalk Field, is found in plots 17 and 18, lying side 
by side. Each year, they receive the mixed mineral 
manure of plot 5 (see above), but one of them re¬ 
ceives, in addition, 86 pounds of nitrogen in the form 
of ammonium salts, their application being alternated 
between the plots from year to year. This year, plot 
18 received the nitrogen, and its influence was shown 
in a striking manner in the increased height, thick¬ 
ness and robustness of the plants in this one over plot 
