76 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
available phosphoric acid, 5 per cent, ni¬ 
trogen and 10 per cent, potash, this stan¬ 
dard being based upon the analysis of the 
plants and fruit, and the experience of the 
more successful growers. Plot one re¬ 
ceived one fourth less than the standard, 
plot three one fourth more, and plot four 
one-half more or twice as much as plot 
one. 
That is, plot one received at the rate 
of 2250 pMDunds per acre of such a fertili¬ 
zer, plot two 3000 pounds, plot three 
3750 pounds, and plot four 4500 pounds. 
With the exception of a few sections 
introduced for special purposes, this plan 
was followed throughout the entire plot, 
different sources of plant food, of course, 
being used in the different sections. 
It will thus be seen that all* the plots 
in a given horizontal line received the 
same amount of plant food, the difference 
1>eing in the sources from which they are 
derived. 
To illustrate, the 2nd plot of sec. H 
received 0.8 pound phosphoric acid deriv¬ 
ed from slag phosphate, i.oo pound ni¬ 
trogen derived from dried blood and 2.00 
pounds potash derived from muriate, 
while the second plot of sectiom M; for 
example, received the same amount of 
phosphoric acid, nitrogen and potash de¬ 
rived from lx)ne meal, cotton seed 
meal, and high grade sulphate. Sev¬ 
eral sections were introduced for spec¬ 
ial purposes; for example, section K was 
introduced with the idea of finding out 
the effects of lime when used with acid 
phosphate; isection L to determine the 
proper ratio for phosphoric acid, nitrogen 
and potash; section V to determine the 
number of applications giving the best 
results, etc. 
After the first 18 months the fertilizers 
were applied twice a year, except in the 
case of one or two sepcial sections, accord 
ing to the plan mentioned above. One ap¬ 
plication in February or March as the 
conditions seemed to require, and one soon 
after the removal.of the summer crop. 
THE RESULTS OF THE FIRST YEAR. 
Beginning with the first crop which 
came off in 1903, careful count was kept 
of the number of the different sizes of 
pines taken from each plot. This record 
is published in full so that in one 
table may be found the amount and 
kind of fertilizers applied to each plot, 
and in another the number of the different 
sizes of pines produced by these plots for 
the three years 1903, 1904 and 1905. 
They cannot be given in detail here. 
The crop of 1903 was alx)ut 88 per 
cent, of a total possibility; that is, each 
plot had a possible yield of 100 pines, 
and actually yielded, on the average 88. 
This must be considered a gopd yield 
when it is remembered that in an ex- 
I>eriment of this nature, it is almost a 
foregone conclusion that some of the plots 
receive a treatment which will, to a great¬ 
er or less extent, injure the crop. 
As a matter of fact there was a wide 
difference in the yield of the various plots, 
some yielding little more than half a crop, 
while several yielded 97, 98 and 99 out 
of a possible 100 and one, at least, yielded 
100. 
The results are interesting, but can best 
be studied from the published tables. I 
will, IhoweYer, undertake, in a general 
way, to point out some of them. 
COMMENT ON FERTILIZERS. 
The experiment has emphasized the 
fact, which had already been pretty gen- 
