New York AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. OAR 
emphasizes the truth that the supply of plant-food is only one 
factor of crop production. Farmers often remark that ‘‘ fertil- 
izers are of little use in a dry year,” which is one way of saying 
that in order for any manure to exercise its maximum influence, 
other conditions such as temperature, soil texture and water 
supply must be favorable. It is evident, then, that considering 
the varying price of the marketable product, the close margin 
of profit from heavy manuring with fertilizers even with fairly 
good prices for the crop product, and the vicissitudes of the crop 
due to the limitations of season, the onion grower runs great 
risk of diminished profits when he uses 1500 and 2000 Ibs. of 
commercial fertilizer per acre. It should be remembered by 
growers of all crops that the largest yields may be the least 
profitable under certain conditions. 
It may be suggested that the consideration merely of the gross 
weight of onions produced does not fairly represent the fuli rela- 
tive influence of the several quantities of fertilizer, because the 
quality of the crop may be better with the heavier manuring. 
Data were secured from the experiment of 1901, the fourth year, 
which bear on this point. Attention is called to the figures of 
the next table. 
TABLE VI.—QUALITY OF ONIONS, Crop oF 1901. 
Yield Yield Percentage 
graded pickle of pickle 
Plat. Quantity of fertilizer. onions. onions. onions. 
Lbs. Lbs. Per ct. 
CSS S GE er Pee eae 526 79 13 
PEROT US ae dela sie ss '¢'s'e se eo ccccccccce 1218 38 3 
om L000 bss idee obte four aS Ade @bicase 1898 27 1.9 
So LOO). IDS ..0.0: 50 ata ale pisces. cd sake. 0 13879 44 3.1 
+) 4.3 
ANKE LDS vase 6 S¥devesnebeevecess “1484 65 
The proportion of small onions appears to be less where fer- 
tilizer was applied than where it was not, but not less with the 
heaviest manuring than with the lightest. 
In 1898 it was noticed that the onions where no fertilizer was 
applied weighed less per barrel than those from the manured 
plats and should be graded mostlyas scullions. The barrel weight 
seemed to be somewhat more where 1500 and 2000 lbs. of fer- 
