FIELD EXPERIMENTS WITH FERTILIZERS. 123 
_ the field seeded to rye the first week in September. The weight of 
unthreshed rye per acre at harvest is given in the following table: 
WEIGHTS OF UNTHRESHED RYE PER ACRE, 
LBs. PER ACRE, LBs. PER ACRE. LBS. PER ACRE. 
Plote0- = - 3130 Piotr: - 4180 Plot Rss - 4470 
Plot A, i - 3740 Plot oo, - 4060 Flot.G, - 4610 
Plot. B; - 3840 Plots; - 4600 Plot Ga, - 4470 
Plot 13 3 - 4400 
From this tabulation it will be noticed that the plots to which 
potash had been applied in the corn experiments (see diagram on 
next page) gave the largest yields of rye, although the phos- 
phoric acid plot (B) gave better results than nitrogen plot (A). 
From the diagram on the next page giving the yields of corn 
for the three years 1889, 1890, and 1893, it will be seen that 
naturally the soil was especially lacking in potash and nitrogen; 
and that the clover plowed under added largely to the supply of 
available nitrogen. In 1893, mineral fertilizers alone (plot F) 
gave nearly as large yields as plot G, which had in addition to 
_ the minerals, 160 pounds of nitrate of soda. 
Early in the spring of 1892, red clover seed, at the rate of ten 
pounds per acre, was sown broadcast upon the entire field, and a 
fair ‘‘catch” resulted. The clover developed quite rapidly after 
the rye was harvested, and a heavy growth was produced dur- 
ing the fall of 1892. The clover was plowed under May 20 and 
22, 1893, and the land prepared fora soil test experiment with 
corn. The kinds and amounts of fertilizers used were the same 
as for our regular soil tests (see weights for 1889), except plot Ga 
took the place of plaster. This plot had the same amount of 
nitrogen and potash as G, but double the amount of phosphoric 
acid. 
A striking peculiarity of the soils of this region is the presence 
of large quantities of phosphates. The soil is alluvial, and was 
apparently formed from the decomposition of limestone forma- 
tions located along the Housatonic Valley to the northward. 
This limestone evidently contains phosphates, and by its decom- 
position these phosphates must have-been added to the soil. In 
the earlier experiments the dissolved bone-black (phosphoric 
acid) seemed to be détrimental to the crop, but in the latter test 
(1893), in the presence of an abundance of available nitrogen, it 
proved of value, although the increase in yield was slight where 
double the ordinary quantity was used (Plot Ga). 
