EXPERIMENT ON SOIL IMPROVEMENT. OF 
AN EXPERIMENT ON SOIL IMPROVEMENT. 
BYeCIIS.) PHELPS: 
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An experiment on soil improvement was begun by the 
Station on a series of plots of land at Storrs in the spring of 
1899, to be continued through a period of years. The soil on 
which the experiment is being carried out appears to be lack- 
ing in organic matter and probably in available nitrogen. Such 
a soil is commonly spoken of as ‘‘ poor’’ or ‘‘ worn out.’’ The 
purpose of the experiment is to compare the value and economy 
of different methods of manuring for restoring fertility to a 
soil of this kind. ‘The fertilizers used in the experiments, the 
kinds and quantities of which are fully explained in a later 
paragraph, are (1) stable manure, (2) a ‘‘complete’’ chemical 
fertilizer, and (3) ‘‘green’’ manures, both alone and in com- 
bination with mineral fertilizers. The plan of the experiments 
is given in detail beyond. 
The field selected for this experiment is one which had been 
used for a peach orchard since 1889. While the peach trees 
were growing the field had been liberally treated with mineral 
fertilizers, but not very much nitrogen had been supplied. 
During the years 1889 to 1894 different crops had been grown 
between the rows of trees and had been removed from the 
land; after 1894 the land remained under cultivation most of 
the time, but without cropping. Part of the peach trees were 
removed in the fall of 1897 and the balance in the fall of 
1898. When the field was plowed in the spring of 1899 the 
soil, which is a medium heavy loam and holds moisture well, 
- was compact and hard and seemed to be lacking in organic 
matter. 
Plan of the experiment.—The general plan of the experiment 
is to grow a rotation of crops, having the same crop on all the 
plots each year, to use manure or fertilizers on the different 
plots in such a way as to ‘‘build up’’ the general fertility of 
