drJffn w<^^<'f^^ RE5ULT3 05TA1NED IN v WWW NOTICE Every farmer can obtain, free of charge, a copy of the following agricultural books: PRINCIPLES OF PROFITABLE FARMING, TRUCK FARMING, PLANT FOOD, THE COW PEA, COTTON CULTURE. SUGAR CANE CULTURE, ORANGE CULTURE, TOBACCO CULTURE, STRAWBERRY CULTURE, SUGAR BEET CULTURE, VALUE OF SWAMP LANDS, WHY THE FISH FAILED. State which of the above mentioned publications you desire and it will be mailed to you, free of charge. ADDRESS: GERMAN KALI WORKS, 42 Broadway. New York City, or 448 Monadnock Bl'k, Chicago. 111. POTASH IN AGRICULTURE. RESULTS OBTAINED IN THE UNITED STATES. Published by THE GERMAN KALI WORKS, (incorporated) new york, chicago, ill. 42 Broadway Monadnock Block ATLANTA, GA. NEW ORLEANS, LA- 1212 Empire B-ld-g. Whitney Bank B-ld-g. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. "1 — ' AGRIC: LIBRARY COMPOSITION OF POTASH SALTS. . ^^C ^^^" GUARANTEED '^" NAME OF SALTS PER CENT OF ACTUAL POTASH A. 5alts containing Chlorides: Muriate of Potash 48 Manure Salt 20 Kainit (crude salt) 12 B. Salts free olf Chlorides:. : : Sulphate of P9tash .' ...'.*..:. ." : '. . 47 Sulphate of ^taj^h'-]V|a^nes!i).. .. ^' 25 i2-'i: PREFACE. It has been found necessary to issue another edition of the pam- phlet, "Potash IN Agriculture." The present edition contains all the good points of the former one, together with many new and valu- able additions, which bring the subject down to date. One feature of this pamphlet is the careful collection of extracts from the official reports and bulletins of the Experiment Stations of the United States. The practical value of the results obtained by the Stations in field experiments with fertilizers, reported herein, cannot be overestimated. The farmers of the various States, whose soils have been exhausted by continuous croppings, now realize the neces- sity of a liberal supply of Potash on their lands for the wants of their crops, as a result of information obtained through these experiments. The Station investigations and the experiences of practical farmers all show that most commercial fertilizers have been and are yet, to some extent, not entirely adapted to the production of the highest yields and of the best quality of crops. The reason for this is, that some of these old-style comm 'rcial fertilizers contain an insufficient amount of potash. The old brands of fertilizers rarely contained more than 2 or 3 per cent, of potash. Nowadays, some of the leading fertilizer manufacturers advertise and sell brands of fertilizer which contain 10 per cent, of actual potash. It is a favorable sign, that such fertilizers are becoming more common on the market. In addition, there is a brief account of the general principles of potash fertilization, which will no doubt prove valuable to farmers. 274373 CONTENTS, PAGS. Average Composition of Potash Salts 2 Preface 3 The Stassfurt Industry 5 Part I. The Way to Use Potash ' 7 Grain Crops 11 Corn 12 Cotton 12 Tobacco 13 Potatoes 14 Tomatoes 14 Garden Crops and Vegetables ) ") Fruits and Berries 15 Part II. Results with Potash upon Various Crops IC Proper Composition of Fertilizers 16 Apples J 9 Asparagus 20 Beans 20 Clover 20 Corn 21 Cotton 35 Fodder Corn 41 Grapes 42 Grass and Clover 46 Hemp 45 Oats 46 Oranges 46 Peach Trees 47 Peas 49 Potatoes 50 Potatoes (Sweet) ; . . . 59 Rice 63 Rye 63 Sorghum : 63 Strawberries 64 Sugar Beets 64 Sugar Cane 65 Timothy •. 65 Tobacco 65 Tomatoes 67 Turnips 70 Vegetables 70 Wheat 71 Potash as Insecticide and Fungicide 71 Table showing Composition of Phosphatic, Nitrogenous and Potash materials 78 Average Composition of the most important Farm Manures 79 Table giving amounts of Plant Food annually removed by various crops 79 Distance recommended for Planting 80 Number of Plants per aqr^ at various distances SO THE STASSFURT INDUSTRY. Early in the last century, Stassfurt, in Northern Germany (in the province of Saxony), was noted for its extensive salt-works, which employed on y the unscientific pan process of evaporating water from a natural brine, obtained by pumping from driven salt-wells. This method was slow, wasteful and expensive, so that when deposits of solid rock-salt were discovered in various places, this evaporated product could not compete against the mined crystal salt. Thus, the Stassfurt Works ceased to yield their former large revenue to the Prussian Government. In fact, owing to the condition of the salt market, these works became dead property, and with the hope of turning them to some profit, the Prussian Government began borings for rock salt in 1839. A shaft was sunk (begun in 1852) and in 1857, at a depth of 1080 feet, a stratum of rock salt was discovered, after having drilled through a deposit of so-called " Abraumsalze " (refuse salts), consisting largely of potash and magnesia compounds, which were then considered worthless, but now are known to be of inestima- ble value to the agricultural and the manufacturing world. Up to that time wood ashes were the only source of potash, and, as their supply was limited and decreasing in quantity, they could scarcely supply the demands of the chemical industries. Then came the patient and skilled researches and startling discoveries of that great scientist Liebig. By him and his influence the secrets of plant- food and plant-growth became known, and it was discovered that potash was one of the ingredients, important and necessary to the sustenance of plant-life. In the light of these discoveries, the vast potash deposits at Stass- furt forthwith attracted attention, and mining for these salts was pres- ently begun. Soon both the crude salts and the refined articles in various forms were put upon the market and placed within the reach of the cultivator. The success of potash fertilization, in increasing yields and im- proving the quality of fruits, grains and forage, soon created an enor- mous demand for the Stassfurt Potash Salts — a demand which has 6 THK STASSFURT INDUSTRY, increased from year to year and made Stassfurt again the centre of vast commercial and manufacturing industries. To-day it employs in round numbers 30,000 laborers, not to mention chemists, engineers, superintendents, clerks, and the like, and the large number elsewere now engaged in handling its products. From small beginnings and through varying fortunes this once quaint little town has become a great industrial centre, from which hundreds of thousands of tons of Potash Salts are annually shipped, carrying hundreds of thousands of tons of agricultural fertility to all the civilized lands of the world. Sixty odd large Potash mining estab- lishments supply crude material, and the large chemical works at Stassfurt and vicinity produce an enormous output of Potash products. These establishments are commercially united under the name of THE GERMAN KALI WORKS. PART I. THE WAY TO USE POTASH, As one object of this pamphlet is to describe the results obtained from potash salts upon various crops, some account of their use and method of applying them may be given. The better the farmer under- stands the principles of potash fertilization the better will be his results. Therefore, the following important suggestions are offered: 1. PHOSPHORIC ACID AND NITROGEN. AS WELL AS POTASH ARE ESSENTIAL TO PLANT GROWTH. The three substances required to be given to plants to sustain their life and to induce a healthy and vigorous growth are: Potash, Phos- phoric Acid and Nitrogen; and sometimes lime is needed. All three substances have their part to perform, and neither one can take the place of the other. Thus, fertilization with potash alone does not pay, except in rare instances, and so with the other substances when used by themselves. 2. SOILS AS WELL AS PLANTS DIFFER IN THEIR NEEDS FOR POTASH. As every experienced farmer knows, some soils contain more of one kind of plant-food than of another. The great advantage is in finding out just what the soil lacks in the way of plant-food, and what form and what quantity of fertilizers should be supplied to make up the deficiency. It would be easy to compound a fertilizer suited for certain crops, if all soils contained the elements of fertility — that is, potash, phosphoric acid and nitrogen — in the same quantity and in the same form, but these conditions are seldom found on any farm; hence the practical farmer must study the conditions of his soil and compound his fertilizer in such a way as to raise the largest crops at the lowest cost. 3. LEGUMINOUS PLANTS DRAW NITROGEN FROM THE AIR. The leguminous plants are such as beans, peas, clover and vetches. The characteristic of these plants is that they draw nitrogen from the S TME WAY TO USE POTASH. air sufficient for their wants; hence, they should be supplied with those other ingredients which are necessary to plant-growth. This explains why potash has proven most useful when applied to all kinds of legumes. It stimulates and increases their power to obtain nitro- gen, which latter is the most expensive material the farmer has to buy, and which is returned into the soil at a very slight cost when leguminous plants are plowed under. This is called ''green manuring." 4. HOW GREEN MANURING BRINGS PROFIT. The heavy expense which heretofore attended the use of nitro- genous fertilizers can be decreased to a large extent by green manur- ing. By raising the leguminous crops in rotation, the roots, leaves and stalks decay in the soil and furnish a large quantity of free nitro- gen for succeeding crops. Besides, humus is added to the soil, thus improving its chemical and physical condition. Green manuring is now regarded as the best and cheapest method of restoring fertility to worn-out soils. But leguminous crops, such as clover, beans, peas or vetches, can only do their best if they are well fertilized with potash and phosphoric acid. 6. LIME IS NECESSARY UPON SOME SOILS AND FOR SOME PLANTS. There is usually lime in sufficient quantity in most soils for the re- quirements of plant-food only, but sometimes the farmer must supply lime for the purpose of improving the mechanical condition of the soil, especially to such soils as are too stiff, and to sandy soils. Soils of a peaty nature are also much improved by the use of lime. Lime is also the best means of sweetening sour soils and thus making them productive. 6. APPLY POTASH SALTS EARLY AND AVOID TOP-DRESSING. The time and method of using potash are important. In many cases positive damage is done by applying fertilizers too late in the season. The full effect of the potash and also of phosphoric acid is obtained only when these mineral fertilizers are applied some time previous to planting, or sowing of the crop. The farmer should not make the mistake of applying potash salts as a top-dressing. The proper way is to plow them under, so that the food will be readily taken up by the tiny rootlets of the growing plants. THE WAY TO USE POTASH. 9 What has been said about potash and phosphoric acid does not apply to nitrogenous fertilizers, especially in the form of nitrate of soda. Nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia and like fertilizers are more quickly and easily washed out of the soil and lost than any other manure. Therefore such fertilizers should be applied as a top-dress- ing to crops in the spring, and not in the fall and winter, and in many cases they can be applied with advantage during the growing season. 7. THE PLACE OF MAGNESIA. This element, which is deficient in some soils, is often needed in plant-growth and plant-life. The potash salts containing a large per- centage of magnesia are kainit and sulphate of potash magnesia. These materinls may be supplied with good results, especially upon very sandy soils, and also upon peaty soils. The magnesia in kainit has another valuable quality, as it is very effective and extensively used for the purpose of destroying insects, pests and fungi (grub-worms, root-lice, etc.) present in the soil. 8. THE EFFECT OF CHLORINE. The Potash salts containing chlorine are kainit, muriate of potash and Potash manure salt. The sulphate of potash and sulphate of pot- ash magnesia are free from chlorine. Where quality of some fruits and some crops is to be considered, and where direct applica- tion is to be made, it is best to use the sulphate of potash or sulphate of potash magnesia, instead of the muriate or kainit. This applies to tobacco, perhaps oranges, and some other fruit and vegetable crops. It is easy, however, to avoid the objectionable effect of muriate of potash or kainit by applying the fertilizer several months previous to planting, or better still to the preceding crop. When land inclines to sourness Sulphate of Potash has been found more economical than the Muriate, notwithstanding the somewhat higher price per ton of the former. This is because the Sulphate does not have a tendency to exhaust the lime of the soil as does Muriate. A saving will be effected on such soils through the use of Sulphate of Potash. 9. THOROUGH CULTIVATION IS ESSENTIAL TO SUCCESS WITH FERTILIZERS. A plant can only do its best when all the elements upon which it feeds are presented to it under the most favorable conditions. For if, by neglect of proper cultivation, the soil becomes hard, it offers re- 10 THE WAY TO USE POTASH. sistance to the growth of the roots, and can neither absorb nor retain the moisture necessary to plant-growth; under such conditions artifi- cial fertilizers cannot show their full benefit. To the objection some- times made that artificial fertilizers stimulate the growth of weeds, it is only necessary to remark that the weed, as a robber, revels in a certain soil, and that whatever promotes the growth of the weed will also furnish the elements of strength to the crop planted and will make the latter profitable to the planter. The object of cultivation is to bring the soil into that condition which is best suited for the growth of the plants. Thus, it prepares the way for the different kinds of plant-foods; namely, nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash, which are applied in the fertilizer. 10. POTASH SALTS AS MANURE PRESERVER. All kinds of animal manure when exposed to the elements lose a considerable part of their organic matter and nitrogen by decompo- sition. This loss which amounts to about 25 per cent, or more of the nitrogen, can largely be prevented by the use of kainit, which has the property of absorbing and retaining nitrogen and preventing a harm- ful fermentation, which latter causes a loss of organic matter. When using kainit for this purpose, sprinkle daily in the stable, i| to 2 lbs. for every full-grown animal being a fair average. By this procedure, not only a large amount of organic matter and valuable nitrogen is retained, but the manure produced is also enriched by potash. 11. POTASH SALTS AS INSECTICIDES AND FUNGICIDES. Few plants escape the attacks of insect enemies; or are free from some disease. Plant lice, scales, cabbage maggots, onion maggots, wire-worms, cut-worms, and other insects do an incalculable amount of damage every season. Many of these feed upon the roots of plants deep in the soil, where they cannot be reached by the usual remedies applied through a spraying apparatus. The way to destroy these pests is to put a large quantity of kainit in the soil. This contains magnesia, which seems to be an effective destroyer of these insects. The same remedy has also been employed with much success to cure cotton-root rot and cotton-blight, and shelling of the grape. Practi- cal farmers in various sections of the country have noted the invigo- rating and restorative effect of potash salts upon sickly crops, and upon fruit trees and vines suffering from diseases. GRAIN CROPS. 11 12. WOOD ASHES AND TOBACCO STEMS AS POTASH FERTILIZ- ERS. The above materials are used as fertilizers mainly because the potash, which they contain, makes them valuable. The trouble is, however, that the amount of potash is not a uniform quantity. Thus, wood- ashes that were supposed to contain 5 per cent, of pure potash, are frequently found to have not more than 2 or 3 per cent. This differ- ence in the potash value cannot be detected by the appearance of wood ashes. The potash in tobacco stems ranges from 4 to 9 per cent. It follows, therefore, that the farmer should insist upon a guaranteed chemical analysis in these substances, and should calculate the market price of potash per pound contained in his wood-ashes and like fertilizers before purchasing. Jhe following matter treats of the qualities of the three principal fertilizing substances — potash, phosphoric acid and nitrogen — which have been found useful upon many soils, and may be taken as a guide in the fertilization of soils in which the manurial requirements have not been ascertained: GRAIN CROPS. All the grain crops (wheat, oats, rye and barley) remove from the soil large quantities of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash. The experiences of the most successful farmers show that the cereals should have a proper place in the rotation of crops on the farm. Thus, wheat comes in very well after a crop of Indian corn; barley after a well-manured crop of potatoes or Indian corn. By green manuring — that is, by '' plowing under" a crop of clover, peas or other plants which draw their nitrogen from the air — the economical farmer is able to obtain sufficient nitrogen to produce a good grain crop, if a liberal supply of potash and phosphoric acid be given to the soil. A light top-dressing of 40 to 50 lbs. per acre of nitrate of soda may be profitably applied to wheat and oats in the spring, even when they follow a nitrogen gathering crop. If grain crops do not follow a nitrogen-gathering crop, a larger quantity of nitrogenous fertilizer is needed; 200 to 300 lbs. of nitrate of soda per acre are suitable quantities, and it is well to apply this in doses, one- fourth (50 lbs.) in autumn at the time of planting, half the remainder (75 lbs.) in the spring, and the balance (75 lbs.) just before the blossoms appear. In spring-planted grain crops, half of the nitrate of soda should be given at the time of sowing, and the rest at the time of stooling. 12 CORN-COTTON. In addition to the nitrogen, it is essential to apply the proper quan- tities of potash and phosphoric acid to grain crops, and a neglect in this respect will not only prevent a remunerative yield, but will also cause the grain to lodge. The following quantities per acre may be taken as an average for cereal crops: 500 lbs. per acre of a fertilizer containing 8 per cent, of phosphoric acid and 5 per cent, potash. As many practical farmers have fouifd that barley responds well to potash fertilizers, a larger amount of potash than above recommended may often be applied with profit. CORN. The importance of potash fertilization for corn is established beyond question by the results obtained at the Experiment Stations of a great number of States. These results show that the marked increase in the yield of corn and fodder is due to potash, which is the controlling element, rather than to phosphoric acid or nitrogen. If a legume crop as clover or alfalfa precedes the corn, there is little need of nitrogen beyond that supplied by green manuring, while phosphoric acid may be used in smaller doses than potash. The attention of practical farmers is called to the results with potash upon corn crops at the Kentucky, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and New Jersey Experiment Stations. Here we have experiments in different States upon different soils, and the results of potash fertilization on the yield of corn and fodder show for them- selves. In the Kentucky blue-grass region the increase was from 30 to 50 bushels of ear corn per acre. On peat soils which are rich in nitrogen and phosphoric acid an in- crease of 30 bushels and more of shelled corn has been obtained by using 200 lbs. per acre of Muriate of Potash. COTTON. The uplands of the South are usually in a poor state, owing to the old-time practice of planting the same lands year after year with cot- ton. Hence, the first thing is to improve the physical and mechanical condition of the soil. This can be done most economically by "plow- ing under" green crops, such as a crimson clover or cow-peas, in com- bination with potash-phosphate fertilization. POTATOES. lA The importance of green-manuring in cotton culture has been es- tablished by Station experiments and by practical planters. The ''plowing under" of leguminous crops not only improves the me- chanical condition of the soil, but at the same time adds a large amount of nitrogen, thus making the expense of artificial fertilizers considerably less. The cultivation of crimson clover and cow-peas is rapidly spreading in the cotton belts of the South. It has been found a profitable practice to sow among the cotton plants at last cultivation 15 lbs. per acre of crimson clover seed. This does not interfere with the maturing of cotton, while it prevents the land from leaching during heavy winter rains, besides preserving and retaining valuable nitrogen in the soil. In order that crops of crimson clover and cow-peas may grow vigorously, and to obtain an abundant supply of nitrogen, it is necessary that they be properly supplied with potash and phosphoric acid. The attention of cotton planters is called to the results obtained with potash upon cotton crops at the Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina Experiment Stations. In South Carolina 500 to 1000 lbs. of a fertilizer containing 4 per cent, nitrogen, 10 per cent, phosphoric acid and 4 per cent, potash produced good results upon clay soil, and upon a sandy soil in the East. The same quantities are found profit- able in North Carolina and Georgia. In some sections the planters suffer heavy losses from leaf-blight of cotton. Prof. Atkinson's experiments on the Experiment Station farms in Alabama show that, by the use of kainit (400 lbs. per acre) leaf-blight is largely, if not entirely, prevented, and the yield of cotton increased. The use of kainit for this purpose is now becoming the recognized remedy, and cotton planters will find it invaluable. POTATOES. There is no doubt about the need of potash for a good potato crop. The presence or the absence of potash will determine the yield of tubers. A few words as to the effect of the different forms of potash salts: Sulphate of potash or sulphate of potash magnesia always produces a good quality of potatoes, while the salts containing chlorine, that is, kainit and muriate of potash, may lessen the amount of starch ancj thereby produce potatoes of inferior quality. 14 TOMATOES-TOBACCO. It should be pointed out that injury can be avoided in two ways: First, by using sulphate of potash or sulphate of potash magnesia; second, by spreading the muriate or kainit broadcast in autumn, so that by spring the chlorine will have washed into the subsoil. Equally favorable are the results of the use of potash on sweet potatoes. Attention is called to the experiments with sweet potatoes at the Delaware and New Jersey Stations and at Southern Pines, N. C. It does not appear that the form of potash salts had an injurious effect on the quality of the sweet potatoes. The following may be taken as a good average potato fertilizer: 7 per cent, phosphoric acid, 3 per cent, nitrogen and 10 to 12 per cent, potash, used at the rate of about 700 lbs. per acre. TOMATOES. Although tomatoes are a garden crop, they are grown on a large scale for market and for canning. The chemical composition of the tomato shows large quantities of nitrogen and potash, indicating that these elements are much needed. This is verified in practice, and the beneficial effects of nitrogen and potash will be seen from the results of careful experiments at the Deleware and Maryland Stations. An- other effect is to hasten the ripening of the fruit, while the potash gives fine color and quality. The following is recommended for tomatoes: About 500 lbs. per acre of a fertilizer containing 7 per cent, phosphoric acid and 10 per cent, potash. In addition about 250 lbs. of nitrate of soda, half applied as top-dressing previous to planting and the other half just before fruit begins to set. , TOBACCO. As the tobacco crop exhausts about 103 lbs. of potash per acre, this loss must be made good by a fertilizer rich in potash. What has been said about applying potash salts to the potato, applies with even more force to the tobacco plant. In order to have a leaf that has a fine flavor and burns well, it is best to use sulphate of potash, and to avoid using the forms of potash salts containing chlorine, such as kainit and muriate of potash. Stable manure should not be applied directly to the plant, but to the preceding crop. Rank organic manures, tankage, fish scraps, etc., should not be used. GARDEN CROPS AND VEGETABLES-FRUITS AND BERRIES. 15 A good average tobacco fertilizer should contain about 7 per cent, of available phosphoric acid, 3^ per cent, nitrogen, and 10 per cent, of potash. The potash should be in the form of sulphate. Fertilizers which contain chlorine should be avoided. GARDEN CROPS AND VEGETABLES. The various forms of potash salts are indispensable to profitable gardening. The kind and amount of potash needed will always depend upon the requirements of the soil and of the different crops. One or two suggestions may be made. For asparagus large quantities of kainit are essential for rapid growth and large stalks. Some growers find that not less than 1,000 lbs. or even one ton, of kainit per acre, together with 250 lbs. or more of nitrate of soda will give them the best results. For celery, experience has shown that a fertilizer containing about 8 per cent, potash is necessary in order to obtain good yields. As this crop is often grown on muck or swamp land, which is usually deficient in potash, this element of plant-food should be liberally supplied in the fertilizer, while nitrogen is not needed as a rule on such soils. For cucumbers a liberal supply of potash and phosphoric acid is essential to a good crop. The tendency of a heavy application of nitrogenous manures is to produce a hollow fruit of poor keeping quality. FRUITS AND BERRIES. Practical and successful fruit-growers are finding out every year the importance of potash fertilization, and especially those who have trees on a sandy soil find that they cannot get fruit of the finest quality without it. The nitrogen should be applied to orchards by plowing under a crop of crimson clover, cow-peas, beans, etc. It is the same with the vinyard. The nitrogen obtained by green manuring is usually suffi- cient to produce a good growth of wood, while potash and phos- phoric acid are needed to develop and ripen fine quality of fruit. Ni- trogenous fertilizers are used where green manuring cannot be prac- ticed, as, for example, in strawberry culture. The following quantities per acre may be taken as an average application for fruit: 1,000 lbs. per acre of a fertilizer containing 8 per cent, phosphoric acid 10 per cent, potash, (and 3 per cent, of nitro- gen where needed.) PART II RESULTS WITH POTASH UPON VARIOUS CROPS. QUOTED FROM EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. The Proper Composition of Fertilizers. FLORIDA. 1893. Fertilizers — By A. A. Persons. Bulletin No. 22, page 16. **From chemical analyses of the soils of various sections of Florida made in this laboratory, it is made apparent that the soils of this State are universally more deficient in potash than any other element, while phosphoric acid is more generally diffused throughout the soil than either of the others. This fact, taken into consideration along with the other fact that, generally speaking, the character of the crops grown throughout the State is such as requires a predominance of both potash and nitrogen, it would seem, to say the least, that a majority oi fertilizer combinations put annually upon our markets for sale are ill adapted to fruit and vegetable growing. The writer is of the opinion that, as a general rule, it would be well for our manufacturers to reverse the proportions of many of the fertilizer formulas that they are daily commending as admirably adapted to fruit-growing, and have the constituents proportioned about as follows: Phosphoric Acid 5 to 6 per cent. Potash 10 to 12 •• Nitrogen 6 to 8 " "It is confidently believed that a mixture compounded in accord- ance with the above formula will, in a great majority of instances, yield results far more favorable in the case of fruit crops than the ordinary routine formula that our fruit-growers have been accustomed to use for years, 16 PROPER COMPOSITION OF FERTILIZERS. 17 i *^ATid what has been said with regard to fruit-tree fertilizers ap- plies with equal force to vegetable growing." I NEW HAMPSHIRE. 1894.. Farm-Yard Manures and Artificial Fertilizers — By G. H. Whitcher. Bulletin No. 21. Under the heading of "Substitutes for Farm-Yard Manures," the Director has the following remarks to make : i' "The results of all our work show, without exception, that New Mantpshire soils are more in need of potash than any other element of plant-food, and consequently that we may so compound our fer- lilizers that better results shall follow their use than is possible with the average fertilizer found in our markets, and this the farmer is enabled to do by buying his crude fertilizing chemicals and mixing as his soils and crops require .... "These results represent more than 500 individual tests, and it cannot be that the results thus obtained are accidental; they rest on some law, and from a study of the conditions of the experiments \ye are brought to the conclusion that the prepared goods are deficient in potash. The following table shows the per cents of nitrogen, phos- phoric acid and potash in the combinations of chemicals that in actual practice have proved best : NITROGEN. PHOS. ACIU. POTASH. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Best results on plots at Hanover come from mixtures containing. 2.5 5.75 25.0 Best results on seven New Hampshire farms >■ (husked corn). .;... .; 4.7 9'0 io-7 Best results on seven New Hampshire farms (fodder) Best results on Potatoes Best results on Sweet Corn Best results on Ensilage Best results on Potatoes, (second series) Average composition of mixtures of chemi- cals that have produced best results Average composition of fertilizers sold in the state 3-0 12.0 3.0 As a result of the experiments several standard combinations and mixtures are recommended for the various crops and in speaking of the chemicals to be used in supplying the fertilizers. Prof. Whitcher says: "These chemicals are all dry, harmless substances, as easily mixed 2.3 9-5 II. 9 2.3 II. 6 71 2.1 10.8 II. .0 4.0 24.0 2-3 97 12.4 2.4 8.6 14.6 It PROPER COMPOSITION OF FERTILIZERS. as corn meal, shorts and middlings. The combinations are vastly superior to the prepared fertilizers on the market, chiefly because they are entirely soluble and contain a high per cent, of potash." The general conclusions of all the experiments are summed up as follows: "On an average, on New Hampshire soils and with general crops, li.oo invested in the best prepared fertilizers has given an in- crease of crop valued at $2.34, while $1.00 invested in the chemicals — dissolved bone black, muriate of potash and sulphate of ammonia — has given an increase valued at $3.56, a difference of $1.22 in favor of and due entirely to the substitution of chemicals for prepared fer- tilizers, at equal cost." The difference is due chiefly to the wrong proportions of plant-food in the prepared fertilizers, and more to the deficiency of potash than any other cause — {Phosphoric Acid. . . . 12.0 per cent. Potash 3.0 " Nitrogen 3.0 •• While the chemicals that give best results ( Phosphoric Acid. ... 8.6 per cent. contain ) ^°*^^ >4* " ( Nitrogen 2.4 •• NORTH CAROLINA. 1895. Fertilizers — Trucking in the South — By W. F. Massey. Bulletin No. 112, page 83. "Few if any of the brands of mixed fertilizers have as high a per- centage of potash as most truck crops require, and the practice of home mixing of the fertilizer ingredients is annually becoming more common." MISSISSIPPI. 1893. Fertilizers — Sixth Annual Report, page 42. "For soils containing an abundance of lime, but little phosphoric acid is needed, while potash in some form has always invariably given good results." KENTUCKY. 1888. By M. a. Scovell, Lexington. Bulletin No. 17, 1889. "The results are so marked as to strongly indicate that for corn potash is a fertilizer needed on the soil of the Experiment Station Farm. "This holds true for potatoes also. The results on hemp and tobacco prove the same to be true of these crops, and there are strong indications that the wheat will be greatly benefited by the application APPLES. 19 of potash. This would indicate also that the soils of like character in the Blue Grass Region would be benefited by potash fertilizers, but this actual trial can only demonstrate. *'There were last year legally on sale in this State forty-three different brands of fertilizers containing less than 2 percent, of potash; should we have applied any of these to our soil for corn, no marked increased yield would have been apparent, not because the fertilizers were worthless, but because they did not contain the potash necessary for corn crop on our soil." MASSACHUSETTS (Hatch Station). 1892. Special Corn Fertilizer vs. A Fertilizer Containing a Larger Proportion of Potash. Bulletin No. 18. April, 1892, page 90. "This experiment appears, then, to indicate the correctness of the opinion that the so-called ^special corn fertilizers' contain the elements of plant-food in unsuitable proportions for our common soils. There is especially too much phosphoric acid and too little potash. "Farmers can, I believe, as a rule, do better than to buy them; they should rather buy the materials needed and mix for themselves." NEW JERSEY. 1892. Fertilizers — Thirteenth Annual Report, page 27. "The increased yields from chemical manures alone and through- out a series of years have been more satisfactory and profitable than those from the use of natural manures. The most progressive and prosperous truck and fruit farmers in this State are satisfied of this fact and buy chemical manures only." APPLES. NEW YORK (Carnall Station). 1894. Orchards — By L. H. Bailey. Bulletin No. 72. "Potash is generally the most important element to be applied directly to orchards, particularly after the trees have reached bearing age. "Muriate of potash is perhaps the best and most reliable form in which to supply potash at the present time. "Potash should undoubtedly be the leading factor in orchard fer- tilizers, and nitrogen, as I have said, may be obtained mostly by means of tillage and green crops." 20 ASPARAGUS — BEANS — CLOVER. 1895. By*L. H. Bailey. Bulletin No. 84. "Potash is considered to be the dominant factor in fruit producr tion; this and phosphoric acid should be added each year." ASPARAGUS. MARYLAND, 1892. On March 14th, 1892, the following letter from a truck farmer, in the vicinity of Baltimore, Md., was received: "Relative to the use of kainit on my asparagus bed, would say that I have tried all kinds of fertilizers, and none have ever given one-half the result of kainit. I used it in a generous manner, say about three- quarters of a ton to an acre. I have been a successful asparagus grower for the last twenty years, and the year I had the most success was when I put a ton per acre; I then cut $1,000 from an acre and one-half of ground. G. W. Ridgely, Liberty Road, Baltimore, Md." BEANS. RHODE ISLAND, 1890. By C. O. Flagg, Director. Third Annual Report. "2. An application of sulphate of potash increased the yield 38 per cent." CLOVER. J^ NEW JERSEY, 1884. J By C. W. Larison, Ringoes, Hunterdon Co. Fifth Annual Report.. "Muriate of Potash alone increased the yield by over 1,300 lbs." 1889. By A. P. Arnold, Vineland, Cumberland Co. Tenth Annual Report. "This ends the second year of the four years' rotation on this farm. No fertilizers were applied in 1889; the experiment shows, therefore, the accumulative effect of the applications during the pre- ceding seven years. The residue of plant-food previously applied was effective in increasing the value of the crop in a very marked de- gree, ranging from $4.13 to $32.76. In considering the total net gain for eight years, it is to be seen that muriate of potash applied alone produced the largest profit from the investment, viz.- S88.49, from an Qutiay of ^21.00. CORN. 21 f'**Continued application of barn-yard manure is not the most economical method of supplying plant food." NORTH CAROLINA, 1882. v?*T|? By C. W. Dabney, Director. Fifth Annual Report, page 75. "The results are favorable. A very distinct and important effect of kainit is to suppress the growth of weeds and the coarser, rougher grasses in meadows." CORN. CONNECTICUT, 1889. By M. H. Dean, Lime Rock. Second Annual Report, 1889. Soil — A river terrace formation (on the Housatonic River). "The most marked effect came from use of potash salts. In every case where potash was omitted there was a marked falling off in the yield of grain, and the stalks were small and slender." *'The' average gain from the use of potash is three times that from nitrogen. Potash was plainly the 'regulating ingredient' in the ex- periment." By Marion H. Dean, Falls Village. Second Annual Report. Soil^Light sandy loam (on the Housatonic River). "The most marked features of the experiment are the heavy in- crease; resulting from the use of potash, and the very slight benefit arising from the use of phosphoric acid. After deducting the average yield for the nothing plots, from plots i, 2 and 3, it is found that potash aiorie increased the yield eight times over the nitrate of soda plot, and fifty times over the phosphoric acid plot. With corn estimated at 50 cents per bushel, and stover at 18. 00 per ton, the financial results on these three plots are: From the use of nitrate of soda, $1.77 loss; from the use of dissolved borie black, $3 76 loss, and from the muriate of. potash, $13.17 gain." 1891. By H. W. Sadd & Sons, Wapping. Fourth Annual Report. Soil^^Light loam. "A fertilizer containing all the three ingredients — nitrogen, phos- phoric acid and potash, with the potash in quite large proportions — seems to be the best mixture for corn on this soil." 22 CORN. RESULTS OBTAINED AT THE INDIANA EXPERIMENT STATION. INDIANA, 1895. By H. a. Huston, Lafayette. Bulletin No. 57, 1895. Soil — unproductive peat. Interesting experiments show tha| unpro- ductive peat soils can be made very productive by the single use of kainit. "In this experiment it appears that the best yield was obtained from the use kainit; the next best from the use of kainit and lime. "But it is to be noted that on both plots 4 and 9, where kainit and lime were used, that the yield is less than where kainit alone was used. Commercial bearings of the work: "The net returns from the use of one ton of kainit per acre are not less than 54 bushels per acre for four years, or a total of 2 16 bushels. A ton of kainit can be purchased and distributed on any field in Indiana for not more than I20. During these years the average selling price of corn at this point is estimated at 35 cents, giving a return of $75.60 for the investment of $20." KENTUCKY. 1888. By M. a. Scovell Lexington. Bulletin No. 17, 1889. Soil — Blue grass. The results indicated that a large increase resulted from an application of potash (an Increase of from 30 to 50 bushels of ear corn per acre.) CORN, 23 "In examining these results it will be noticed: That in those plots where potash was one of the ingredients of the fertilizer applied, there was a marked increase in the yield of corn and fodder. *That, therefore, potash was what caused the great increase in both yields of corn and fodder. "Plot 2 received at the rate of loo lbs. of potash per acre, and the yield of corn was 63.4 bushels. Plot 7a received at the rate of 160 lbs. of sulphate of potash per acre, and the yield was 80 bushels. This would indicate that 100 lbs. of sulphate of potash per acre was not sufficient to produce a maximum crop. It is probable that even 160 lbs. was not sufficient to produce the best results. ''Proceeding to a discussion of these results it appears: i. That there was a profit in every instance where potash was used. Potash used alone on plot 7 b. yielding the largest profit." 1889. Bv M. A. ScovELL, Director at the Station. Bulletin No. ^^. Soil — Blue grass; limestone soil. The results obtained this year are almost identical with those of the last two years, that is: "i. That in those plots where potash was one of the ingredients of the fertilizers used, there was a marked increased yield both in corn and fodder. "a. That in plot 15, where a fertilizer was used without potash, there was scarcely any increase in yield over those plots containing no fertilizer. "3. That the greatest increased yield was made by using a com- bination of potash and nitrogen. "4. The use of muriate of potash alone resulted in a marked in- creased yield over the plots containing no fertilizers. "5. That there was a profit in the use of fertilizers in every instance where potash was one of the ingredients— the largest net profit arising from the use of the mixture of nitrate of sodium and muriate of potash. "6. That there was a loss by the use of fertilizers where potash was not one of the ingredients. "7. That so far potash has shown its effect the third season after application." 1893. By M. a. Scovell, Director. Bulletin No. 45. "The largest increase of ear corn produced by fertilizers was 29.4 bushels from a combination of muriate of potash, with nitrate of soda. CORK. 35 Complete mixture produced 29.1 bushels increase. The largest in- crease of fodder was 1910 lbs. from the complete mixture, and 1330 lbs. from the muriate of potash and nitrate of soda. The best financial result came from the plot fertilized with muriate of potash and nitrate of soda, amounting to $4.46 per acre. The next best was from muriate ut potash alone, amounting to $4.34 per acre." ■ vk The Permanency of Effect of Potash Fertilizer s^^wW^xXn No. 45^ The after effect of potash was studied from the yield of a field to which potash was applied in 1888. "By a study of these tables it will be seen that potash fertilizers applied in 1888 were of benefit to the crops up to and including 1891, and even to some extent in 1892. - "2. That those plots receiving fertilizer in 1889 and subsequently, still show its effect on the crop of 1892. It would seem, therefore, that potash fertilizers supplied to our soil in the quantities given show their effect, not only on the first crop, Jput also on the three subsequent crops, and to some extent on the fourth." MAINE, 1886. By a. p. Starret, Warren. Report for 1886-87. Soil — Clay loam. The mixed minerals produced an increase of 66.7 bushels of corn. "When bone black was used alone, the crop was very little better than when no fertilizer was.applied, but when this was combined with muriate of potash, the crop increased eight-fold." 1891. By I. O. WiNSLOw, St. Albans. Annual Report for 1891, page 124. *'In this experiment nitrate of soda and muriate of potash gave not only the largest yield, but produced the increase in crop at the. least expense for fertilizers." MASSACHUSETTS ^Hatch Station), 1889. By Bole Bros., Shelburne. Bulletin No. 9, May, 1890. Soil — Good medium loam. "These comparisons make it evident that in this soil potash was the ingredient most needed. Alone, and in combination, it produced a profitable increase." By W. p. Brooks, Station at Amherst. Bulletin No. 9, May, 1896. Soil — Alluvial. Potash produced a profit of $8.66 per acre. "These combinations make it evident that this soil needed potash. Neither alone nor in combination did nitrogen or phosphoric acid S6 CORK appear to do much good, and, in some cases, the result of their use was an apparent decrease in the crop . . "Potash, on the other hand, appears to have been always and everywhere greatly beneficial. When used alone or in combination, it invariably caused a large increase in the crop, and its use was always exceedingly profitable. "The lesson of this experiment' is plain. For our soil potash should, for the .present, be the most prominent ingredient of every fertilizer used. "General Summary — Results of the use of potash: This ingre- dient has produced an increase of crop varying from 1.9 bushels of hard corn per acre to 22.8 bushels; and also from 150 lbs. of stover per acre to 1420 lbs. It has proved more useful* in its average effect upon the production of hard corn than either nitrogen or phosphoric acid, in four out of eight experiments, and in another it stands on an equality with nitrogen in this respect." 1890. By W. S. Phillips, Marblehead. Bulletin No. 14, May, 1891. Soil — Fine gravelly loam. "The results of the use of nitrogen and potash are quite similar in kind, though potash causes the larger and, the most profitable increase. "For this soil I should advise a fertilizer rich in potash, contain- ing minerals to furnish about: Potash 80 lbs.; nitrogen, 25 lbs., and phosphoric acid, 25 lbs. By Frank Wheeler, Concord. Bulletin No. 14, May, 1891. Soil — Good sandy loam. ''Notwithstanding the high condition of the soil, the potash wherever used produced a very perceptible improvement from the first "These combinations make it evident that on this soil potash was the ingredient most needed, but it produces its most marked increase when used with nitrogen and phosphoric acid and more when used with either of these than when used alone.'' By a. D. Copeland, Bridgewater. Bulletin No. 14, May, 1891 Soil — Very poor gravelly loam. "The soil needed nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash; but the lat- ter to a far greater degree than either of the others. They, if potash also was present, produced a considerable increase; but if it was absent, only a very small one. The two together are almost powerless to increase the crop. Potash, on the other hand, even alone caused COKN. 37 considerable increase; with either nitrogen or phosphoric acid the increase due to potash is doubled; with both of them and potash, the increase due to the latter is doubled yet, a gain amounting to .no less than 17 bushels of corn per acre." ..^, By Pliny Moore, Worcester. Bulletin No. 14, May, 1891. ^- Soil — Good medium loam. *'The striking benefit of potash as compared with nitrogen ,and phosphoric acid is clearly brought out by these comparisons. "For corn on this soil I should, .recommend the use of fertilizer rich in potash and phosphoric acid, and with a small percentage of nitrogen.'* , , ^ By L. W. West,.Hadley. Bulletin No. 14, May 1891. Soil — A clayey loam, with clayey subsoil. A gain of $40.46 per acre has been pro- duced by fertilizers rich in potash. **A1] through the season it was evident that the growth was far more benefited by potash than by any other ejiement. "These figures make evident in a striking manner the beneficial effect of potash. "Alone, and in every coi;i[^binatiQn, potash produces a remarkable increase; but nitrate of soda, too, seems to have been required, for the combination of this with potash produces a much larger crop than potash alone. , "For this soil I am confident that the, most profitable results would be obtained by using light dressing of manure with a little quick-acting nitrogenous fertilizer and a considerable amount of potash." By D. B. Dewey, New Lenon. Bulletin No. 14, May, 1891, Soil — A fine compact loam, inclined clayey and cold. A profit of $8.25 wgs obtained by potash. "In July the plots which had received potash appeared to be doing distinctly better than the others. "These comparisons make it evident that this soil most needed potash, which alone and in nearly every combination seemed to have produced a profitable increase. "For this soil it is evident that for corn, a fertilizer should be rich in potash." By W. p. Brooks, Station Grounds, South Acre, Amherst. Bulletin No. 14, May, 1 89 1. Soil^— A fine yellow loam. "These comparisons make it evident that this soil. still needs potash in greater amount than either of the other elements of plant- 28 cokK. /ood. The gain from its use alone on plot 4 amounts to no less than I14.66, Other plots gave larger crops; but no other equalled this one in point of profit on the fertilizer used. The result last year was simi- lar; and it is true for both years that, even if labor be taken into ac- count, the plot where potash alone was used gave the largest net profiH. •'If fertilizer only is to be used, I would recommend materials which would supply per acre about 80 lbs. of actual potash, 30 lbs. of phosphoric acid, and 20 lbs. of nitrogen in available forms." ' By W, P. Brooks, Station Grounds, North Half Acre, Amherst. Bulletin No. 14, May, 1891. "The teaching of the results brought out by these comparisons is plain. The soil most needs potash for the profitable production of corn, and this would be supplied to the full extent used in our ex- periments." By G. L. Cooley, North Half Acre, Sunderland. Bulletin No. 14, May, 1891. A gain of $13.92 pef acre was obtained by the use of potash. "The indication is very strong that the fertilizer for corn must b6 rich in potash to give profitable returns on this land. "Conclusions: "i. Our results show that soils differ widely in their requirements. "2. Potash, however, proves much more largely beneficial than cither nitrogen or phosphoric acid. "3. Potash, as a general rule, most largely increases the yield of grain and stbver; but its effect upon stover production is greater thaii upon grain production. "Barn-yard manures are, as a general rule, relatively deficient in potash, probably because of the loss of a large proportion oi the urine which contains about four-fifths of the total potash of the excretions." 1892. By F. E Clark, Wilbraham. bulletin No. 18, 1892. Potash pro- duced a gain of $12.72. "The comparisons indicate the surpassing importance of potash for corn upon this soil, thus confirming the general result of the work with corn during the two preceding years. In view of the almostuni- versal response of corn to this fertilizer lipori soils of so many different classes, and of all degrees of fertility, and in so many widely separated localities, the conclusion that it should te a prominent ingredient for fertilizers used in this crop appears to be irresistible." CORN. 29 The Results of the Addition of Potash to Barn-Yard Manure FOR Corn. Bulletin No. i3, April, 1892, page 87. The result ob- tained by barn-yard manure was compared with that obtained by the application of a smaller quantity of barn-yard manure mixed with potash salts. "These figures and comparisons show that the manure alone pro- duces slightly the better crop, but estimating manure at $5 per cord and muriate of potash at $45 per ton, shelled corn at 65 cents per bushel and stover at $5 per ton, we find that the manure and potash, although producing a slightly less valuable crop, gave a financial result nearly $9 better than manure alone." Special Corn Fertilizer vs. a Fertilizer Containing a Larger Proportion of Potash. Bulletin No. 18, April 1892, page 90. "In view of confirmatory results of the past year's work, as com- pared with that of previous years, I renew with increased confidence the recommendations for the application of fertilizers for corn, made in Bulletin No. 14 of this Station: "(a) In breaking up sod-land for corn, particularly that which is in fair condition, but which has been under ordinary farm manage- ment, if fertilizers only are to be used, apply those which are rich in potash. Use materials which will supply 80 to 100 lbs. of actual pot- ash, from 25 to 30 lbs. of phosphoric acid, and from 15 to 20 lbs. of nitrogen per acre. "(b) If 'special corn fertilizer' is to be used, apply only a moderate quantity, say 400 to 500 lbs. per acre, and use with^about 125 lbs. of muriate of potash. It is believed this combination will produce as good a crop as 800 to 1,000 lbs. of 'corn fertilizer,' and it will cost considerably less. "(c) With ordinary barn-yard manure or stable manure for corn, use potash. I would recommend using about 4 cords of manure and 100 lbs. of muriate potash per acre. "(g) For fodder or ensilage corn, use either in fertilizers or with manure about one-fourth more potash than above recommended." 1895. By William P. Brooks, Agriculturist. Thirteenth Annual Report. ^ "i. The application of muriate of potash has so invariably in- creased the yield of both stover and grain that the conclusion is irre- sistible that potash should be more abundant in fertilisers for this crop than is usually the ca§c, 30 CORK.' **a. There is miich evidence that the fertilizer for one acre should furnish at least 80 to 100 pounds of actual potash. "3. A Corn fertilizer containing 5 per cent, of potash, applied at the rate of 1,000 lbs. j^er acre, furnishes 50 lbs. of actual potash. With such a fertilizer it will pay to use from 75 to 100 lbs. of muriate of potash per acre. "4. Four cords of average farm-yard manure will supply about 96 lbs. of actual potash; but not all of this will be available the first year,ii[ence it will in most cases be found profitable to use with this manure 75 to 100 lbs. of muriate of potash for corn." MISSISSIPPI, 1890. By Prof. Connell, at the Station. Third Annual Report, 1890. Soil:— Sandy clay hill. "Four hundred pounds of kainit used alone produced the highest profit from the crop, amounting to I17.66 per acre." 1893. By S. M. Tracy, Director. Sixth Annual Report. The following are the results of three years' experimenting upon corn: "In 1 89 1 the plots receiving 250 pounds of kainit yielded 36.9 bushels per acre, an increase of 10. i bushels per acre, costing 17.9 cents per bushel for the increase. "In 1892 corn was planted on a heavy red clay soil from which the surface soil had been badly washed, and which had givren a ve*^y light crop of lespedeza the previous season. Here the unfertilized check plots made an average of only 18.5 bushels per acre. Cotton seed meal and kainit increased the yield 24,7 bushels; 250 lbs. of kainit made a yield of 33 bushels. "In 1893 unfertilized plots made an average yield of only 25.6 bushels per acre .... while 500 lbs. of kainit applied broadcast before planting more than doubled the yield, making an average of 62.3 bushels of shelled corn per acre. The cost of the increase of 36.7 bushels per acre was a trifle less than ten cents per bushel." MISSOURI. 1890. By H. J. Waters, AssidTANt Agriculturist. Bulletin No. 14, April, 1891. ■ "So far it appears from these trials that potash is the clement most desired by corn on our land." CORN. U NEW HAMPSHIRE. 1888. By G. H. Whitcher, Director. Bulletin No. 6. The experiments cover a period of four years (1885-88). The results show that potash is the leading element of plant-food in this soil, phosphoric acid is also needed in small amounts, while there is little need of nitrogen. Where potash was omitted there was no increase of crop. "From what has been said it is evident that potash stands first, phosphoric acid second, and nitrogen last. In fact, we should use nitrogen but sparingly, and only when direct experimental work proves it to be beneficial. 'These results, almost without exception, seem to warrant the conclusion already expressed that potash and not phosphoric acid is the controlling factor. "Experiments made in other parts of the State on soils differing greatly from the Connecticut River land, show even more marked re- sults." 1889. Co-oPERATivE Experiments by G. H. Whitcher, Director. Bulletin No. 10, March, 1890. The object in view in making these ex- periments was to find out what composition of fertilizers would suit best for the State at large. Another object was to compare the effect of artificial fertilizers with the effect of stable manure, and also to investigate if the composition of mixed fertilizers as they are usually sold in the State is best suited to the crops. Ten dollars' worth of fertilizerand fifteen dollars worth of manure were used per acre. The experiment demonstrated that artificial fertilizers are equal in effect, if not superior, to stable manure, and that commercial fertilizers are deficient in potash. "The effect on husked corn from manure was 89.69 bushels, from the best three combinations of chemicals 90.62 bushels, from prepared fertilizers 63.58 bushels, from ashes 65.40 bushels, and from plots not fertilized 41.00 bushels. ''Comparison of composition of fertilizer mixtures that produced best results with the average composition of eighteen commercial fertilizers sold in New Hampshire in 1890: Chemical? Producing Average of Fertilizer? Best Results. sold in N. H. in 1890. Phosphoric Acid 9. 25 per cent. 1 1.08 per cent. Potash 11-3 "■ 2 57' •* Nitrogen 3.5 *«' 3.4$ " 32 CORK. "The difference is very easily seen, and we are forced to conclude that. our fertilizers are deficient in potash." NEW JERSEY. 1883. By John Voqrhees, South Branch, Somerset Co, Annual Report ' for 1883, page 52. Soil — Red shale loam. "Plots on which potash was used, both alone and in combination with phosphoric acid and nitrogen, show an enormous increase in yield. . Plot 4 (potash alone) shows that an outlay of $3.25 per acre increased the yield of corn 29.5 bushels, and stalks 1,000 lbs., a net profit of $16.00. "The application of potash yields large profits in every case; phos- phoric acid was profitable in one case only, and that when in combina- tion with potash; nitrogen does not increase the yield in any case. "The quality of corn was also favorably influenced by the use of potash, a fact indicated by the increase in yield of soft corn, which in every case varied considerably. These results confirm those obtained last year by Rev. Henry P. Thompson, of Readington, whose farm is situated about three miles northeast of Southbrook, "Both experiments show that large profits were derived from the use of potash and phosphoric acid, though the effect of potash alone is more striking in the case of Mr. Voorhees, the soil of this section being mostly red shale loam. And it is more than probable that these experiments by Mr. Thompson and Mr. Voorhees may serve as guides in the use of fertilizers to all farmers upon similar soils." 1884 By N. S. Sergent, Schooleys Mountain, Morris Co. Fifth Annual Report. Soil — Gneissic. "Muriate of potash, both alone and in combination, had a notice- able effect upon both grain and stalks." By J. W. Dalrymple, Hopewell River, Mercer Co. P'ifth Annual Report. Soil — Red shale. "Potash and its combinations being relatively cheaper, give largest profits." 1886. By T. H. West, College Farm, New Brunswick. Seventh Annual Report. "Of all elements, potash influences stalk development most favor- ably, and when used alone, its yields excel those from its combinations.' CORN. 33 By a. p. Arnold, Vineland, Cumberland Co. Seventh Annual Report. Soil — Very sandy loam. Financial results: "Potash influenced the profits in a very marked manner, the increased returns from its use were sufficient to leave a balance of $21.59 after fertilizer charges had been met and due credit allowed for the product from the unmanured ground; $21.59 is 180 per cent, of $12.00, the cost of 600 lbs. of muriate of potash." 1888. Results of Experiments Since 1882. The experiments on corn by Mr. Thompson and Mr. Voorhees were valuable in showing the positive effect of potash, and, Mr. Thompson's experiment reported in 1882, indicated that while all fertilizing elements were effective, the largest profit for the money invested was secured from the use of potash. The calculated net profits from and the percentage re- turns on the money invested per acre for the effective elements are as follows: Per Cent. Cost. Net Profit. on Money Invested. Nitrogen, Phosphoric Acid, Potash $i4-35 $ 4-i9 28 Phosphoric Acid and Potash .. . 9.00 i5-5o 172 Phosphoric Acid , 5.25 10.15 193 Potash 3.75 13.65 364 "The returns on the money invested range from 28 per cent, to 364 per cent. Mr. Thompson has continued the use of potash upon corn and has secured uniformly profitable results up to the present time. His experience also shows that kainit, while it costs more per pound of actual potash than muriate of potash, has been more economical. ''The experiment of Mr. Voorhees, reported in 1883, shows that wherever phosphoric acid and nitrogen were used, either alone or to^ gether, the increase in yield was secured at a loss; that muriate of potasf alone costing $3.25 per acre, increased the yield of corn 29J bushels* and the stalks by 1,000 lbs., that when potash was used in combination with either nitrogen or phosphoric acid, or with both, as in complete manure, the increase in yield secured was almost proportional to the in- crease secured from the use of potash alone. That is to say an addition of nitrogen to potash, or of both nitrogen and phosphoric acid to potash reduced the percentage of profit secured from the use of potash alone in direct proportion to the cost of nitrogen and phosphoric acid. 34 CORN. "In 1884 Mr. Voorhees, governed by the results secured in 1883, broadcasted one ton of muriate of potash, costing $40, upon 13 acres of corn ground. Careful measurements of the yield from this area, compared with a portion of the field left unfertilized, showed an in- crease of 30 bushels of ears per acre, which, at ruling prices for that year, gave a net profit of $57.50, or 144 per cent, on the investment." NORTH CAROLINA, 1882. By C. W. Dabney, Director. Annual Report for 1882. "Many of the effects of kainit are general and not restricted to cotton. It greatly increases, for example, the yield of corn on certain cotton land when applied in connection with lime." OHIO, 1889. By B. H. Brown, Butler Co. Bulletin No. i. Soil — Stiff clay. The average of the unfertilized plot was 24.9 bushels. Increase due to potash alone was 18.3 bushels. Increase due to combined minerals, 23.7 bushels. "It will be seen that in this test phosphoric acid and potash seem to have been most effective in increasing the crop." Consideration of the Results of the FariMEr's Experiments. Bulletin No. 2. From the table, giving the results of the eight ex- )eriments made, it is to be seen that potash alone caused an increase >f 154 .bushels in Kicking County, and of 18.3 in Butler County. From the combined minerals an increase was produced in five cases. RHODE ISLAND, 1890. By C. O. Flagg, Experiment Station, Kingston. Bulletin No. 8. Average yield unnianured, 15.71 bushels. The highest increase over unmanured 45.71 bushels from mixed minerals, yielding a profit of $33.85 Muriate of potash alone was most profitable and yielded an increase of 28.57 bushels, worth $20 70, at an outlay of $3.60 (more than 600 per cent, profit). Conclusions: "i. The soil appeared to be deficient in potash, phosphoric acid and nitrogen. Potash appeared to be especially lacking, next phos- phoric acid, and finally nitrogen." WEST VIRGINIA, 1893. By D. D. Johnson, Agriculturist. Bulletin No 29, page 8^. Ex- periments were made at four places in this State — in Berkeley County, in Upshur County, in Wood County, and in Putnam County — for COTTON. 35 the purpose of comparing the results from muriate of potash, sul- phate of potash magnesia and kainit as fertilizer for corn. "There is an increased yield on all of the third series of plots where the potash fertilizer is supplied by sulphate of potash, the most remarkable increase being on plot 28, where sulphate of potash alone is used." COTTON. ALABAMA, 1890. Experiment by J. S. Newman, Director, and Joseph Clayton. Assistant Agriculturist. Bulletin No. 22. '*Kainit causes the cotton plant to retain the leaves, while they blighted where none was used. , . . "The per cent, of profit from a judicious use of fertilizers, followed by intelligent cultivation, is most satisfactory." ALABAMA ^Auburn Station), 1892. By J. H, Radney, Roanoke, Randolph Co. Bulletin No. 34. Soil — Sandy loam. Subsoil — Clay. "By noticing the yield from plots i, 2 and 3, where the fertilizers were applied singly, it will be observed that muriate of potash gives the best results." GEORGIA. 1893. By R. J. Redding, Director. Bulletin No. 20. "The fertilizing ingredients contained phosphoric acid, nitrogen and potash and were used in this experiment in various proportions, in order to study the best combination of the fertilizer for cotton. It was found that a fertilizer containing 3 per cent, of potash produced the best results. "And it would require 700 lbs. of such a fertilizer per acre to pro. duce the same increase on similar soil to that of the experiment under consideration. In other words, 700 lbs. of a fertilizer analyzing as the above may reasonably be expected to increase the yield of land in fairly good condition by 1,000 lbs. Such an amount of fertilizer would cost $8.00 or $9.00, and the increased yield of cotton would therefore cost about 80 or 90 cents per hundred weight of seed cotton, or less than 3 cents per pound of lint, ready to gather from the field. The results of the experiments of the past year agree substantially, and in most cases remarkably, with those of 1891, and confirm the general conclusion that high farming, including renovating crops, such as cowpeas and other legumes, deep preparation, liberal manuring, select seed, and frequent shallow cultivation is the solultion of the problem of 'how to make farming pay.' It has never 'paid' to coTitinually cultivate a poor 36 COTTON. and unfertilized soil, and it never will. Fertilizers, domestic and com- mercial, should be considered in the nature of an investment that entails but little expense after paying the first cost, and they generally repay thb cost and a profit of from loo to 500 per cent. Think of it: We have shown that $8.00 worth of a well-balanced fertilizer may be expected to increase the yield of seed cotton, on one ^crc, 1,000 lbs., which are worth $30,00, leaving $22.00 of profit, or say $20.00, which is 250 per cent, on the cost. . *'But such results can only be attained by concentrating the fer- tilizer on the best land, not by scattering it at the rate of 100 or 200 lbs. to the acre over a large, worn-out plantation. These remarks apply with more or less force to all crops, and especially to those re- quiring a large amount of labor per acre, and particularly to cotton* tobacco and garden crops." 1894. By R. J. Redding. Bulletin No. 27, page 205. "Experiments made the year before were coniinued, and it was found that by far the best results were obtained from a fertilizer which would analyze about as follows: Available Phosphoric Acid 10 per cent. Potash 4 Nitrogen 3 LOUISIANA. 1889. By W. C. Stubbs, Director, Baton Rouge. Bulletin No. 26. '*In plot 14 there seems to be almost an unmistakable indication of benefit from potash." MISSISSIPPI. 1889 SEE ILLUSTRAnoHr ON tOLlXtWlHii PAGE. By S. M. Tracy, Director. Annual Report. Soil — Stiff clay, very exhausted. *'It will be seen that the greatest increase of yield came from the plots which received 200 lbs. of kainit per acre, and that this increase was secured at the smallest expense per ico lbs. — 53 cents." 1890. By G. J. FiNLEY, Holly Springs Branch Station. Third Annual Re- port. Soil — Upland clay soil. (Field No. i.) Kainit alone pro- duced a profit of $10.58. "The yields from these plots indicate very clearly the necessity for the use of potash fertilizers, and the still better results to be obtained by the use of a fertilizer containing a fair amount of nitrogen and phosphoric acid in addition. Plot 4, which received 200 lbs. of kainit, gave the largest as well as the most profitable yield of any plot COTTOM. 37 fertilized witli a single ingrredient, and a larger yield than did plot 6, where acid phosphate was substituted for one-half the amount of kainit applied to plot 4. ^The Station has been in existence three years, and has tested about fifteen fertilizers each season on the yellow clay soils, which are typical of the hill regions of the State. It has been our uniform ex- perience during three seasons that the purchase of concentrated nitrogenous fertilizers is not profitable, and that potash fertilizers either in the form of kainit, sulphate of potash, or ashes, have alwajrs given a fair profit. We have also found that a fertilizer containing a large percentage of potash with a smaller amount of phosphoric acid has invariably given a greater net profit than has any single commer- cialsalL" JLXrtMdMESm OH COTTOJ* AT THE. Mi»»i»IPPI STATiOi|fi- toes. This was confirnied by testing the cooked potatoes. !g ^>\ NEW^ YORK (Geneva Station)rr,18Q9. ^ By P.^Collier, Director. Eighth Annual Report. It is stated tha| the ash of potatoes contains 59.8 per cent, of potash, and. one of the. main objects of the experiment was to find out if the potatoes are ll,rgely in need of potash, as indicated by their compo^fflon. Potash produced a large increas^^. The average yield from plfetseomtaining no fiotash is 85.5 bushels per acre; that from potassiuirt siil^hate is • 112.5 bushels; frotnf potassium chloride I35 bushels. '^^ ■^'■ By p. Collier, Director.^ Special Experiment with Pptash and^ '"Nitrogen. Ninth Annual Report. ' " --W^- • = These results indicate: "i. That for piotatoes, potaslium ch%*id«? is a good, safe fertilizer, even on some Clay soil^, where potash mky b6 K^said to be present in considerable quantity." ' ? :• M POTATOES. NORTH CAROLINA, 1888. By T. W. Jones, Columbia, Tyrrel Co. Annual Report. "Kainit alone yielded a profit of $9.30 from an investment of $2.80." OHIO, 1886. By N. S. Townsend, Director. Fifth Annual Report. "Wherever potash, alone or in combination, was used, less scabby potatoes were found than upon any other plots. It may not be safe, however, to infer from this that potash prevents scab, but it seemed, in this case, to have that effect to some extent." OREGON, 1893. By H. T. French, Agriculturist. Bulletin No. 24. Kainit produced about 145 bushels per acre against 81 bushels per acre unmanured. Unleached ashes produced only 48 bushels. "This fertilizer, as seen in the table, nearly trebles the yield over the plot where no fertilizer was used. . . . What is said of guano is largely true of kainit (German potash salts) and super-phosphate. These substances cost less than the guano." RHODE ISLAND, 1890. By C. O. Flagg, Director. Third Annual Report. "Muriate of potash in combination produced 76 bushels per acre more than the sulphate of potash in combination." WEST VIRGINIA. 1892. By D. D. Johnson, Agriculturist. Bulletin No. 20, January, 1892. "The best results were obtained from the combination of kainit (800 lbs. per acre) with acid phosphate, causing an increase of 161 1-3 bushels per acre. The increased yield caused by the use of fertilizers was at the rate of 161 1-3 bushels per acre, which, at 40 cents per bushel, amounts to the sum of $64.53 1-3, leaving a net profit of $57.43 1-3 per acre, less the increased labor required to take care of the increased crop." 1893. By D. D. Johnson, Agriculturist. Bulletin No. 29. This experi- ment was carried out at the Station and was a repetition of the ex- periment made in 1891. Three varieties of potatoes were used. "A combination of kainit and S. C. dissolved bone produced the greatest amount of large and the smallest percentage of small tubers." "Here again we have a remarkable agreement with the facts brought out in the experiment of 1891. Plot No. 5, without any fer- tilization, produced 88^ lbs., while plot i, with 43 lbs. kainit, produced 140.4 lbs." SWIET POTATOES. 59 "Taking the experiments of 1891 and 1892 together we find a very remarkable agreement, even to minute details, and from the results of these experiments, confining our conclusions to the peculiar character and conditions of the soil upon which the experiments were conducted, we conclude that the best results in commercial fertiliza- tion, as tested, will be secured by a combination of potash and phos- phoric acid in the ratio of 2 to i." POTATOES-SWEET. ARKANSAS. 1889. Experiment by A. E. Menke, Director, Newport Branch Station- Third Annual report. Kainit used alone produced the highest profit, amounting to $25.50. DELAWARE, 1890. By M. Hayes, Dover. Bulletin No. 11. "Nearly $40 per acre was gained by the use of $4.00 worth of potash." Scarlet Clover as Green Manure and Fertilizer. "Of any single element, potash yielded the largest returns. Of the combinations, scarlet clover, potash and phosphoric acid, costing $8 per acre, returned $52 worth of potatoes." By John Dager, Camden. Bulletin No. 11. "Taking all things into consideration, the muriate of potash gave potatoes most uniform in size and best all around for the market, and the probabilities are that Mr. Dager would succeed best by selecting the muriate. Financially, $4 worth of this salt yielded I24 worth of product." By C. Wright. Near Seaford, Sussex Co. Bulletin No. 11. "That story is that unfertilized ground can produce 41 bushels of sweet potatoes per acre; but with an excess of potash the same ground could produce 105 bushels, a gain of 64 bushels, worth $34, for an expenditure of $4. Both phosphoric acid and nitrogen increased the yields, but relatively to a very trifling extent. The presence or ab- sence of potash determined the crop. *The results say plainly that potash was needed for that soil and crop. Conclusion: "On the practical outcome of the series the results are positive enough. Dropping all theories they stand as follows: Muriate of potash when used alone at Dover returned $8 for every dollar invested in its purchase." 66 SW£Et POtAtdfig. ; ' ^ - GEORGrA 1890. ^ ' By G. Speth, HoRTicuLTURisT. BuUetia No. ri. Soil— Red clay, with clay; subsoil. The effects of kainit and muriate were alike cm the average. The valufe of increase above the cost of the fertilizer varied according to the variety of the potato^-^from $37.43 to $162.83 per acre. The cost of ithe fertilizer was $10.2:7 •^cir^9;4o respectively^ "The yield of sweet potatoes is governed by the amount o£ potash in the fertilizer. A fertilizer, as in the experiment, analyzing 8 per cent, phosphoric acid^ 3 per cent, ^monia, and id per cent, of potash is the most effective for swe** ipot^toes.- ' • ■• '^'-^ 189*. ••'^''■' i -"■ ■ ■- ■ - •>a^..M:jif.-: By Hi N.Starnes^ HORTltULTURiST. Bulletin Noi 25; f^*^ teA ;• :Jili In the introduction about fertilizer fequiirehients for -thd sweet potato the following is saidv : h ^ j "Commercial fertilizers are preferable to stable manure. iRecent fBiVestigations have developed: th« fact that the sweet .ptolato f^eds much more grossly on both nitrogen and potash and requireSjJess phosphoric acid than was formerly supposed.'* ) : . i; By H. N. Starnes, HoRTicu|ii),URiST. Bulletin Noiisi^, page!.i38^. ^J| i jThe yield frondi the unfertilized plots, was 133 bu^els. The best yield from the fertilized plotSjjiyas 278 bushels, v ^ 5: , , ;, .| "As a source of potash, kainit secjui^ to be prefpral)^, to muriate in. nearly every cpmbination, though the dififer^^ce^ is pot great. In this connectlon.it may be staged th^t.for all slow-growing^rops kainit seems to Be preferable to muriate, as' a sou rpe of potash, ^nd cottor^-- seed meat to nitrate of soda ^as a solirce of nitrogen. Wheri lii^me- dikte actiofe is desifiBle, however, the 'rever'^ie' is tiie ^a^e." ' " • *^' " '^^* Experiment bVH. A.' MoRfCAN and B. B. Ross at "BAToil^'feouGE, •-BulletinNo.^r3.'-/^ '^^^^"^^' ■ ^^-' '- ' • -^ 1 ^5r-» **Sweet pUtatoes i'equire for'their best development at loose' pul- verulent sarMy loam, fairly fertile, partfculkrlj^ scJ in . phosphoria acid and potash." , ■' *''^^ ■^iU\ ' ■■■-'^ - -t ^I.^. ,:iJM ;"'i: MARYLAND. 1892. :»,^,<»^ ,f , k>^ ? By E. H. Brinki^ey, Assistant Agriculturist. Bulletin No. 18. Soil — -Sandy loam. A study of the results shows that the average yield per acre from the unmanured plots was 3599 lbs. and the^hrgn- '' esf'^jrield otl^^Jn^3 from'siilphate df ' potsisfi l/s^^ ^t th^^ratef of ^66 lbs. f)eP^cre^ahVa%^nted to 6357 lbs. fA*t afi'fef, aiirf th^' nexf highest yiefid ^'cafh^ircMi tM Use of muriate oFpOta^ &t the rate if H 2 00 IbSi f (&r acre, amounting to 5920 lbs. per acre. ii»i> , ^^ S.*.irvr .? : • !' SWEET POTATOES. tl .^■. -rio-q. ■ • . ci2..K^E;W-'^ER^EY, 1886. , ,.,,:.,,..., By P. A/A'^NOLD, viNELAND,''CyMBERLANp Co. FiftH Annual Report. ''Plots 4, 8, 9 and 1 1 have given cash retui^ns) ranging from four to eleven times as great as those from the unmanured plots; said plots have also only one point in common, for six consecutive years each fias received a heavy dressing annually of potash in a soluble form. "The conclusion is, therefore, positive, thdt for raising profitable crops upon this farm witli.the present rotation potash is absolutely indispensable. . , 1888. r- r- ^" :;'-fv .■ : "•... 'H' ' -K, ' ■ v:' ■■ By G. H. Cooke, Director.^ .Budletin No. 54. •;s "A field experiment with/fertilizers was begun in 1882, by Mr. A. P. Arnold, of Vineland, which shows very cleary two points in regard! to potash: First, its directly favorable effect on sweet potatoes, as indicated by the crop of 1883, and second, effect in improving the CjTop-prOducing power of the soil as indicated by the second crop of ^weet:potatoes in 1887.^^^ r: ^ •TV *^*At the close of the^rstuotation in xS8^, the following conclu- sions in reference to potash were reached: ; c "i. Potash used alone on plot 4 influenced the profits in a very marked manner. The increased returns from its use were sufficient to leave a balance of $21.59 after fertilizer charges had been met, and due credit allowed for the produce from the unmanured ground. $21.59 is 180 per cent, of $12, the cost of 600 ibs. of muriate of potash. :. . "2. Plots 7 and 8, upon which potash was used in combination with nitrogen and phosphoric acid, respectively, also gave profitable crops, the net gains being $23.1 6 in one case and $24.48 in the other. The combination of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash (plot 9) called for the largest investment, but yielded the largest net profit, viz., $47.03, or no per cent, of $42.80, the miarket value of 2600 lbs. of a complete potato manure. > i^l^ "The sweet potato crop of 1887, compared with the similar crop upon the same plots in 1883, shows the gain or loss of fertility of the plots due to a continued use of manure and fertilizers. : i; r- . I'Whejever potash was i*sed, the improvement in the value of the crop varies from 8 per cent, to 107 per cent. In ail cases where potash was excluded the decrease in: the value : of- the second potato crop is serious, ranging from 36 to 63 per cent. 62 SWEIT POTATOIS. "The results from the use of muriate of potash are of special in- terest; the crop grown with its aid in 1883 was worth $64.58 per acre; a similar crop grown upon the same plot in 1887 was worth $87.45 per acre; the improvement in the land consequently may be placed at 35 per cent. "The cost of this improvement may be estimated as follows: The total value of all crops grown upon this soil during the past six years amounts to $197.22. An equal area of unmanured land in the same crops during the same period yielded products worth I90.51; the in- crease caused by the use of $19.50 worth of muriate of potash is $106.71, leaving a balance of $87.21 to represent the net returns from an acre dressed with this salt. The improvement of 35 per cent, in the crop-producing power of this plot, has therefore been gained without sacrifices of any kind." General experience: "To the results of the experiment is added the experience of practical farmers, secured from answers to a circular letter inquiring about the effect of potash upon their crops. This form was sent to a few farmers in each county of the State. Answers have been received from twenty-three, representing ten counties; of these seventeen, representing nine counties, reported the profitable and continued use of either muriate of potash, kainit or unleached wood ashes as a fertilizer for potatoes, corn, grass and fruit. Twelve farmers, representing eight counties, favored the used of muriate of potash, while five having used both muriate and kainit, were satisfied that kainit gave the largest returns for the money invested. The weight used per acre ranged for corn from 50 to 200 lbs. of muriate, and from 300 to 500 lbs. of kainit. The crops reported as being especially benefited were corn, potatoes, fruit, clover and oats. With- out exception, the use of potash, either alone, or as an adjunct to farm manures, was regarded as highly satisfactory and economical. "These results, gained from experiment, and confirmed by prac- tice, while only positive for the farms and crops represented, should have a significance for those farmers who have not tested their soils, because they not only demonstrate that soils, differing widely both in formation and previous treatment, respond profitably to applica- tions of potash alone, but also indicate a general lack of potash in the soils of the State, and consequently point out the importance of soil tests by the farmers themselves; for when maximum crops can be se- cured by the application of potaah alone, it is poor economy to apply me* — RYE — SORGHUK. 68 complete fertilizers, costing $40 per ton, in which 1$ represents the value of the potash." 1893. By Theo. Brown, Swedesboro, Gloucester Co. Sixth Annual Report. "The experiment this year shows that not only can sweet potatoes be raised by chemical manures alone, but that the increased yield was sufficient to pay a considerable profit. "The average net gain for 1892-1893 from the use of chemicals is I22.65, while that from the horse manure has been hardly sufficient to pay the cost of the manure." RICE. NORTH CAROLINA, 1882. By C. W. Dabney, Director. Annual Report. "A few isolated trials encourage us to hope that in kainit we have an agent to assist in the restoration of our worn-out rice lands." RYE. MASSACHUSETTS (Stat* Station), 1891. Station Experiment by C. A. Goessmann, Director. Annual Re- port, 1 89 1. "The most conspicuous result of the field experiment, carried on upon field A during the years 1884 to 1888, consists in the very strik- ing illustration of a marked deficiency of the soil on trial of available potash, as compared with the other essential articles of plant food." 1895. By William P. Brooks, Agriculturist. Thirty-third Annual Report. "This crop is most largely increased by muriate of potash and nitrate of soda, but responds much less freely to an application of fer- tilizers than corn." RHODE ISLAND. 1890. By C. O. Flagg, Director. Third Annual Report. "Potash increased the yield of grain two or three fold." . SORGHUM. NEW JERSEY, 1883* The experiments of 1881 and 1882 were repeated in 1883. "Potash alone develops more sugar per acre than any other single material. ... "The conclusion, then, from this experiment is, that potash was the element ^yhicb influenced sugar production in sorghum roost favorably." ' '64 STRAWBERRIES— SUGA.R BEETS. By E. B. Voorhees, Bulletin No. 54. Summary of nisld experiihents for the years 1881, 1882, 1883, 1884 and 1885. ;, ^'Each experiment was made upon sod ground on widely different ^sections of the ^College Farm." ^<\.- Yield of Sorghum: **i. Without exception, under all the varying conditions of soil and seasons, muriate of potash used alone has noticeably increased the total weight of the sorghum crop. "2. Without exception, this increase each year has exceeded that caused by phosphoric acid and nitrogen used either alone, or in combination with each other." Yield of sugar: ^^. Without exception, this increase has ex- ceeded that caused by a coni^ination of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and •potash. , "The results secured from similar experiments on sorghum, at Rio Grande, Cape May County, during 1885, 1886 and 1887, cor- roborate the above statements in nearly every particular, and admit of the conclusion th|t potash is the element which exerts the most marked influence upon the yield of sorghum and upon the production of sugar." STRAWBERRIES. GEORGIA. 1891. Prof. G. Speth, Horticulturist of The Station, in Bulletin No.'i5, recommends a fertilizer for strawberries being composed of acid phosphate, muriate of potash and cotton-seed meal, which would show in an analysis 2.7 per cent, phosphoric acid, 15.5 per cent, potash and 4 98 per cent, ammonia. This might be supplemented early in spring with 200 lbs. nitrate of soda per acre. SUGAR BEETS. NEBRASKA, 1893. By H. H. Nicholson and T. L. Lyon. Bulletin No. 27. The largest yield was obtained from the use of kainit, amounting to 5370 lbs. of sugar per acre. The next largest was from a mixture of bone dust^ kainit and nitrate of soda, amounting to 5067 lbs. of sugar per acre. "The application of bone dust and kainit increases the sugar con- tent and yield of beets." . 1894. By H. H. Nicholson and E. E. Nicholson. Bulletin No. 36. The . experiments on the sugar beets reported for 1892 were continued ;. and;, as before, the best results ^wr.ere.obtained from the use of kainit, which gave a yield of 3640 lbs, of sugar per acre. SUGAR CANE — TIMOTHY — TOBACCO. 6 SUGAR CANE. LOUISIANA. 1886. Experiment by W. C. Stubbs, Director. Bulletin No. 14. "An inspection of our results will show that potash has increased the tonnage to a marked extent, in one instance as much as 8^ tons over meal and phosphate. "For the present it suffices to know that potassic manures used in large quantities on these black lands did produce an increased tonnage. MISSISSIPPI. 1889. By S. M. Tracy, Director. Annual Report. "The largest amount of total solids in the juice was from plot 7, which received 100 lbs. of muriate of potash." TIMOTHY. KENTUCKY. 1889. Experiment by M. A. Scovell, Director. Bulletin No. 23. Soil — Blue grass, wet land. ''The potash fertilizers gave much the better results on timothy." MASSACHUSETTS (Hatch Station,) 1892. Bulletin No. 18, April, 1892. Special Corn Fertilizer vs. Fertilizer Rich in Potash: "The results were similar to those obtained with corn. . . . The average (of the special corn fertilizers) costing within four cents of $3 more per acre, gave a crop worth at least (at current prices for common millet) $6.38 less per acre than the fertilizer rich in potash, a net advantage in favor of the latter fertilizer of $9.34. This result affords further evidence, therefore, of the correctness of my conclusion in regard to fertilizers. They are, undoubtedly, as a rule, too poor in potash." TOBACCO. KENTUCKY, 1889. Experiment by M. A. Scovell, Director. Bulletin No. 28. Ex- periments were made to determine the amount of yield from the use of fertilizers. The increase of yield was very marked and seems most favorable from the combination of potash and nitrogen. The clear profit derived from the use of fertilizers amounted to $100.95 on the field treated with sulphate of potash and nitrate of soda. The complete mixture yielded a profit of $107.70. Conclusions: ''Potash and nitrogen in combination seem to be required to produce the best results. 66 TOBACCO. "There is a handsome profit by using fertilizers in the best com- binations." 1893. Experiment on Tobacco, Corn and Potatoes. Bulletin No. 45. General summary: "Results obtained in 1892 are almost identi- cal with those of the last four years, that is : "i. Wherever potash was one of the ingredients of the fertilizer used, whether on corn, tobacco or potatoes, there was an increased yield. "2. That where phosphoric acid or nitrogen or both were used without potash, there was scarcely any increase in yield over those plots receiving no fertilizer. "3. That there was a profit in the use of fertilizer in every in- stance where potash was one of the ingredients." By a. M. Peter. Bulletin No. 46. "For lack of space we can only call attention here to the very re- markable agreement of these results for a series of years in showing the benefit derived from a liberal use of potash fertilizers on the soil of the Station farm. In nearly every instance potash produced a very marked increase in the yield; and, in some cases, it was the most profit- able fertilizer used. The use of potash and nitrogen, or of potash nitrogen and phosphoric acid together, often produced a still greater yield, but the profit was often taken up in the additional cost of the nitrogen, which is the most expensive constituent of fertilizers. A very conspicuous exception to the above statement was proven in the case of tobacco,\vhere the greatest profit was obtained from the use of pot- ash and nitrogen together. The tobacco crop requires a great deal of both of these, but a comparatively small amount of phosphoric acid." MARYLAND, 1894. By H. J. Patterson, Chemist. Bulletin No. 26. Experiments were made by the Station in the principal tobacco districts of the State. Regarding the effect of potash salts upon the burning quality, it was found that "sulphate of potash produced a better burning tobacco than any other of the potash salts." "High grade sulphate of potash is the best source of potash." NORTH CAROLINA, 1893. By R. p. McAnally, Saxon, Rockingham Co. Bulletin No. 89. Soil — Dark grav fftndy land, newly cleaned. This experiment was TOMATOES. 67 a soil test, combined with test to ascertain the best form and amount of potash to use. The highest net gain, amounting to $138.07, came from a combination of cotton-seed meal with muriate of potash, pro- ducing 237 lbs. of tobacco per acre, against 87 lbs. on the unmanured plots. Single elements alone produced also a good increase, of which potash produced the most. "In the above discussion, those plots on which potassium chloride was used have been shown to have excelled all others in total product in net cash value, and in total cash value, save that the heaviest ap- plication of kainit balanced the lowest of potassium chloride in total cash value, and stands next to it in net result; while the lowest appli- cation of potassium sulphate resulted in giving the highest price per pound." PENNSYLVANIA. 1893. Report of the Pennsylvania State College for the year 1893, p. 8^. '*The double carbonate of potash and magnesia slightly surpassed the sulphate of potash, the effect being most noticeable at Rocky Spring." 1894. By Wm. Frear and E. J. Haley. Bulletin No. 30. Experiments were begun in 1893 and continued in 1894, from which the following con- clusions were drawn: "The tobacco grown with the use of a fertilizer composed of dissolved bone black, double carbonate of potash and magnesia, and cotton-seed meal gave especially large leaves of highly desirable text- ure; next to these came leaves grown with a fertilizer composed of dissolved bone black, sulphate of potash, cotton-seed meal, and sul- phate of ammonia. Pending full report, these fertilizers are especially commended for use." TOMATOES. DELAWARE, 1890. By J. Heyd, near Fulton, Kent Co. Bulletin No. 11. "Nitrate of soda is regarded as a specific for this plant. This has been demonstated several times. Mr. Heyd's work, however, shows that exceptions to this rule may be expected. Neither alone or in com- bination with phosphoric acid and potash did the nitrate prove that it causes an increase sufficient to pay for its purchase and use. **If a profit results from any application, it must be credited tc the mixture of phosphoric acid aod potash. At $6 per ton, of toraatoc8.« 68 TOMATOES. the amount of said increase would amount to $15; the cost of the ap- plication would approximate one-third of said sum. "The sweet potato tests demonstrate that muriate of potash can be used with average profit of eight to one." GEORGIA, 1890. By R. J. Redding, Director. Bulletin No. 11. "The results indicate that mixed minerals with larger rations of nitrogen are productive of the largest yield, and greatest earliness. "The effect of nitrogen depends upon the presence of the mineral elements — phosphate and potash." MARYLAND, 1889. By W. H. Bishop, Horticulturist. Annual Report. Soil — Clayey- loam mixed with gravel. "Thus there are indications from this experiment that the regu- lating ingredients in a fertilizer for tomatoes on this soil are nitrogen and potash, while phosphoric acid has less effect." By H. J. Patterson, Chemist. Annual Report. The effect of fer- tilizers on the composition. The results indicate: "That potash has the effect of producing a fruit with more dry substance, accompanied by a slight decrease in the sugar and an increase in the acid. This, when considered with the increase of the yield, is favorable to the use of potash." 1890. By the Horticulturist and Chemist. Bulletin No. 11. "Potash appears to increase the crop more than either of the other elements of plant-food, and nitrogen stood next in this respect. . . . Nitrate of soda and muriate of potash can be recommended as a special fertilizer for the tomato." ^ Summary by H. E. Alvord, Director. "Potash alone as muriate gave good results; better than some mixtures. "Nitrate and muriate of potash can be recommended as special fertilizers for the tomato. "The vines and roots of the tomato are very rich in potash." 1891. Annual Reporl for 1891, page 411. "Plots 3 and 9 have equal quantities of phosphoric acid, and the latter has potash also. This addition of potash appears to have in- creased the crop nearly 50 per cent, in 1890, and to have more than doubled it in 1891, " ^ 69 EXPERIMENT FARM AT SOUTHERN PINES, NORTH CAROLINA. VIEW OF THE EXPERIMENT FARM AT SOUTHERN PINES. NORTH CAROLINA, VEGETABLE DEPARTMENT. The above illustration shows a portion of the vegetable department of the Experimental Farm of the North Carolina State Horticultural Society at Southern Pines in that State. This farm is being conducted by the North Carolina Horti- cultural Society in co-operation with the North Carolina Experiment Station and its object is to ascertain the relative proportions of the three principal fertilizer ingredients, Potash, Phosphoric Acid and Nitrogen, needed by various crops for their best development. This enterprise is of much importance to all American farmers since it is the first attempt in this country to study the problem of proper plant nutrition on such an extensive scale. The experiments conducted here are after the pattern of the celebrated experiments of Rothamsted in England, and results forthcom- ing are being watched with the greatest interest by agricultural investigators. 70 TURNIPS VEGETABLES. MISSISSIPPI, 1893. Tomato Blight. Sixth Annual Report, 1893, page 53. A line of experiments brought out the fact that kainit is an efficient remedy against this destructive disease. "With these facts in mind, it is evident that neither the lime, to- bacco nor plaster had any effect on the blight. Plots 8 and 9, however, treated with a heavy dressing of kainit, show a decided falling off in the number of blighted plants, there being on'y 33 for one and 42 for the other, while the neighboring two plots to the east show 93 plants each and to the west 58 and 72 respectively. This difference of over 50 per cent, must be credited to the effect of the kainit." NEW JERSEY, 1889. By C. M. 'Houssell, Dunham's Corners, Middlesex Co. Tenth Annual Report. Soil — Sandy loam. Consideration of yield: ''Fifteen thousand acres were devoted to raising tomatoes in the State. The crop is worth more than one mil- lion dollars; it ranks even with wheat, above rye and buckwheat. Ni- trate of soda is very effective; its action is largely dependent upon the application and presence of phosphoric acid and potash. "Whatever previous treatment of the soil or the yield, phosphoric acid and potash should be added in sufficient quantities." TURNIPS. ALABAMA, 1888. By J. S. Newman, Director and Agriculturist. Bulletin No. 3. "Kainit gave a larger yield than any other single substance. It will be observed also that the application of the same number of pounds of kainit and cotton-seed hull ashes resulted in favor of the former, though the cotton-seed hull ashes contained an average of about twice the per cent, of potash." VEGETABLES, MASSACHUSETTS. 1895. By Chas. a. Goessmann, Chemist. Thirty-third Annual Report. "From our observations, extending over three years, we arrived at the following conclusions: "Potash in the form of sulphate has given the most satisfactory results, as compared with muriate, in the case of potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce and spinach, and with onions during the present season." Conclusions: "i. Sulphate of potash, in connection with nitrate of soda (plot 5) has given in every case but one the best results. WHEAT — POTASH AS INSECTICIDE AND FUNGICIDE. 71 WHEAT. KENTUCKY, 1890. Experiment by Anderson Jefferies, Glendale, Hardin Co. Bul- letin No. 30. ''This indicates that fertilizer, rich in potash, would be best on Mr. Jefferies' land " NEW JERSEY, 1882. By W. a. Styles, Deckertown, Sussex Co. Bulletin No. 26. "The highest yield came from barn-yard manure and complete mixture, but by no means the highest profit. The highest profit re- sulted from the single application of potash." VIRGINIA, 1892. By D. O, Nourse, Agriculturist, Bulletin No. 21. "Dealing with the three elements in combination, we find that if the potash is reduced one-half, the yield is also reduced; while if in- creased one-half, the yield also shows an increase. This only when in combination with the other elements." POTASH AS INSECTICIDE AND FUNGICIDE. ALABAMA, 1892. Leaf Blight of Cotton, by G. F. Atkinson. Biological Bulletin No. 36. Yellow leaf blight of cotton is very destructive, especially in some years. It is due likely to both improper nutrition and un- favorable physical condition of the soil. Prof. Atkinson's experi- ments show that by the use of kainit, leaf blight is largely, if not entirely prevented, and the yield of cotton increased. This is cor- roborated by many farmers. Leaf Blight Experiments, i. At Hope Hull, on the farm of A. H. Clark. Soil — Black loam. "There can be no doubt as to the effect of kainit, as my former experience is the same as that of this year, but I think to thoroughly prevent the disease, it would require not less than 500 or 600 lbs. per acre. (Kainit.)" 2. Experiments at the Station Farm, Auburn: "In all of these plots it was easy to see by comparison with the others, that the entire or partial prevention of the disease was due to the kainit. KAINIT CURES COTTON BLIGHT. WITHOUT KAINIT. WITH KAINIT. RESULTS OBTAINED AT THE ALABAMA EXPERIMENT STATION. 71 f of ASH AS tNSECttClGfi AKD J'UNGlCIDft. 1^3 "The yield of kainit plots is increased from 70 per cent, to 100 per cent, above that where no fertilizer was used, and an average of 40 per cent, increase over that of any other fertilizer or combination, without the kainit used. "During the latter part of September, I photographed plots 4 and 5. The result is reproduced in plate i. ''These experiments indicate then, that with such a season as the past one, and where the other nutritive matters are present, kainit not only tends to prevent the disease, but also increases the yield." - Yellow Leaf Blight of Cotton, by G; F. Atkinson. Bulletin No. 41. Mention is made of a field of cotton, upon which a heavy dose of fertilizer was used without kainit, and which was badly affected by blight. Prof. Atkinson, in regard to this'field, says: "Had 200 lbs. to 300 lbs. per acre kainit been applied at the time' of the planting, the yield might have been nearly doubled." Continuation of experiments as reported in Bulletin No. 36 by Mr, A, H. Clark, of Hope Hull: "September i6th I visited Mr. Clark for the purpose of observing the result of the experiment as presented in the appearance of the foliage of the plant. The result was very marked and plainly indicated the value of kainit in checking the disease. Mr. Clark writes about, the experiments as follows: *It is plain that kainit is a specific for the disease." CALIFORNIA, 1880. By E. W. Hilgard, Director. Special Report No. i of the College of Agriculture. The attack of phylloxera on the vines produces a diminution of potash and albumen normally contained in the juice. The indication that potash with nitrogenous manures would miti- gate the effect on the vines produced by phylloxera has been verified by experience. "The use of these manures alone has so far improved the condition of the vines as to neutralize the injuries done by the insect, and re- store them to their usual productiveness. In all cases where the vines were not too far gone, the condition has been materially improved by the application. "Potassic manures appear to exert the most decided Tcffect, &jxd fortunately the material which supplies this important substance* (kainit) can now be readily obtained in commerce." t4 t*OtASti AS lKs6CtICit)E AND FtJNGICtDK. NEW JERSEY, 1890. By J. B. Smith, Entomologist. Eleventh Annual Report. "Potash has heretofore been known only as a fertilizer of very high grade. Experiments made by me during the past year, prove that it has a high value as an insecticide as well. It is effective against plant lice of all kinds, against many naked larvae, and against the wire-worms (lulus) on potatoes. It also kills cabbage maggots. Though I have tested it principally on over-ground insects, yet its greatest field of usefulness is against those pests that live in the ground or around the roots of plants. In localities in which corn is infested by cut-worms, wire-worms, etc., a heavy dressing of potash before plant- ing will destroy all the insects in the ground at that time. For the corn-root louse I have no doubt this will prove a perfect remedy. Where potato ground is infested with the wire worms (lulus) a heavy dressing with kainit will bring relief. Peach orchards that are infested with the black peach aphis on the roots can be renovated by the use of the same substance. On bringing the matter to the attention of farmers, many have been able to recollect that with the use of potash certain insect troubles ceased; but they did not heretofore credit the potash with that result. This item is especially commended to peach-growers in South Jersey. The kainit is preferable to the muriate as an insecticide." By J. B. Smith, Entomologist. ^ Bulletin No. 75. ' "According to the experience of many farmers, potash salts are very effective as insecticides, destroying grubs and cut worms, scales on peach trees, cabbage maggots, plant lice and corn-root louse. By experiment it was shown that potash salts, preferably kainit were very effective in killing insects." Rose Chafer, Use of Kainit. By J. B. Smith, Entomologist. Bul- letin No. 82. Suggestions for practice: "Prevent the breeding of the insects on your own land. Either late in the fall or early in the spring, land should be plowed and top- dressed with kainit." 1891. Cut-Worms, Wire-Worms, Root-Lice. By J. B. Smith, Ento- mologist. Bulletin No. 85. "Potash is a necessary element of plant-food for corn, and if, in supplying the potash, kainit be used, injury (from wire-worms) will be almost entirely prevented. Muriate of potash is also effective, but less so than kainit. The evidence of all the farmers now using kainit for corn, and with whom I have talked on the subject, is to the one POTASH AS INSECTICIDE AND FUNGICIDE. ^6 purpose — since they have used potash salts the corn has been practi- cally exempt from injury by cut- worms or wire-worms. That kainit will kill even true wire-worms (Elater Larvae). I have proved experi- mentally." ''Therefore, I advise the application of kainit as a top-dressing, just as soon as the ground is ready to receive it, and as long as possible before planting." . . . . ''During the season of 1890, I found in a fine peach orchard several trees undoubtedly infested by root-lice. I directed the appli- cation of kainit in a trench, and the new foliage was normal." "Root-lice are very much more common and infest a greater va- riety of crops than is generally known, causing a sickly appearance in the plants, for which there is no apparent explanation. One of the prominent fruit and truck growers of South Jersey informed me re- cently that he always used potash in the form of kainit, not because it was always best for his crops, but because it was always the worst for the insects. This gentleman is one of those that make farming pay." Foot Note: "Bulletin No. ;^;^ of the Cornell Station has come into my hands since this bulletin was sent to the printer. In it Prof. Comstock reports poor success in laboratory experiments with kainit as against wire-worms. Space is lacking here to go into details, but I will do so in the Annual Report. That laboratory experiments do not always indicate what will happen in the field the following will show: "On the Voorhees farm, in Somerset County, a fourteen-acre field was divided into sections, to test kainit and muriate of potash as fertilizers, and a strip of seven rows was left untreated between. The land was known to be badly infested with wire-worms and cut-worms, or grub- worms, more especially one low meadow. In the half treated with kainit the corn came up well and was not molested by insect& at all; on the muriate half the injury was much lessened, and in the untreated rows, running the full length of the field, almost the. whole was destroyed by insects. The experiment was not made to test insecticide effect, but the results were so apparent that Mr. Voorhees spoke of them at once, and reports that since using kainir ' '-as no further trouble with either wire-worms or cut-worms. This lias also been the efxperience of his neighbors, and of all who have been questioned by me. I therefore again repeat my advice, use kainit Wherever practicable." - • . > i4>i Td- !K)tAStt AS INSECTlCtt)^. ANt) fUNGIClDft. 1893. Onion Maggots, BY John B. Smith, Entomologist. Fourteenth An- nual Report, page 441. '•Quite early in the year Mr. Theo. F. Baker, of Bridgeton, wrote that the maggots had suddenly made their appearance in his land in very large numbers, and he asked for suggestions. This was rather a surprise to me, because Mr. Baker had stated positively during the preceding winter that no trace of the onion maggot had been here- tofore seen on his land. He repeated this statement and added that he has known the insect from other localities and felt positive that this was the first appearance in his fields. Nor did any of his neigh- bors seem to have known of it until the present season. The appear- ance in such numbers, therefore, was a matter of some surprise. For- tunately, the growers of onions in that immediate vicinity were fully alive to the consequence that might result from the increase of the insect, and they at once adopted heroic measures. The entire fields were gone over, row by row, and all plants that showed signs of infec- tion were taken out bodily and afterwards destroyed. Then heavy dressings of kainit were applied, with the result that no further traces of these maggots were seep at any time in the season." Pear Midge, by John B. Smith, Entomologist. Fourteenth Annual Report, page 444. "At my suggestion, Mr. J. M. White, of New Brunswick, whose orchard became infested last season, applied a very heavy top-dressing of kainit (1000 lbs. per acre) under the infested trees, with the result that this year his orchard was practically free from the midge, while in the neighboring orchard, which was also infested last year, and where no measures of any kind had been taken, every Lawrence pear was destroyed, while many of the Bartletts were also attacked." Pear Midge, by John B. Smith, Entomologist. Fourteenth Annual Report, page 455. Experiments were made to confirm the experience gained in the practice of testing the effect of fertilizers against pear midge. "From Mr. White's experience, and from the results of the ex- periments above detailed, I feel justified in concluding that we have in kainit, used rather heavy in fertilizing quantity, an efficient remedy for this insect. The application should be made under the trees as a top-dressing at any time after the midge larvae have left the infested fruit. This means any time in the latter part of June, or somewhat POTASH AS INSECTICIDE AND FUNGICIDE* ,.77 later in the season. I would recommend the application being jnade before or immediately after a rain, early in July." Corn Root Web-Worm, by John B. Smith, Entomologist. Four- teenth Annual Report, page 478. "Direct application of insecticides is not feasible as against these insects; but a very great advantage is everywhere found in favor of those using the mineral fertilizers. ... I would very strongly advise the application of all the necessary potash in the form of kainit, put on as a top-dressing after the field is prepared for planting, and I would expect to find good results from this practice. Fall plowing and kainit as a top-dressing in spring, will, I feel convinced, destroy by all odds the greatest proportion of the web-worms that may infest the sod, and would also destroy or lessen many other pests which trouble corn during the early part of its life." NORTH CAROLINA, 1882. By C. W. Dabney, Director. Fifth Annual Report. Cotton Rust and blight. "So far as our experiments go, kainit appears to be be the most effective agent which has ever been used against those destructive and mysterious diseases of cotton which we call rust and blight." *'It is now the quite general opinion that kainit will prevent the rust in cotton in a great majority of instances; at least, the illustrations of this are very numerous, and there is hardly a dissenting voice. . . One farmer in an eastern county, where they know all about both com- plaints mentioned, says: 'Kainit is to rust what quinine is to chills— a specific* " TEXAS, 1889. Cotton Root Rot, by L. H. Pammel. Second Annual Report. "Of the fertilizers, kainit has proved most beneficial, 14 plants re- maining alive on September 6th. Many correspondents in other cotton States mention kainit as valuable in checking the disease." OREGON, 1892. By L. F. Washburn, Entom. Bulletin No. 18, March, 1892. "Potash salts are rapidly coming into favor, not only as fertilizers, but also for their insecticidal qualities." COMPOSITION OF FERTILIZER MATERIALS USED AS SOURCES OF PHOSPHORIC ACID. So. Carolina Acid Phosphate. Florida Acid Phosphate Tennessee Acid Phosphate . . . Bone Black, dissolved. Basic Slagl ;::^. Bone Meal . .. . , Bone, dissolved , - EQUIVALENT POTASH AVAILABLE NITROGEN IN (KoO) PHOSPHORIC AMMONIA ACID /' Sr '/ ^ 13 to I4i 13 to 16 15 to 18 16 to 19 1 1 14 to 15 1 Ztto 4i 3 to 51 6 to 9 2 to 3 • 2|to 3i 13 to 15 COMPOSITION OF FERTILIZER MATERIALS USED AS SOURCES OF NITROGEN. Nitrate of Soda. . .... .^. . . Sulphate of Ammonia. . . . C\-anamid Dried Blood (high grade) Dried Blood (low grade) . Concentrated Tankage. . . Tankage Bone Tankage Dried Fish Scrap Cotton Seed Meal Castor Pomace . . Tobacco Stems NITROGEN .15i 19 15 12 10 12 7i 5 9 6| 5 91 to 16^ to20J to 17 to ,14 toll to 13 to 9 to 6 to 10 EQUIVALENT IN AMMONIA 18 to 19 22 to 24 18 to 20 14 to 15 12 to 13 13 to 14 9 to 11 6 to 7| 11 to 12 7i to 9 6 to 7 3 to 3i POTASH (K,0) Hto 2 1 to 1^ 2 to 10 PHOSPHORIC ACID (PgOg) 2 to 3 Hto 2 1 to 2 7 to 9 91 to 15 5.V to 7 2 to 3 to 1 COMPOSITION OF MATERIALS USED AS SOURCES OF POTASH ACTUAL POTASH (KoO) rm CEVT LIME PER CE.NT. I t5 ^< Muriate of Potash 50 to 54 Sulphate of' Potash (high grade) 48 to 52 Sulphate of Potash and Magnesia 25 to 28 Kainit Manure Salt, min. 20^ Wood Ashes (unleached). Wood Ashes (leached) Tobacco Stems 12 20 to 21 2 to 8 Ito 2 5 to 8 30 to 35 35 to 40 3.5 2 to 3 2^ to 3i PHOS. ACID TOTAL ito 2 1 tol^ 45 to 48 0.3tol.5 1.5to2.5 j30 to 32 78 AVERAGE COMPOSITtON OF THE fiiOSt JMl»0'^A?^J, FARM MANURES (U. S. DEPT. ACSRlbULTUrtk). Cow Manure (fresh) . Horse Manure (fresh) Sheep Manure (fresh) Hog Manure (fresh) . Hen Dung (fresh) . . . Mixed Stable Manure Nitrogen 0.29f^ 44^' 0.55%' 0.60%^ 1 . 10%' 0.49%' Equivalant ! Potash (KoO) . 35%' 0.53^ 0.67;^ 0.73^ 1.34^ 0.60^ O.W 0.35jg 0.155? 0.13^ 0.56$? 0.43^ Phosphoric Acid (PaOs) O.W 0.17^ 0.31$? 0.41^ 0.855? 0.32^ TABLE GIVING THE AMOUNTS OF FERTILIZER INGREDIENTS (Potash, Phosphoric Acid and Nitrogen) CONTAINED IN THE CROP FROM ONE ACRE: STRAW, ETC. PHOSPHORIC ACID. NITROGEN Apples Barley Beans Buckwheat . . . Cabbage Clover, green* Clover, dry . . . Corn Grapes Hops Mixed Hay . . . Oats Onions Pears Peas Plums Potatoes Rye Sugar Beets . . Timothy Hay. Tobacco Tomatoes. . . . Turnips Whea.t tons bu. tons 2 6oo bu. tons lbs. 6o 45,ooo i6 30 bu. lbs. tons bu. tons bu. 200 30 '• 15 tons 1,600 10 700 35 lbs. tons bu. 2.000 lbs. 2,700 " 2.800 " 15 tons 2 " 6,000 lbs. 7,000 '* 2,700 '♦ 5,000 " 3,200 '* 3,000 lbs. 1,500 lbs. 4.250 " 6,000 " 4,000 '• 1,400 '* 5 tons 3,000 lbs. 60 lbs, 51 53 40 270 140 88 55 39 53 77 62 72 26 52 .40 74 45 143 94 200 54 180 31 30 lbs. 17 30 14 70 40 18 48 II 23 18 22 37 10 33 4 21 26 32 23 16 20 52 24 39 lbs 57 75 56 200 130 82 83 32 84 70 55 72 32 108 30 46 51 69 89 76 32 80 59 * Crimsbn Clover, - ,piSfT«^NCZS RECOMMENDED FOR PLANTING. Cln planting tfs the greater distance should be given on the richer soils) Apples (standard) 20 to 30 feet each w; Apples (dwarf) 6 to 10 " Pears (standard) 20 to 25 " Pears (dwarf) 12 to 15 " Quinces 15 " Peaches 1 8 to 24 " Plums 15 to 20 " Cherries 1 5 to 20 ' • Figs 12 to 15 •• Japan Persimmons 1 5 10 20 " Mulberries 20 to 25 " Oranges (Sweet) 20 to 2 5 " Oranges (Japanese) 1 2 to 1 5 " Blackberries 6 by 4 Raspberries 6 by 3 Currants. . 5 by 3 Gooseberries . 5 by 3 Strawberries (Hills) 36x18 inches. Strawberries (Matted rows) 48x12 ' ' Grapes 8x8 to 10x12 feet. Asparagus 4x2 feet. Rhubarb ". 4x2 feet. NUMBER OF PLANTS PER ACRE AT VARIOUS DISTANCES. DISTANCE INCHES. PLANTS 6 272,640 2,090,880 1,568,160 1,254.528 1,568,160 1,045,440 784,080 627,264 696,960 522,720 418,175 392,040 313.643 250.905 174.240 128 013 98,010 77.440 62,726 31.362 26,132 20,908 T6.424 DISTANCE i PLANTS INCHES. 1 10 X 48 13,068 15 X 15 27,878 15 x 30 13.939 15 X 36 11,616 18 x 36 9,680 18 x 48 7.260 FEET. I X I 43.560 1X2 21.780 I X 3 14.520 I X 4 10,890 I X 5 8,712 2X2 10,890 2x3 7.260 2x4 5.445 2 X 5 4.356 3x3 4.840 3x4 3.630 3 X 5 2,904 3 X 6 2,420 3x7 2,074 4x4 2,722 DISTANCE PLANTS FEET. 4X 5 2,178 4x6 1,815 4X 7 1,556 5 X 5 1,742 5x 6 1,452 5x7 1.242 5x 8 1,089 5x 9 968 6x6 1,210 6x 7 1,037 6x 8 907 6x9 806 6 x [0 726 7x7 888 7X 8 777 7x 9 691 7 X 10 622 8x8 680 8x9 605 8 X 10 544 8 X II 495 8 X 12 453 9x9 537 DIS lANCE FEET. 9 X 10 9 X II 9 X 12 CO X 10 10 X 12 10 X 15 10 X 18 10 X 20 12 X 12 12 X 15 12 X 20 15 X 15 15 X 18 IS X 20 18 X 18 18 X 20 18 X 24 20 X 20 20 X 24 20 X 30 30 X 24 30 X 30 30 X 36 484 440 403 435 363 290 242 2T7 302 242 181 193 161 M5 13*4 121 100 "108 90 72 60 48 40 iiiSiiiSS'"^^- CD571733ES