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 UNIVERSITY OF 
 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Agricultural Experiment Station. 
 
 BULLETIN NO. 93. 
 
 SOIL TREATMENT FOR PEATY SWAMP 
 
 LANDS, INCLUDING REFERENCE TO 
 
 SAND AND "ALKALI" SOILS. 
 
 BY CYRIL G. HOPKINS. 
 
 URBANA, ILLINOIS, JANUARY, 1904. 
 
SUMMARY OF BULLETIN No. 93. 
 
 1. There are many thousand acres of peaty swamp land in northern Illinois, 
 much of which produces almost no crops because the soil is deficient in the element 
 potassium, although it is rich in all other elements of plant food. Page 275. 
 
 2. On the University of Illinois soil experiment field near Tampico (Whiteside 
 County), on peaty swamp soil, the addition of potassium produced yields of 36 to 60 
 bushels of corn in 1902, and 45 to 66 bushels in 1903, while, with no potassium 
 applied, no ear corn was produced. Page 277. 
 
 3. On the University of Illinois soil experiment field near Momence ( Kankakee 
 County), on peaty swamp soil, potassium produced 20 to 32 bushels of corn in 1902, 
 and 67 to 73 bushels in 1903, while without potassium the average yield was only 
 5 bushels. Page 282. 
 
 4. Some kinds of peaty swamp soil will improve with the right kind of culti- 
 vation, and finally become very productive soils, which will not require the con- 
 tinued use of potassium, while other kinds will probably always require potassium 
 to be applied. Page 292. 
 
 5. Some kinds of peaty swamp soils after years of cultivation are found to 
 resemble sand ridge soil, which is most deficient in the element nitrogen, which can 
 be obtained from the air at very slight cost by means of suitable leguminous crops. 
 
 Page 294. 
 
 6. Nitrogen applied to the University of Illinois soil experiment field, near 
 Green Valley (Tazewell County), on sand ridge soil, has increased the yield of corn 
 from about 30 bushels to more than 60 bushels per acre. Page 295. 
 
 7. This bulletin tells how and where to purchase potassium, how to use it, and 
 how to save it so that most of it can be used again and again for several crops- 
 
 Page 297. 
 
 8. Certain kinds of farm manure produce fairly good results on some peaty 
 swamp soils, but commonly it is better farm practice to use the manure on other 
 kinds of soil and buy potassium for the peaty swamp soils. Page 298. 
 
 9. There is no more profit in starving plants than there is in starving animals. 
 While heavy applications of potassium must sometimes be made at first, with 
 proper management only light applications will be required after a few years. 
 
 Page 299. 
 
 10. Farmers who have tried potassium in 1903 on peaty swamp lands report an 
 increase of more than 30 bushels of corn, this increase being due to potassium. 
 
 Page 300. 
 
 11. The so-called "alkali" soils of Illinois, which are also being investigated, 
 are not the same as peaty swamp soils. Page 301. 
 
 12. The Experiment Station cannot undertake to analyze miscellaneous sam- 
 ples of soil for private parties. Methods of soil investigation must be systematic 
 and exact. Page 302. 
 
 13. Upon request to the Illinois Experiment Station, Urbana, 111., this bulletin 
 will be sent to any one interested in Illinois agriculture. 
 
SOIL TREATMENT FOR PEATY SWAMP 
 
 LANDS, INCLUDING REFERENCE TO 
 
 SAND AND "ALKALI" SOILS. 
 
 BY CYRIL G. HOPKINS, CHIEF IN AGRONOMY AND CHEMISTRY. 
 
 There are immense areas of peaty swamp lands in the northern and 
 north-central part of Illinois. As a rule these soils do not grow good crops. 
 When first broken, they sometimes yield one or two fair crops of corn, 
 but generally the third crop is very poor, and afterward little or no corn 
 is produced. Oats do somewhat better, but usually the yield of grain is 
 very unsatisfactory, even when a fair amount of straw is grown. These 
 soils are usually very black and very rich in organic matter, and they are 
 frequently drained at great expense with the expectation that they will 
 be very productive and almost inexhaustible, but not infrequently they 
 yield disappointment and financial loss. 
 
 While it will not be possible to locate and investigate all of the different 
 tracts of peaty soil until we extend the detail soil survey over the entire 
 state, nevertheless we have already obtained considerable information 
 regarding these lands in connection with our general survey of Illinois 
 soils, and this bulletin is published because we know that this information 
 can be used by many Illinois farmers and land-owners with advantage 
 and profit in increasing the productive capacity of such soils. 
 
 These peaty swamp soils are present in large areas in Lee County, in 
 southern Whiteside County, in Rock Island County, in the northeastern 
 part of Henry County, and in the northwestern part of Bureau County. 
 In Kankakee and Iroquois Counties, in northern Mason County, and 
 southwestern Tazewell County, large tracts of peaty soil are found; and 
 smaller tracts are found in the counties of Winnebago, Boone, McHenry, 
 Lake, Dekalb, and Kane, and there is more or less of this soil in several 
 other northern counties, such as Kendall, Will, LaSalle Grundy, Livings- 
 ton, etc. Some peaty soil has been found in northern Ford County, and 
 one small tract in western McLean County. This soil is also known to 
 extend into northern Indiana* and southern Wisconsin,* and it is reported 
 as present in Iowa to considerable extent. 
 
 Commonly the peaty soil occupies the lower lying areas, but some- 
 times it is found in table-lands. It is always on land which was at one 
 time poorly drained. 
 
 The peaty soil varies from almost pure brown peat, containing 80 
 
 *The experiment stations of Indiana. and Wisconsin have published some results 
 of investigations relating; to similar soils, and in several cases a deficiency of potas- 
 sium has been strongly indicated. (See page 290.) 
 
 275 
 
276 BULLETIN No. 93. [January, 
 
 percent or more of combustible material, to black muck, containing much 
 less organic matter. In some places these soils extend continuously 
 over tracts of considerable size (sometimes over several square miles), 
 to the exclusion of other types of soil; but more commonly the peaty 
 soils occupy irregularly shaped areas scattered about in bodies of land 
 of different kinds. Sandy land is frequently found adjoining or sur- 
 rounding the tracts of peaty soil, and sand is the most common subsoil 
 found under peaty swamp soils, although a clay subsoil is found in many 
 places, and sometimes the peaty soil is underlain, at a depth of only a 
 few feet, with limestone rock. Occasionally the peaty soil adjoins ordi- 
 nary Illinois prairie land. 
 
 Peat itself consists largely of partially decayed sphagnum moss, 
 which grew in the water which once covered these areas. In growing, 
 the moss obtains carbon, from the carbon dioxid in the air, and hydrogen 
 and oxygen, from water, being similar to other plants in this respect. 
 The water in which the sphagnum moss grows is more or less stagnant. 
 It is usually surface-drainage or seepage water, and contains sufficient 
 nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and other essential elements of plant 
 food to meet the needs of the growing moss. Both nitrogen and phos- 
 phorus enter into fairly stable organic combinations with the carbon, 
 hydrogen, and oxygen, and when the moss changes to peat, and even 
 when the peat partially decays, these two elements, nitrogen and phos- 
 phorus (especially the nitrogen), are largely retained in the organic mat- 
 ter. The potassium, however, reverts more largely to the soluble form 
 and it is finally lost to a greater or less extent in the drainage waters 
 flowing from the peat bogs. 
 
 A considerable number of the peaty swamp soils from different 
 places in the state have been analyzed by the Experiment Station, and 
 they are found to be very rich in nitrogen, well supplied with phosphorus, 
 but very deficient in potassium, as compared with the ordinary fertile 
 soils of the state. It has long been known that such soils are frequently 
 deficient in mineral elements. 
 
 Some preliminary field tests made by the Experiment Station, and 
 by farmers who were induced through correspondence with the Experi- 
 ment Station to make some trials, gave results strongly indicating the 
 need of applying available potassium to some of these soils. Pot culture 
 experiments gave similar indications, and the field experiments which 
 are reported* in this bulletin certainly furnish very conclusive proof of 
 the power of potassium to increase the productive capacity of some of 
 these soils. 
 
 In this connection the author desires to mention his appreciation of 
 the assistance of Mr. J. E. Readhimer in superintending these field 
 
 *Some reference to these investigations has already been made in Circulars 64, 
 68, and 72. (See also previous foot-note.) 
 
1904.] SOIL TREATMENT FOR PEATY SWAMP LANDS. 277 
 
 experiments, and also the value and importance of the care which has 
 been given to these different soil experiment fields by the progressive and 
 interested farmers upon whose farms the fields were located, as indicated 
 in the following pages. 
 
 \ 
 
 TAMPICO SOIL EXPERIMENT FIELD. 
 
 This is one of the regular University of Illinois soil experiment fields. 
 It is located in the S. E. 40 of the S. W. \ of Sec. 6, Twp. 19 N., R. 7 E. 
 of the 4th P. M., on the farm of Mr. J. H. Milligan, about five miles 
 northeast of Tampico, Whiteside County, Illinois. The soil consists of 
 black peaty material, rich in organic matter to a depth of sixteen inches. 
 Between 16 and 30 inches the material is lighter in color and quite sandy, 
 with little organic matter. The subsoil below 30 inches is almost pure 
 coarse sand. This soil is fairly representative of considerable amounts 
 of land in southern Whiteside and adjoining counties, which is non- 
 productive, or of very low productive capacity, especially for corn. 
 
 This field consists of ten tenth-acre plots, numbered from 101 to 110. 
 The individual plots are each two rods wide and eight rods long, each 
 plot being surrounded by a cropped and cultivated border one-fourth 
 rod wide, which makes one-half rod division strips between adjacent 
 plots. The treatment applied to these different plots is what we call 
 our "complete fertility test." It includes trials with applications of the 
 elements, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, singly, in all possible 
 double combinations, and all three together, all in connection with lime; 
 also a double test as to the effect of applying lime, first with lime alone, 
 and finally with the three elements added. The plan will be easily 
 understood by reference to the tabular statements. (L means lime, N 
 means nitrogen, P means phosphorus, and K means potassium, from 
 the Latin name kalium, this symbol (K) being used for potassium by all 
 nations.) 
 
 Nitrogen is applied in the form of dried blood, a material containing 
 12 to 14 percent of nitrogen. About 800 pounds of dried blood per 
 acre are used each year. This would furnish about 100 pounds of nitrogen 
 or as much as is contained in 100 bushels of corn. Of course the nitrogen 
 is purchased and applied in readily available commercial form in order 
 to ascertain as quickly as possible if the soil is in need of nitrogen. If 
 this were found to be the case it would simply indicate that in farm 
 practice more nitrogen should be obtained from the air by means of 
 leguminous crops, as we are doing in our rotation experiments (see 
 Bulletin No. 88, "Soil Treatment for Wheat in Rotations"), and not that 
 commercial nitrogen should be bought and applied to the soil (100 pounds 
 of commercial nitrogen cost about SI 5, while that quantity of nitrogen 
 can be obtained from the air with clover and other legumes for about $1). 
 
 The phosphorus is applied in steamed bone meal. This material 
 
278 
 
 BULLETIN No. 93. 
 
 [January, 
 
 contains about 12 percent of the element phosphorus, and is one of the 
 best forms of phosphorus to purchase when needed in general farming. 
 About 200 pounds of steamed bone meal per acre are applied each year. 
 This furnishes about 25 pounds of phosphorus, or more than is contained 
 in a 100-bushel crop of corn, the 'grain containing about 17 pounds and 
 the stalks 6 pounds of that element. Owing to the fact that the steamed 
 bone meal is not completely available the first season, the first annual 
 application is usually 400 instead of 200 pounds (phosphorus in steamed 
 bone meal usually costs from 10 to 12 cents a pound, the steamed bone 
 meal itself being $25 to $30 a ton). 
 
 Potassium is applied in the form of potassium chlorid (containing 
 about 42 percent of potassium), or potassium sulfate (containing about 
 40 percent of that element) . About 200 pounds of the salt are applied 
 the first year, and 100 or 200 pounds per acre each year afterward. One 
 hundred bushels of corn contain about 19 pounds of potassium, and the 
 corresponding three tons of stalks contain about 52 pounds of that element. 
 If the stalks or the ashes from the stalks are left on the land, well dis- 
 tributed, the annual loss in potassium is only about 20 pounds for a 
 very large crop of corn, and 100 pounds of potassium chlorid w r ill furnish 
 42 pounds of the element potassium. If both grain and stover are re- 
 moved about 200 pounds must be added each year. 
 
 The results obtained from the Tampico soil experiment field in 1902 
 (the first year) are shown in Table 1 . It should be stated that although 
 lime was applied to certain plots in this field in the beginning of the experi- 
 ment, in accordance with our regular plan of "complete fertility tests," 
 it has produced no effect whatever, and. the subsequent analysis of soil 
 samples taken at the time the field was located also shows that the soil 
 is not in need of lime. (Lime is not added as an element of plant food, 
 but only to correct any possible acidity of the soil, and thus to insure 
 good physical conditions where the elements of plant food are added.) 
 
 TABLE 1. CROP YIELDS IN SOIL EXPERIMENTS; TAMPICO FIELD, 1902. 
 
 Soil 
 
 
 Yields p 
 
 er acre. 
 
 plot 
 No. 
 
 Soil treatment applied to peaty swamp soil. 
 
 Corn, 
 bushels. 
 
 Stover, 
 pounds. 
 
 101 
 
 None 
 
 
 
 1.000 
 
 102 
 
 Lime 
 
 
 
 800 
 
 103 
 
 Lime, nitrogen 
 
 
 
 1,200 
 
 104 
 
 Lime, phosphorus 
 
 
 
 2,000 
 
 105 
 
 Lime, potassium 
 
 36 3 
 
 3,600 
 
 106 
 
 Lime, nitrogen, phosphorus 
 
 
 
 1,400 
 
 107 
 
 Lime, nitrogen, potassium 
 
 40.0 
 
 3,500 
 
 108 
 
 Lime, phosphorus, potassium 
 
 37.5 
 
 3,100 
 
 109 
 
 Lime, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium 
 
 60 
 
 4,400 
 
 110 
 
 Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium 
 
 52.5 
 
 4,750 
 
1904.] SOIL TREATMENT FOR PEATY SWAMP LANDS. 
 
 279 
 
 PL, 
 
 O 
 O 
 g 
 
 3 
 
 H 
 
280 
 
 BULLETIN No. 93. 
 
 [January , 
 
 It will be observed that every plot to which potassium was applied 
 produced a fair crop of corn, varying from 36 to 60 bushels, while no 
 ear corn was produced on any plot not treated with potassium. Even 
 the yield of stover, or barren stalks, was small on plots not receiving 
 potassium. There was considerable variation in the yield of corn from 
 the plots treated with potassium. This was probably caused more by 
 the excessive rainfall and consequent injury to some plots from too 
 much water than from the effect ofother applications beside potassium. 
 Like much of these swamp lands, this field was not sufficiently well 
 drained to protect it in excessively wet seasons. Plot 109 is slightly 
 higher than most of the other plots, and this is believed to account 
 largely for the higher yield on that plot. 
 
 Plate 1 shows the corn growing on Plot 106 with nitrogen and phos- 
 phorus, on the left, and on Plot 105 with potassium, on the right. 
 
 Table 2 shows the results obtained from this same field in 1903 (the 
 second year). 
 
 TABLE 2. CROP YIELDS IN SOIL EXPERIMENTS; TAMPICO FIELD, 1903. 
 
 Soil 
 plot 
 No. 
 
 Soil treatment applied to 
 peaty swamp soil. 
 
 Yields per acre. 
 
 Corn, bushels. 
 
 Stover, 
 pounds 
 average. 
 
 N.V 
 plot. 
 
 S. i 
 plot. 
 
 Aver- 
 age. 
 
 101 
 102 
 
 103 
 104 
 105 
 
 106 
 107 
 108 
 
 109 
 110 
 
 None . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 42.3 
 
 
 57.6 
 47.1 
 
 66.3 
 53.2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 48.5 
 
 
 59.7 
 46.6 
 
 65.4 
 64.0 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 45.4 
 
 
 58 7 
 46.9 
 
 65 9 
 58.6 
 
 570 
 590 
 
 480 
 740 
 4,150 
 
 600 
 4,170 
 3,860 
 
 4,380 
 3,960 
 
 Lime 
 
 Lime, nitrogen 
 
 Lime, phosphorus 
 
 Lime potassium 
 
 Lime, nitrogen, phosphorus 
 Lime nitrogen potassium . 
 
 Lime, phosphorus, potassium .... 
 
 Lime, nitrogen, phosphorus, 
 potassium . 
 
 Nitrogen, phosphorus, 
 potassium 
 
 
 The five plots receiving potassium produced from 45 to 65 bushels 
 of corn per acre, while no ear corn was produced on any of the five plots 
 to which no potassium was applied. Owing to the very wet season of 
 1903, the yields from most of the plots receiving potassium are lower 
 than they would otherwise have been, Plot 109 being the highest, as in 
 1902, and largely for the reason previously given. It is evident that the 
 excessive amount of water in the soil retarded the nitrification of the 
 organic nitrogen naturally contained in the soil in very large amounts; 
 while the nitrogen supplied in the form of dried blood, being in the sur- 
 face soil and very easily nitrified, did effect some increase in the yield 
 wherever both potassium and nitrogen were added. This effect was 
 
1904.] 
 
 SOIL TREATMENT FOR PEATY SWAMP LANDS. 
 
 281 
 
282 BULLETIN No. 93. [January, 
 
 plainly apparent during the growing season, the stronger growth and 
 darker color of the plants treated with nitrogen in connection with 
 potassium being distinctly discernible. Of course this result does not 
 indicate that commercial nitrogen could be used with profit on this soil, 
 but rather that the field needs better drainage in such wet seasons. (This 
 is being arranged for.) This soil is naturally several times richer in 
 nitrogen than the most fertile soils in the corn-belt. It is also well sup- 
 plied with phosphorus. With more perfect drainage and a plentiful 
 supply of potassium, this soil is undoubtedly capable of producing even 
 more than 65 bushels of corn to the acre. (See results obtained from 
 the Momence field.) 
 
 Plate 2 shows the 1903 crop growing on the Tampico field. The 
 upper view shows Plot 5 (potassium) on the left, and Plot 6 (nitrogen 
 and phosphorus) on the right. The lower view shows Plot 6 (nitrogen 
 and phosphorus) on the left, and Plot 7 (nitrogen and potassium) on the 
 right. (As stated above, this soil naturally contains abundance of lime, 
 a small amount of which w r as added to these plots in the beginning of 
 the experiment before the soil had been analyzed, not as plant food, but 
 only to insure good physical condition. The lime was not needed, how- 
 ever, and it has produced no effect.) 
 
 MOMENCE SOIL EXPERIMENT FIELD. 
 
 This is also one of the regular University of Illinois soil experiment 
 fields, It is located in the N. E. 40 of S. E. J of Sec. 6, Twp. 30 N., R. 
 11 W. of 2nd P. M., on the farm of Mr. C. C. Porter, about three miles 
 south of Momence, Kankakee County, Illinois, on peaty swamp soil 
 which is underlain with impure limestone at a depth of two to three feet, 
 with about 12 inches of yellow sandy subsoil between the black soil and 
 the underlying rock. 
 
 A considerable part of the north half of plots 101 and 102 and a 
 smaller part of the other plots extend over somewhat different land 
 where the soil contains sufficient available potassium to produce a medium 
 crop of corn in a good season.* The south halves of the plots are on 
 soil w r hich is fairly representative of the most non-productive phase of 
 this peaty s\vamp soil. There are very large areas of swamp soil in Kan- 
 kakee and adjoining counties of very low productive capacity, much of 
 which will probably respond to the same treatment as this field. 
 (There are some probable exceptions, however, which will be noted 
 below.) 
 
 The Momence field is laid out in the same manner and receives the 
 same kinds of treatment as the Tampico field. Table*3 shows the results 
 which were obtained in 1902. 
 
 *In locating our soil experiment fields, we endeavor to select as uniform land as 
 possible, but if there is any apparent difference in the field we always try to put the 
 check plot with no treatment on the best soil in order that the effect of the treat- 
 ment shall not be exaggerated. 
 
1904.] 
 
 SOIL TREATMENT FOR PEATY SWAMP LANDS. 
 
 283 
 
 TABLE 3. CROP YIELDS IN SOIL EXPERIMENTS; MOMENCE FIELD, 1902. 
 
 Soil 
 
 
 Yields i 
 
 >er acre. 
 
 plot 
 No. 
 
 Soil treatment applied to peaty swamp soil. 
 
 Corn, 
 bushels. 
 
 Stover, 
 pounds. 
 
 101 
 
 None 
 
 6 9 
 
 940 
 
 102 
 
 Lime 
 
 5 5 
 
 820 
 
 103 
 
 Lime, nitrogen 
 
 
 
 560 
 
 104 
 
 Lime, phosphorus 
 
 1.3 
 
 500 
 
 105 
 
 Lime, potassium 
 
 23.7 
 
 2,720 
 
 106 
 
 Lime, nitrogen, phosphorus 
 
 
 
 500 
 
 107 
 
 Lime, nitrogen, potassium 
 
 19 7 
 
 2,420 
 
 108 
 
 Lime, phosphorus, potassium 
 
 32 
 
 2,940 
 
 109 
 
 Lime, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium . 
 
 25 2 
 
 2,480 
 
 110 
 
 Nitroeen. phosphorus, potassium . . 
 
 24.1 
 
 2.460 
 
 The crop was injured very considerably during the wet season of 1902, 
 because of inadequate drainage, a condition which was corrected before 
 the 1903 crop was grown on this field. Nevertheless the effect of potas- 
 sium on the 1902 corn crop is very marked. Aside from the ends of 
 the plots which occupied somewhat higher ground, capable of producing 
 a medium crop, the five plots receiving no potassium produced practically 
 no ear corn, while the five plots treated with potassium yielded 20 bushels 
 or more of corn per acre. Marked increase in the yield of stover also 
 follows the application of potassium. 
 
 Although the season of 1903 was also one of abundant rainfall, the 
 Momence field had been provided with sufficient drainage to prevent 
 serious injury from water as will be seen from the results which are given 
 
 in Table 4. 
 
 \ 
 TABLE 4. CROP YIELDS IN SOIL EXPERIMENTS; MOMENCE FIELD, 1903. 
 
 Soil 
 plot 
 No. 
 
 Soil treatment applied to 
 peaty swamp soil. 
 
 Yields per acre. 
 
 Corn, bushels. 
 
 Stover, 
 pounds 
 average. 
 
 N J 
 plot. 
 
 S. * 
 plot. 
 
 Aver- 
 age. 
 
 101 
 102 
 
 103 
 104 
 105 
 
 106 
 107 
 108 
 
 109 
 110 
 
 None 
 
 29.7 
 14.2 
 
 7.2 
 9.2 
 72.0 
 
 7.7 
 79.2 
 78.2 
 
 71.5 
 
 77.7 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 72.5 
 
 
 63.0 
 68.0 
 
 62.0 
 63.0 
 
 14.9 
 7.1 
 
 3.6 
 4.6 
 72.6 
 
 3.9 
 71.1 
 73.1 
 
 66.7 
 70.4 
 
 1,080 
 820 
 
 750 
 1,040 
 3,770 
 
 730 
 3,160 
 3,380 
 
 3,010 
 3.230 
 
 Lime 
 
 Lime, nitrogen 
 
 Lime, phosphorus 
 
 Lime, potassium . ... 
 
 Lime, nitrogen, phosphorus 
 
 Lime, nitrogen, potassium 
 
 Lime, phosphorus, potassium .... 
 
 Lime, nitrogen, phosphorus, 
 potassium 
 
 Nitrogen, phosphorus, 
 potassium . . 
 
284 BULLETIN No. 93. [January. 
 
 These results are certainly exceedingly marked as to the effect of 
 potassium in this soil. On the south halves of the plots, on the most 
 non-productive soil, no ear corn was produced on any of the five plots 
 receiving no potassium, while the five plots treated with potassium 
 produced from 62 to 72 bushels of good sound corn per acre. On the 
 north halves the potassium increased the yield from less than ten bushels 
 to more than 70 bushels per acre. (The north ends of plots 101 and 102 
 are not fairly comparable with the remaining plots, as will be plainly 
 seen from the yields produced. This will be understood from the pre- 
 viously given explanation.) 
 
 It is very evident that potassium is the only element of plant food 
 needed to change this almost barren soil to one of the most productive 
 soils in the corn belt. 
 
 Plates 3, 4, and 5 show the crops growing on the Momence field in 
 1903. Plates 3 and 4 show Plots 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, in the order given. 
 
 The upper view in Plate 3 shows Plot 1, to which no treatment was 
 applied. On the right, looking over Plots 2, 3, and 4, we see Plot 5, to 
 which potassium was applied. 
 
 The lower view in Plate 3 shows Plot 2, to which lime only was applied. 
 On the right we see the good corn in Plot 5, beyond plots 3 and 4. 
 
 The upper view in Plate 4 shows Plot 3, to which nitrogen was applied, 
 on the right of which is Plot 4, with Plot 5 beyond. 
 
 The lower view of Plate 4 shows Plot 4 (phosphorus) on the left, and 
 Plot 5 (potassium) on the right, where the corn yielded 72 bushels to the 
 acre. 
 
 The upper view of Plate 5 shows Plot 5 (potassium) on the left, Plot 
 6 (nitrogen and phosphorus) in the middle, and Plot 7 (nitrogen and 
 potassium) on the right. Potassium on Plot 5 made 72 bushels, and on 
 Plot 7 potassium with nitrogen made 71 bushels of good sound corn (80 
 pounds per bushel), while Plot 6 between those two made less than 4 
 bushels of nubbins. 
 
 The lower view in Plate 5 shows the effect of potassium on buckwheat 
 on the Momence field, potassium having been applied on the right, and 
 nothing applied on the left. 
 
1904.] SOIL TREATMENT FOR PEATY SWAMP LANDS. 
 
 285 
 
 H 
 o 
 
 > 
 
 a 
 
286 
 
 BULLETIN No. 93. 
 
 [January, 
 
1904.] 
 
 SOIL TREATMENT FOR PEATY SWAMP LANDS. 
 
 287 
 
 w ^ 
 
 83 
 
 il 
 
 O 
 
 if 5 
 
 s 
 
 ft, W 
 
 P 
 
 <! O 
 
288 
 
 BULLETIN No. 93. 
 
 [January, 
 
 MANITO SOIL EXPERIMENT FIELD. 
 
 This is a co-operative soil experiment field, located on peaty swamp 
 soil about one mile northeast of Manito, in Mason County, Illinois, almost 
 on the line between Mason and Tazewell counties. It is on the farm of 
 Mr. James S. Pollard, which is operated by Mr. Joseph Brenner. The 
 soil is a black peaty material, consisting largely of organic matter. It is 
 quite uniform to a depth of several feet. At a depth of six or eight feet (in 
 places twelve to fifteen feet), the peaty material is underlain with sand. 
 The Manito experiment field contains ten one-acre plots. The treat- 
 ment indicated in Table 5 was applied for the 1902 crop only, no subse- 
 quent applications having been made, although crops of corn for the 
 two years, 1902 and 1903, have been harvested, the yields of corn obtained 
 being also given in the table. 
 
 TABLE 5. CROP YIELDS IN SOIL EXPERIMENTS; MANITO FIELD, 1902 AND 1903. 
 
 Soil 
 plot 
 No. 
 
 Soil treatment applied to peaty swamp soil. 
 (Amounts per acre.) 
 
 Corn, bushels per acre 
 
 1902. 
 
 1903. 
 
 1 
 2 
 
 3 
 4 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 9 
 10 
 
 None 
 
 10.9 
 10.4 
 
 30 4 
 30 3 
 31.2 
 
 11.1 
 13.3 
 
 36 8 
 
 26 4 
 
 Xo reoort 
 
 8.1 
 10.3 
 
 32 3 
 33 3 
 33 7 
 
 11.6 
 13.2 
 
 37.3 
 25 5 
 
 14.7 
 
 None 
 
 600 Ib. Kainit (10% potassium) .... 
 
 600 Ib. Kainit and 350 Ib. bone meal 
 
 200 Ib. potassium chlorid (42% K) . 
 
 700 Ib. common salt 
 
 700 Ib. common salt * 
 
 600 Ib. Kainit (10% K) . . 
 
 300 Ib. Kainit (10% K) 
 
 None . . 
 
 A large open ditch provides fairly good drainage for the swamp in 
 which the Manito field is located, but the excessive rainfall of 1902 cer- 
 tainly injured the yield to a considerable extent. The fact that no 
 further application of potassium was made for the second crop probabry 
 accounts for the comparatively low yield of 1903. The effect of potassium 
 on this field has been to increase the yield of corn from about 10 bushels 
 to more than 30 bushels per acre. Phosphorus (in bone meal) applied 
 in addition to potassium (Plot 4), produced no increase over potassium 
 alone. The results are practically the same whether the potassium is 
 applied in the form of potassium chlorid, containing 42 percent of potas- 
 sium, or as kainit, a crude mineral containing only 10 percent of potassium. 
 Although the application of 600 pounds of kainit is not quite equivalent 
 to 200 pounds of potassium chlorid, the kainit has given nearly as good 
 results during the two years' trials. The cost of 600 pounds of kainit is 
 about the same as 200 pounds of potassium chlorid. Of course it is 
 somewhat more expensive to handle the heavier amounts of kainit, and 
 
1904.] SOIL TREATMENT FOR PEATY SWAMP LANDS. 289 
 
 the fact that 200 pounds of potassium chlorid contain 84 pounds of potas- 
 sium, while the 600 pounds of kainit contain only 60 pounds of potassium, 
 is evidence that the effect of the potassium chlorid will be more lasting. 
 Where the application of potassium was reduced from 60 pounds (in 600 
 pounds of kainit) to 30 pounds (in 300 pounds of kainit) the yield of 
 corn was reduced from 36 to 26 bushels in 1902, and from 37 to 25 bushels 
 in 1903. (See Plots 8 and 9.) It seems altogether probable that heavier 
 applications of potassium (say 200 pounds of potassium chlorid each 
 year) will increase the yield of corn on this soil to 60 or 70 bushels, or 
 possibly more, as has been the result on the Momence field. This is to 
 be tried on the Manito field. 
 
 It should be borne in mind that the stalks for a hundred-bushel crop 
 of corn require 52 pounds of potassium (beside that required for the 
 root growth), while the 100 bushels of grain will require 19 pounds. Of 
 course the stalks must be grown before the ears can be produced; and, 
 while there is a strong natural tendency in corn, as in all plants, to repro- 
 duce seed, yet it has been shown by actual trial that in such soil as that 
 on the Tampico field, for example, which, without treatment, is incapable 
 of producing ear corn, small applications of potassium are practically 
 useless, as they only effect a larger growth of stalks, but do not furnish 
 sufficient potassium to enable those stalks to produce ears. This fact 
 was well illustrated on Mr. Milligan's land adjoining the Tampico field in 
 1903. Because of the marked results produced by potassium on that 
 field in 1902, Mr. Milligan used some potassium on his own corn for 1903. 
 The amount of potassium chlorid which he purchased was not sufficient 
 to make a heavy application (say 200 pounds per acre) to all of the land 
 where he wished to apply it. He reduced the application to 50 pounds 
 of potassium chlorid per acre on some of his land. As a result he obtained 
 a largely increased growth of stalks, but still produced practically no 
 ear corn. On such land, 200 pounds of potassium chlorid is worth very 
 much more when applied to one acre than when scattered over four 
 acres. 
 
 The results obtained on Plots 6 and 7 of the Manito field prove con- 
 clusively that common salt (sodium chlorid) has no power to take the 
 place of potassium chlorid (or other potassium salts) in the improvement 
 of these peaty swamp soils. Plots 1, 2, 6, 7, and 10, may all be con- 
 sidered as check plots. From the yields obtained from these plots during 
 the two years, it will be seen that there is some natural variation in the 
 land, the yield increasing somewhat as we pass from Plot 1 to Plot 10. 
 Plots 3 and 8 also illustrate this fact. 
 
 Owing to the more favorable season of 1903 (less injury from water) 
 larger yields were produced in 1903 than in 1902 on the plots treated 
 with potassium, although no additional potassium was applied for the 
 1903 crop. The one exception to this rule is plot 9, which received only 
 
290 BULLETIN No. 93. [January, 
 
 30 pounds of potassium per acre, of which too little remained for the 
 1903 crop to produce as good a yield as in 1902, even though the water 
 conditions were more favorable in 1903. 
 
 RESULTS OF INVESTIGATIONS IN INDIANA AND WISCONSIN. 
 
 As previously stated the Indiana and Wisconsin experiment sta- 
 tions have reported some investigations of non-productive soils, including 
 some peaty swamp soils. 
 
 Bulletin No. 57 of the Indiana Agricultural Experiment Station on 
 "The Improvement ofvUnproductive Black Soils," by Professor H. A. 
 Huston, published in 1895, contains the following general conclusions : 
 
 "The use of straw or kainit has proved very profitable as a means of 
 temporary improvement of such lands. 
 
 "The permanent improvement of such lands must be effected by efficient 
 drainage." 
 
 In the summary of Bulletin No. 95 of the Indiana Station, which was 
 published in 1903, and which is essentially a reprint of Bulletin No. 57, 
 Professor Huston inserts the following additional conclusion : 
 
 "On black lands containing considerable sand but not having a high water 
 level, kainit and other potash salts have proved very profitable fertilizers for corn." 
 
 Bulletin No. 80 of the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station on 
 "The Character and Treatment of Swamp or Humus Soil/' by Professor 
 F. H. King and J. A. Jeffrey, published in 1900, contains the following 
 conclusions : 
 
 " So far as the elements of plant food are concerned [thess soils] contain a higher 
 percent than most of the best upland soils. 
 
 " But when reclaimed they are often found relatively unproductive, especially 
 after two or three years. 
 
 " Coarse farmyard manure, in almost all cases, greatly improves even the best 
 of these lands, enabling them to give large yields. 
 
 " Potassium carbonate, sulfate, and nitrate, and wood ashes have been found to 
 greatly improve these soils for corn. Kainit improves the yield, but to a less degree. 
 
 " Coarse litter, like straw, plowed in, is often very helpful. 
 
 " When undrained and kept in the native wild grass and cut continuously, these 
 lands in some known cases greatly decrease in productiveness, so much so as to 
 hardly pay for cutting." 
 
 It is evident that in the investigations above summarized no very 
 clear distinction i made between the very peaty swamp soils which are 
 exceedingly deficient in the element potassium as compared with normal 
 fertile soils, and the non-productive " alkali " or " bogus " soils, which are 
 usually rich in all elements of plant food, including potassium. These 
 different classes of non-productive soils are discussed in the following 
 pages. 
 
1904.] SOIL TREATMENT FOR PEATY SWAMP LANDS. 291 
 
 PLANT FOOD IN DIFFERENT SOILS.* 
 
 It is true that plants are composed very largely of the elements carbon, 
 hydrogen, and oxygen, that carbon is obtained from the inexhaustible 
 supply of carbon dioxid in the air, and hydrogen and oxygen are the 
 elements of which water is formed. It is also true that plants must be 
 supplied with the elements calcium, magnesium, sulfur, and iron, but 
 these four elements are required by plants in relatively small amounts, 
 and practically all soils are abundantly supplied with them. The other 
 three elements of plant food, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, are 
 required by plants in very considerable amounts, and they are present 
 in most soils in limited quantities. 
 
 Nitrogen is a constituent of organic matter, consequently, if a soil is 
 rich in organic matter (humus or vegetable matter), it is also rich in 
 nitrogen ; and if a soil is poor in organic matter, it is also poor in nitrogen. 
 If more nitrogen is needed it can best be obtained by growing leguminous 
 crops, provided with the proper nitrogen-gathering bacteria, which have 
 power to obtain nitrogen from the air. 
 
 Phosphorus is also associated with organic matter to some extent, so 
 that a soil very rich in organic matter (as peaty soils) is not only exceed- 
 ingly rich in nitrogen, but it is usually well supplied with phosphorus. 
 In the light-colored timber soils, and in worn prairie soils, especially those 
 of southern Illinois, phosphorus is more or less deficient in the soil. It 
 can be supplied very profitably in steamed bone meal, and probably in 
 ground rock phosphate, also; but, as a rule, it should be used only in 
 connection with leguminous crops or farm manure. 
 
 Potassium is commonly, associated with clay, that is, the true 
 sticky, plastic clay. It is contained in all ordinary Illinois soils, as the 
 common prairie soils, in great abundance (southern Illinois soils have 
 only a moderate supply). Peaty soils not mixed with sticky clay are, 
 as a rule, very deficient in potassium. Sand soils also are usually poor 
 in potassium. Sand soils are likewise commonly deficient in the other 
 elements of plant food, especially in nitrogen. (Absolutely pure sand 
 contains no plant food whatever.) 
 
 With these facts in mind, it is possible for the farmer to estimate 
 with some degree of accuracy what will be required to increase the pro- 
 ductive capacity of the different kinds of peaty swamp soils, and whether 
 the treatment must be continued indefinitely, year after year, or whether 
 the soil is likely to improve, or "farm out," after a few years. 
 
 *For more complete information regarding the different elements of plant food, 
 the reader is referred to Circular No. 68, " Methods of Maintaining the Productive 
 Capacity of Illinois Soils," a copy of which will be sent upon request to any one 
 interested in Illinois agriculture. 
 
292 BULLETIN No. 93. [January, 
 
 GENERAL INFORMATION REGARDING PEATY SWAMP SOILS. 
 
 Peaty swamp soils may well be separated arbitrarily into five fairly 
 distinct classes: 
 
 1. Soils in which the very peaty material extends to a depth of three 
 or four feet at least and often to much greater depths. 
 
 2. Soils with one to three feet of peaty material resting on deep 
 sand. 
 
 3. Soils with one to three feet of peaty material resting on rock, 
 usually with some inches of sandy material between the two. 
 
 4. Soils with six inches to three feet of peaty material resting on a 
 clayey subsoil. 
 
 5. Soils with only a few inches of peaty material resting on sand. 
 
 If the soil has one to three feet of very peaty material and this is 
 underlain with a deep sand subsoil or with sand resting on rock, or if 
 the peaty soil itself is very deep (3 or 4 feet or more), then the land is 
 almost certainly deficient in potassium, and the chief part of the potas- 
 sium required to produce crops must always be supplied, either in the 
 form of commercial potassium salts or in farm manure, because of the 
 simple fact that it cannot be furnished by either the soil or subsoil in 
 sufficient quantities for continuous large crops. As the one to three feet 
 of peaty material is exceedingly rich in organic matter, and is much 
 richer in nitrogen, and usually somewhat better supplied with phosphorus, 
 than the most fertile normal soils in the corn-belt, that land is not in need 
 of either of those elements, and probably it will be unnecessary to grow 
 clover or to apply phosphorus on such soils for many years. Indeed, it 
 seems altogether likely that the most profitable system of farming for 
 such soils is almost continuous corn, unless some rotation should become 
 necessary because of corn insects. As farm manure contains about as 
 much nitrogen as potassium, and also some phosphorus, it is better farm 
 practice to use farm manure on sandy land, for example, which is usually 
 somewhat deficient in both phosphorus and potassium, and very greatly 
 in need of nitrogen and organic matter, than it is to use the manure on 
 this peaty soil which needs only potassium. Ordinary farm manure 
 contains about 10 pounds of potassium in a ton, and this is not very 
 readily available, excepting in such kinds as horse manure which decom- 
 pose quickly. 
 
 If one has abundance of farm manure, and does not need to use it 
 all on lighter soils, of course, it should be applied to the peaty soils rather 
 than not be used at all; but under the ordinary farm conditions, where 
 the supply of farm manure is very limited, it is good practice to purchase 
 commercial potassium for such peaty lands as need it. 
 
 As stated above, there are some peaty soils which are underlain with 
 clay subsoils lying from 6 inches to three feet below the surface. Such 
 
1904.] SOIL TREATMENT FOR PEATY SWAMP LANDS. 293 
 
 subsoils almost invariably contain abundance of potassium. Some of 
 these are the soils which will ultimately "farm out," to use a local phrase, 
 which means that with continued farming the soil gradually improves 
 until it finally becomes a normally fertile soil, even without any special 
 treatment. The time required for this improvement will depend upon the 
 condition and method of management of the soil. The desired result is 
 usually accomplished by getting some of the clayey subsoil mixed with 
 the more peaty top soil. Sometimes this can be done by deeper plowing; 
 sometimes by the tramping of live stock, where the subsoil is near the 
 surface. Some soils of this class are temporarily benefitad very mark- 
 edly by even light applications of potassium, either in farm manure 
 (preferably horse manure) or in commercial form. This will furnish 
 sufficient potassium to give the corn a start, and the corn roots will thus 
 be enabled to grow sufficiently to reach the clayey subsoil which will 
 then furnish abundance of potassium for a large crop. This may last for 
 a year or two only, when it will be found necessary to supply more potas- 
 sium to the top soil; or, the one or two years' cropping and cultivation 
 may result in the compacting of the surface soil, the mixing of the clayey 
 subsoil with the peaty top soil, or the bringing up of sufficient potassium 
 from the subsoil into the top soil by the roots of corn and weeds and the 
 corn-stalks (which, it will be remembered, are quite rich in potassium, 
 and which are usually either burned or plowed under) so that no further 
 application of potassium may be necessary. Thus, the so-called "farm- 
 ing out" process may be hastened very materially, and with decided 
 profit on some soils, by applying potassium in some form, especially where 
 the peaty top soil is too deep to admit of reaching the clayey subsoil with 
 the plow. 
 
 In its original condition this type of peaty land (that is, a peaty top 
 soil underlain with a clay subsoil), contains abundance of all of the 
 elements of plant food; but the difficulty is that the nitrogen is nearly 
 all in the top soil, while the potassium is very largely in the subsoil (both 
 soil and subsoil commonly contain enough phosphorus), and the chief 
 problem with these particular soils is to bring these elements together in 
 the top soil sufficient for the needs of the growing crop, especially during 
 its earlier growth before its roots reach the lower stratum. 
 
 Very satisfactory results have been obtained upon this particular 
 kind of soil, in Ford County, Illinois, simply by means of very deep plow- 
 ing. Mr. S. K. Marston has a farm in what is called "Vermilion Swamp," 
 in northern Ford County. A careful examination was made of land in 
 this swamp some two years ago. The soil produced very poor crops of 
 corn, but the clayey subsoil was found to be within the reach of the plow, 
 and it was then agreed w r ith Mr. Marston that a trial of deep plowing 
 should be made, and the result has been very successful, as will be seen 
 from the following extracts from a letter recently received from Mr. 
 Marston : 
 
294 BULLETIN No. 93. [January, 
 
 " ONARGA, ILL., October 31, 1903. 
 " DR. C. G. HOPKINS, 
 
 "DEAR SIR: 
 
 " I went to my farm yesterday to ascertain the effect of the fertilizers that I had 
 used. My tenant says he can see no perceptible effect. But I can say that deep 
 plowing has done the business. I saw yesterday some of the finest, soundest, 
 heaviest corn I ever saw, and the yield sixty bushels to the acre. 
 
 "My tenant is a thorough convert to deep plowing. His plowing this year is 
 nearly a foot deep. We have decided that the soil contains all necessary constitu- 
 ents. Deep plowing seems to be a great success. 
 
 " Respectfully, 
 
 " S. K. MARSTON." 
 
 There is still another kind of peaty swamp land which must be men- 
 tioned. This is land whose soil consists of only a few inches of peaty 
 material, which is underlain by sand to a depth of several feet. We 
 have found quite extensive areas of this type of soil, especially in the 
 southeastern part of Kankakee County. The sandy subsoil will usually 
 furnish somewhat more of available potassium than the peaty material 
 will, and the sand, being near the surface, becomes mixed with the peaty 
 material by plowing and cultivation, so that this soil may produce fair 
 crops for a few years. But after the rather small amount of organic 
 matter becomes reduced by cultivation, this type of soil is but little 
 different from ordinary sand soil, which is usually very poor in nitrogen 
 and rather low in all elements of plant food. If the sand contains some 
 clay, which is quite frequently the case, it will be better supplied with 
 potassium than with the other elements. As a rule it is most deficient 
 in nitrogen. 
 
 It will be of interest and value to farmers who may have such very 
 sandy swamp soils to know of the results which we have obtained from 
 our "complete fertility tests" on the sand ridge soil in Tazewell County. 
 
 GREEN VALLEY SOIL EXPERIMENT FIELD. 
 
 This is one of the regular University of Illinois soil experiment fields. 
 It is located in the S. W. 10 of N. W. 40 of N. W. of Sec. 3, Twp. 22 
 N., R. 5 W. of 3rd P. M., about two miles southwest of Green Valley, 
 Tazewell County, Illinois, on the farm of Mr. J. C. Drake. The soil is 
 typical of the cultivated sand ridge soil, and fairly represents veiy 
 large areas of sandy land, not only in Tazewell and Mason counties, 
 but also in Whiteside and adjoining counties, Kankakee and adjoining 
 counties, and in smaller areas in many other parts of Illinois. 
 
 The Green Valley field contains a series of ten tenth-acre plots in 
 the "complete fertility tests," and also three series of ten plots each in 
 the three-year rotation experiments. As the experiments have been in 
 progress only two years, no definite conclusions can be drawn from the 
 rotation plots, but the "complete fertility tests," which are designed to 
 furnish information as quickly as possible (commercial nitrogen being 
 used instead of waiting for legumes to grow as we do in the rotations), 
 
1904.] 
 
 SOIL TREATMENT FOR PEATY SWAMP LANDS. 
 
 295 
 
 have already furnished some marked results, as will be seen by reference 
 to Table 6. To those who are familiar with these sand ridge soils, the 
 fact will be appreciated that it is practically impossible to find ten acres 
 of this land with even approximately uniform soil. This experiment 
 field is about as uniform for this land as can well be found; but in each 
 series there are two or three plots which are markedly better land than 
 the remainder of the series. This better soil occupies somewhat lower 
 lying land, which has received some wash from the higher land, 
 and is consequently richer, especially in organic matter and nitrogen, 
 and more productive than the average sand soil. As in all of our soil 
 experiment fields, wherever there is noticeable variation in the soil, the 
 check plot, that is, the plot receiving no treatment, is located on the 
 best land (as in the Momence field, for example), in order that the effects 
 which may be produced by the different kinds of soil treatment shall never 
 be exaggerated, even though they may sometimes be minimized. 
 
 For comparative purposes the results obtained on Plots 1 and 2 have 
 practically no value, and they are ignored in computing the averages 
 given in the last three lines in Table 6. It is of interest to note, how- 
 ever, that the yield. of corn on those two plots markedly decreased from 
 1902 to 1903, while every plot receiving nitrogen with either phosphorus 
 or potassium, or both, gave a higher yield in 1903. 
 
 TABLE 6. CROP YIELDS IN SOIL EXPERIMENTS; GREEN VALLEY FIELD, 1902 AND 
 
 1903. 
 
 Soil 
 plot 
 No. 
 
 Soil treatment applied to 
 sand soil. 
 
 Yields per acre. 
 
 Corn, bushels. 
 
 Stover, pounds. 
 
 1902. 
 
 1903. 
 
 1902. 
 
 1903. 
 
 401 
 402 
 
 403 
 404 
 405 
 406 
 407 
 408 
 
 409 
 
 410 
 
 None 
 
 68.7 
 68.2* 
 
 68.6 
 
 30.3 
 23.1 
 57.4 
 70.0 
 
 49.8 
 
 69.5 
 57.2 
 
 56.3 
 42.0* 
 
 65.4 
 
 24.9 
 20.1 
 69.8 
 72.9 
 
 36.6 
 
 69.8 
 66.1 
 
 3,660 
 
 2,820* 
 
 2,880 
 1,940 
 1,920 
 3,080 
 3,620 
 3,180 
 
 3,580 
 3,520 
 
 3,860 
 3,460* 
 
 4,180 
 3,000 
 3,080 
 4,400 
 4,940 
 3,820 
 
 4,680 
 4,540 
 
 Lime 
 
 Lime, nitrogen 
 
 Lime, phosphorus 
 
 Lime, potassium 
 
 Lime, nitrogen, phosphorus 
 
 Lime, nitrogen, potassium 
 
 Lime, phosphorus, potassium .... 
 
 Lime, nitrogen, phosphorus, 
 potassium 
 
 Nitrogen, phosphorus, 
 potassium 
 
 
 
 L -(- N, gain for nitrogen . . . 
 
 .4* 
 27.1 
 46.9 
 19.7 
 
 23.4* 
 44.9 
 52.8 
 30.2 
 
 60* 
 1,140 
 1,700 
 400 
 
 720* 
 1,400 
 1,860 
 860 
 
 LP -f- N, gain for nitrogen . . . 
 
 LK -f- N, gain for nitrogen . 
 
 LPK -f- N, gain for nitrogen .... 
 
 
 Average gain for nitrogen 
 
 31.2 
 5.0 
 11.0 
 
 42.6 
 7.0 
 7.4 
 
 1,080 
 473 
 
 827 
 
 1,373 
 233 
 620 
 
 Average gain for phosphorus .... 
 Average gain for potassium 
 
 
 *Results based on Plots 1 and 2 are omitted in the averages for reasons 
 explained in the text. 
 
296 BULLETIN No. 93. [January, 
 
 After discarding Plots 1 and 2, we still have a triplicate test as to 
 the effect of each of the elements, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. 
 Thus, in 1902, Plot 4 (lime and phosphorus), produced 30 bushels of corn, 
 while Plot 6 (lime, nitrogen, and phosphorus), produced 57 bushels, a 
 gain of 27 bushels for nitrogen. Plot 5 (lime and potassium) produced 
 23 bushels, while Plot 7 (lime, nitrogen, potassium), produced 70 bush- 
 els, a gain of 47 bushels for nitrogen. Plot 8 (lime phosphorus, potas- 
 sium), produced 49 bushels, while Plot 9 (lime, nitrogen, phosphorus, 
 potassium) produced 69 bushels, a gain of 20 bushels for nitrogen, the 
 average of these three different tests being 31 bushels gain for nitrogen, as 
 recorded under "average gain for nitrogen." By similar methods it 
 is found that, in 1903, the average increase in yield produced by nitrogen 
 was 42.6 bushels while phosphorus produced an average increase of 5 
 bushels in 1902 and 7 bushels in 1903, and potassium an increase of 11 
 bushels in 1902 and 7.4 bushels in 1903. 
 
 No one should conclude from these results that the purchase of com- 
 mercial nitrogen for use on these sand soils is likely to be profitable. 
 The annual application of nitrogen which we have made is 100 pounds 
 per acre (about 800 pounds of dried blood), which is barely sufficient 
 for a crop of 70 bushels (grain and stover). This amount of nitrogen 
 costs $15.00 in the market. At 30 cents a bushel, it would require 45 
 bushels of corn to pay for the original cost of the nitrogen. What these 
 experiments teach, and that very emphatically, is the very great impor- 
 tance of growing legumes, or using farm manure, or both, on this sand 
 soil. Although clover does not grow well on this soil, as a rule, we now 
 have conclusive evidence from our rotation experiments, and from nu- 
 merous trials which different farmers have been induced to make, that 
 cowpeas are well adapted to this soil, and that its productive capacity 
 can be very greatly increased by means of cowpeas alone. 
 
 Further investigation is required to determine whether lime, phos- 
 phorus, or potassium can be applied to this soil with profit. Certainly 
 they should not be used extensively until the possibilities of cowpeas, 
 soy beans, vetch, or other legumes are better known. There is reason 
 to believe that alfalfa will do well on this soil if it is once well started, 
 as it probably can be by using farm manure and turning under cowpeas, 
 perhaps with the addition of one or two tons per acre of ground limestone. 
 It is strongly recommended that such trials be made with alfalfa (on a 
 small scale at first), providing it with the best possible conditions, includ- 
 ing a supply of the alfalfa bacteria, and, if necessary, phosphorus and 
 potassium. 
 
 It is believed that this information regarding sand ridge soils can be 
 applied with marked advantage to very sandy swamp soils, especially 
 where the original peaty material was confined to a few inches of top 
 soil which has been worn out or destroyed by cultivation. 
 
1904.] SOIL TREATMENT FOR PEATY SWAMP LANDS. 297 
 
 SOURCES AND USE OF POTASSIUM. 
 
 From the results given in the preceding pages, the fact will be appre- 
 ciated that the element potassium is a commodity of value, especially 
 for the farmer who has to deal with peaty swamp soils'. The commer- 
 cial value of potassium is about 6 cents a pound for the element in sol- 
 uble form. There are three common forms of potassium on the market : 
 Potassium chlorid, which contains about 42 percent of potassium; 
 potassium sulfate, containing 40 percent of potassium; and kainit, a 
 crude mineral, containing only 10 percent of potassium. Potassium chlo- 
 rid is frequently, but very incorrectly, called "muriate of potash." 
 Potassium chlorid contains the two elements, potassium and chlorin, 
 as the name indicates. The word "muriate" has no meaning except 
 that the ending, ate, indicates that the compound contains oxygen, which 
 is not the case. "Potash" is a compound of potassium and oxygen, 
 which is not contained in potassium chlorid. It is certainly better for 
 the farmer to say potassium and potassium chlorid and be correct and 
 intelligent about it than to say "potash" and "muriate of potash," and 
 be confused and ignorant as to the nature of the compound. 
 
 It should be understood that the law of Illinois requires that every 
 bag of potassium fertilizer sold in the state shall bear a printed label 
 stating the percentage of the element potassium which the material con- 
 tains, as well as the total number of pounds of material contained in the 
 bag. 
 
 If a bag is marked "200 pounds," and the label "42 to 44 percent 
 potassium," this means that the 200 pounds of material contains about 
 42 percent (or 42 pounds in 100 pounds) of the element potassium, which 
 would make 84 pounds of potassium in the bag, or 840 pounds in a ton, 
 which, at 6 cents a pound, would make the salt worth $50.40 a ton. 
 
 If the bag is marked "200 pounds" and the label "10 to 11 percent 
 potassium," this means that the bag contains about 20 pounds of the 
 element potassium, which would make 200 pounds of potassium in a 
 ton. At 6 cents a pound for potassium, this material would be worth 
 $12 a ton. 
 
 It is true that fertilizer dealers frequently print on the bag the equiv- 
 alent percentages of "-potash," "muriate of potash," "sulfate of potash," 
 etc., the chief effect of which is to make "big figures" and confuse the 
 purchaser, but any farmer can understand the matter of buying potas- 
 sium if he will look for the percentage of potassium. This is the number 
 of pounds of potassium contained in 100 pounds of the material. A 
 ton would contain 20 times as much potassium, and this is worth 6 cents 
 a pound in Chicago. 
 
 It is understood that Armour Fertilizers Works, Union Stock Yards, 
 Chicago, A. Smith & Brother, Tampico, Whiteside County, Illinois, and 
 Chas. H. Chridy, Havana, Mason County, Illinois, are taking out licenses 
 
298 BULLETIN No 93. [January, 
 
 to sell potassium chlorid, and possibly kainit. Armour Fertilizers Works 
 quote a price of $50 a ton for potassium chlorid and $15 a ton for kainit, 
 for ton lots in Chicago, or for carload lots delivered to any point in Illi- 
 nois. At these prices potassium costs 6 cents a pound in potassium 
 chlorid, and 7 cents a pound in kainit. A ton of potassium chlorid 
 contains 840 pounds of the element potassium, while a ton of kainit 
 contains only 200 pounds of potassium. 
 
 When we remember that a hundred-bushel crop of corn contains 71 
 pounds of potassium (19 in the grain and 52 in the stover) besides that 
 contained in the roots, it will be seen that 200 pounds of potassium 
 chlorid (84 pounds of the element) will be barely sufficient for the first 
 crop. If, however, only the ear corn is removed from the land, the stalks 
 being pastured and plowed under, only about 20 pounds of potassium 
 are actually removed from the soil each year, even with a very large 
 crop, the larger part of the potassium being thus left for the benefit of suc- 
 ceeding crops. Of course the potassium in the stalks is much less readily 
 available than that in potassium chlorid. Nevertheless, as the stalks 
 decay, the potassium will gradually become available. If the stalks are 
 burned, the potassium remains in the ashes, but usually these are left 
 in windrows, and consequently not well distributed for the next crop. 
 
 Farm manure contains about 10 pounds of potassium in a ton, but 
 most farm manure decays slowly, a fact which is evidenced by the last- 
 ing effect of manure, its value being commonly greater for the second 
 crop than for the first after its application, while many succeeding crops 
 may show its effect. Horse manure decays much more quickly than 
 cattle manure, and consequently the" potassium in horse manure is quite 
 readily available. The potassium in ordinary manure and in corn stalks 
 is probably not worth more than 1^ or 2 cents a pound, as compared with 
 6 cents a pound for soluble potassium. On this basis, for use on peaty 
 swamp soils, rich in organic matter, nitrogen, and phosphorus, ordinary 
 farm manure is worth about 20 cents a ton when potassium chlorid is 
 worth $50 a ton. It should not be forgotten that one ton of potassium 
 chlorid contains as much potassium as 84 tons of average fresh farm 
 manure. Manure would be worth only 60 cents a ton for potassium if 
 the potassium were all readily available. 
 
 It is certain that if we are raising corn on peaty swamp soil, rich 
 in everything except potassium, and if only about one-fifth of the potas- 
 sium absolutely required to make a crop is actually removed in the ear 
 corn, it is very unscientific and very poor farm practice to be stingy with 
 the potassium which we supply. On such soils as those on which our 
 experiment fields are located at Tampico, Momence, and Manito, not less 
 than 200 pounds of potassium chlorid per annum should be applied for 
 the first one or two years. After that, if the stalks are not removed from 
 the land, probably 100 pounds a year will be sufficient, and perhaps 
 
1904.] SOIL TREATMENT FOR PEATY SWAMP LANDS. 299 
 
 this can finally be reduced to 50 pounds a year, as this would furnish 
 21 pounds of potassium a year, which is slightly more than would be re- 
 moved in one hundred bushels of corn. 
 
 It is well known that in ordinary soils potassium applied in soluble 
 form is not lost by leaching, and it is evident from the experiments re- 
 ported in this bulletin, especially those on the Manito Field, that peaty 
 soil also has some power to fix and hold potassium from one year to 
 another, even during seasons of abundant rainfall. 
 
 METHODS OF APPLYING POTASSIUM SALTS TO THE LAND. 
 
 Potassium salts may be applied in the fall or spring, but preferably 
 at least one or two weeks before the corn is planted. The material 
 should never be applied in the hill with corn, for the reason that it may 
 destroy the germinating power of the seed or injure the young plant, 
 and also because the roots of the corn plant do not stay in the hill, but 
 they grow out through the soil in all directions, absorbing moisture and 
 plant food. Corn fertilized in the hill, if the seed or young plants are not 
 injured, frequently makes an abnormally strong growth for a few weeks, 
 and later in the season suffers from dry weather more than ordinary 
 corn, whose roots have developed more normally. 
 
 Potassium or other fertilizing material should be applied broadcast 
 or in narrow drills, as a general rule. Any salt of potassium may be 
 applied easily and quickly by hand, sowing or scattering it from the 
 wagon. One farmer in Whiteside County reports having applied 100 
 pounds to the acre over 22 acres of land in less than three-quarters of 
 a day, a boy being provided to drive the team. Sowing potassium chlorid 
 by hand is less difficult than sowing wheat or oats by hand, because 
 of the necessity of securing a uniform stand of wheat or oats, while it 
 would matter but little if there should be a few square feet now and then 
 which received no potassium. It passes into solution before it becomes 
 fixed in the soil, and will thus be distributed somewhat, and the subse- 
 quent preparation of the seed bed and the cultivation of the corn will 
 tend to mix it more uniformly with the soil. 
 
 An end gate seeder is a very good implement for applying potassium 
 salts. Probably most farmers could apply the material about as rapidly 
 and more uniformly with an end gate seeder than by hand. 
 
 It is good practice to apply the potassium after plowing and then to 
 mix it with the soil by disking, harrowing, etc., in the usual preparation 
 of the seed bed. It should not be applied when the ground is frozen if 
 there is likely to be any overflow or surface drainage before the potassium 
 salt dissolves and soaks into the soil. 
 
300 BULLETIN No. 93. [January, 
 
 REPORTS FROM FARMERS USING POTASSIUM ON PEATY SWAMP SOILS. 
 
 Several farmers are using potassium on peaty soils near Manito, 
 both in Mason County and in Tazewell County. Most of them use kainit, 
 because of its low price per ton. (Potassium chlorid is really much 
 cheaper.) About 300 pounds of kainit (30 pounds of potassium) is the 
 usual application. This increases the yield sufficiently so that the farm- 
 ing is not done at a loss, but the yield rarely exceeds half a crop; and 
 when we consider that this peaty swamp soil is one of the richest soils in 
 the state in the element phosphorus, and by far the richest in nitrogen, 
 there is no apparent reason why this soil should not produce 75 to 100 
 bushels of corn if sufficient potassium is provided. A considerable number 
 of farmers near Tampico have made some use of potassium during the 
 past season, and in all cases I think they have used high grade material ; 
 that is, potassium chlorid or potassium sulfate (the sulfate is slightly 
 more expensive than the chlorid.) 
 
 As a rule, through careless oversight or thoughtlessness, farmers do 
 not have check plots. Too frequently they do not consider that abso- 
 lute knowledge has a high money value in farming as well as in other 
 kinds of business. It is a simple matter to leave a two-rod strip of aver- 
 age land across the field, taking care that no potassium is applied to this 
 strip. It is true that the yield of corn will be lower on this strip than 
 where potassium is applied, but it will furnish a direct comparison as to 
 the effect of the potassium, and this knowledge may be worth many 
 times the loss in yield as a guide in subsequent years. This check strip 
 should be left untreated for two or three years at least. 
 
 During the season of 1903 the writer visited several fields in White- 
 side County where potassium chlorid (or sulfate) had been applied for 
 corn. By comparing the corn on these fields with corn on adjoining 
 farms or fields where no potassium had been used, very marked effects 
 were commonly apparent. 
 
 Under date of Nov. 6, 1903, Mr. J. H. Milligan, of Tampico, writes: 
 
 " Mr. Wheelock's corn is making from 65 to 70 bushels per acre. This is about 
 30 to 35 bushels net for potassium. 
 
 " Mr. Cortes applied potassium (chlorid or sulfate) at the rates of 40 pounds, 
 60 pounds, and 100 pounds per acre. The 40 pounds gave no result, the 60 pounds 
 better growth, the 100 pounds makes him corn yielding 50 bushels per acre. He 
 applied in the field on good and bad spots alike. He says where he applied 100 
 pounds to the acre, the corn grew and yields all about alike, showing no bad spots 
 in growth or yield. He thinks the potassium has made 50 bushels net on all bad 
 spots." 
 
 Under date of Nov. 3, 1903, Dr. J. H. Mosher, of Prophetstown, 
 Whiteside County, writes : 
 
 " In reply to yours, would say I used muriate of potash of Armour & Co. I paid" 
 $56 a ton. I don't know the percent of potassium. Tenant applied 100 to 125 
 
1904.] SOIL TREATMENT FOR PEATY SWAMP LANDS. 301 
 
 pounds per acre broadcast. Where applied the yield is increased 30 bushels per 
 acre from 20 to 50. Tenant says in spots of an acre or so it doesn't show much 
 effect. There may be some other trouble with that land." 
 
 "ALKALI" SOILS. 
 
 It should be understood that the peaty swamp soils reported in this 
 bulletin are not the same as the so-called "alkali" or "bogus" soils. These 
 "alkali" spots are very numerous in central and northern Illinois. They 
 usually occur in the midst of the very best farming lands. They vary 
 in size from a few square rods to several acres. They are being inves- 
 tigated, and some information regarding them has already been obtained, 
 and it seems appropriate that a brief preliminary report regarding these 
 "alkali" spots should be made in this bulletin, but this report must be 
 considered as tentative and suggestive and not conclusive. Further in- 
 vestigation is needed before complete or definite information regarding 
 these soils can be obtained. 
 
 The most common kind of so-called "alkali" spot which we have found 
 does contain alkali, and the soil is not improperly called alkali soil. The 
 alkali, however, is not sodium carbonate, the ordinary strong alkali of 
 the soils of arid countries, but it is magnesium carbonate, a mild alkali. 
 The magnesium carbonate is usually associated with much larger quan- 
 tities of calcium carbonate (limestone is calcium carbonate). Although 
 magnesium is one of the essential elements of plant food, yet an excessive 
 amount of magnesium carbonate and bicarbonate becomes poisonous to 
 plants, especially to corn and millet. 
 
 Usually the magnesium carbonate is more concentrated in the sub- 
 soil than in the surface, and if we can provide perfect underdrainage 
 and prevent so far as possible the magnesium carbonate and more sol- 
 uble bicarbonate from rising to the surface, and also provide abundance 
 of plant food in the surface soil so that the corn roots are not required 
 to live in the subsoil, these alkali soils can be made to grow good corn. 
 In some cases applications of potassium salts may prove beneficial, 
 but as a rule the most practical method for improving these soils is to 
 provide good, deep underdrainage and then plow under coarse organic 
 matter, such as straw, coarse manure, green oats, weeds, etc. This ma- 
 terial helps the drainage, tends to prevent the rise of the alkali by retard- 
 ing surface evaporation, and as it decays it liberates plant food in the sur- 
 face soil, and it may be that organic acids are also liberated which unite 
 with the magnesium to form less harmful compounds. 
 
 We have already ascertained that the magnesium can be removed 
 from the soil by leaching or drainage after being transformed into the 
 perfectly soluble magnesium sulfate by the double decomposition of mag- 
 nesium carbonate and calcium sulfate, leaving behind harmless calcium 
 carbonate (limestone), and we hope soon to determine whether the quan- 
 tity and cost of calcium sulfate (gypsum, or land plaster) and the time 
 
302 BULLETIN No. 93. [January^ 
 
 required for the leaching process will prove to be too great to permit 
 this to be done economically. 
 
 If no manure or other material is at hand, it is well to sow oats on 
 these spots, and if they grow rank and fall down plow them under. 
 One or two heavy crops of green oats plowed under will usually put the 
 soil in condition to grow one or more crops of corn, and with perfect 
 drainage these soils will usually improve with heavy cropping, for they 
 are frequently very rich in all elements of plant food. Plenty of tile, 
 laid deep and made to work (if necessary by surrounding them with straw, 
 corn cobs, brush, etc.) is all that some of these spots need to make them 
 grow corn. 
 
 METHODS OF SOIL INVESTIGATION. 
 
 The Experiment Station does not undertake to analyze miscellaneous 
 samples of soil for private parties. First, because the total annual ap- 
 propriation for all soil investigations is less than 12 cents for each quarter 
 section of Illinois land, while it costs at least $25, or 200 times 12 cents, 
 to analyze a single sample of soil. Second, because analyses of miscel- 
 laneous samples of soil, collected by unauthorized and untrained persons, 
 by inaccurate and non-uniform methods, usually imperfectly represent- 
 ing a single field, or sometimes a mere patch of ground, would be of little 
 value even to the owner of the piece of land, and probably of no value 
 to the agriculture of a state. 
 
 That farmers generally understand and appreciate that the State Ex- 
 periment Station cannot, and ought not, to make such analyses is evi- 
 denced by the fact that, with few exceptions, there has been no demand 
 upon us by Illinois citizens for such private work at public expense. 
 That it would be impossible to do such work for all Illinois citizens is 
 also evidenced by the fact that we have received as many as eleven samples 
 of soil from one man with the request that they should all be analyzed 
 
 The investigation of Illinois soils is being conducted, first, by a Gen- 
 eral Soil Survey, and second, by a Detail Soil Survey. In the general 
 survey the state is divided into very large soil areas, the divisions being 
 based largely upon the soil formation of the areas. The principal type 
 of soil in each great area is then investigated and reported upon. This 
 gives valuable information concerning all of the principal or most exten- 
 sive types of soil in the State, although it does not give all of the exact 
 boundary lines of these types, and it does not include any investigation 
 of minor or less extensive types of soil, several of which may be inter- 
 spersed with the principal type of the area. A preliminary report on 
 the general survey has already been made in Circular No. 68, and a more 
 complete report is nearly ready for publication in bulletin form. 
 
 The detail survey is being carried on as rapidly as it can be done 
 with accuracy. In the detail survey all the soils in an area which is being 
 surveyed are gone over very carefully by men who are trained for this 
 
1904.] SOIL TREATMENT FOR PEATY SWAMP LANDS. 303 
 
 work, a complete soil map being made of all the different types of soil 
 in the area. This soil map shows the location, extent, and boundary 
 line of each soil type. In this detail soil mapping the Illinois Experi- 
 ment Station and the Bureau of Soils of the United States Department 
 of Agriculture are working in close co-operation. Each of these types of 
 soil is then investigated by the Experiment Station, not only by analyzing 
 samples of the soil, but, so far as possible, by pot cultures and by field 
 experiments similar to those described in this bulletin. All soil samples 
 taken for analysis are collected by Experiment Station men, who are 
 familiar with the most accurate and scientific methods of sampling soils, 
 in order that the samples shall be taken by uniform methods which shall 
 render them comparable, and that they shall be truly typical samples 
 of the different strata of the kind of soil which they are to represent. 
 If the samples do not truly represent the soil type, the analyses would, 
 of course, be practically worthless. It will never be possible for the Ex- 
 periment Station to analyze the soil from every field of every Illinois 
 farm, but it is possible and practicable to map the soils of the state in 
 detail, and then to analyze representative samples of every type, so that 
 ultimately every farmer can know what type or types of soil cover his 
 farm, what the average composition is of each type, what crops are best 
 adapted to the different soils, and what kinds of soil treatment or man- 
 agement are required to maintain or increase the crop yields. 
 
 More than one-tenth of the state has now been covered by the detail 
 soil survey, and the samples which have been collected are now being 
 analyzed and the results will be published in bulletin form from time to 
 time, as the work progresses. Every farmer should make the greatest 
 possible use of the reports on the general survey until such time as the 
 detail survey is extended over his land. Circular No. 68, already pub- 
 lished, furnishes information which more than half the farmers in Illinois 
 can apply to their own soils, if they will study it as other business men 
 study their business. 
 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA