Combining the duplicate plots, gives the average weight July 28 as follows: Nothing 1.6 oz. undissolved South Carolina rock 2.8 oz., phosphate slag. 3.3 oz., dissolved South Carolina rock 5.4 oz. and dissolved bone black 7.1 oz. Thus from the outset there was a decided difference in growth, the soluble phosphate being far ahead of the insoluble.

The corn was not much injured by the frosts of September 6 and 7 and September 16, when the kernels had quite thoroughly glazed, all the plots were cut, stooked and weighed separately. It was noted that the plots that had received soluble phosporic acid were much riper and dryer than the others, so that each pound was more valuable, and the gross weights did not correctly represent the comparative value of the crops for the several plots. After standing and drying until December 3, they were reweighed, then the corn husked and weighed by itself; the difference between these two weights gives the weight of the dry stover.

No. of the

The final weights giving the corrected sum of the duplicate plots on December 3 is given below.

These figures show that on this sandy soil the dissolved phosphates did much better than the undissolved, and that the undissolved were scarcely, if any, better than no phosphate at all. Nor is it difficult to see why this should be so; to be of use to the plant these raw phosphates must be acted upon by the vegetable acids of the soil in the presence of moisture, and these two requisites, moisture and vegetable acids, that are produced by the decay of vegetable mold, are the two things especially lacking in the sandy soil, on which we were experimenting.

The dissolved S. C. rock produced slightly better results than the dissolved boneblack, and by reference to the table showing how the plots were ferti ized it will be seen that this was probably due to the larger amount of phosphoric acid applied.

In conclusion it is but justice to Mr. Baker to say that he aided our work to the best of his ability and took such good care of the field and crop that the experiment was as successfully conducted as though it had been on the grounds of the Station.

EXPERIMENT ON CLAY LAND, BURLINGTON.

As has already been stated the trial at the University was with the same quantities of the same kind of fertilizers but on moist gravelly clay land and with the Sanford corn. The land was prepared June 4, and planted June 5, in checks three feet each way, and five kernels in a hill. The third week in July the suckers were pulled off and the stalks reduced to three in a hill. The growth was very different from that on the sandy land. There was no dif

ference perceptible to the eye in the different plots, from the time the corn broke ground until the crop was ready to cut, except that the plots fertilized with soluble phosphates were a little earlier in ripening.

The corn was cut when glazing, allowed to stand in the shock for some weeks, then each plot weighed by itself, husked, and the corn weighed on the cob. The final weights are as follows:

From these results it will be seen that the land was quite rich at the beginning, and that there were no differences between the several plots from which any useful lesson can be drawn except that the undissolved phosphates have done fully as well as the dissolved.

EXPERIMENTS WITH FERTILIZERS ON POTATOES.

An experiment was made with potatoes to test much the same question as was asked of the corn, i. e., the relative values of soluble and insoluble phosphates as fertilizers. The whole field, except the outer plots, was heavily fertilized with a mixture of muri ate of potash and various nitrogenous materials. It was furrowed out in rows thirty inches apart and potatoes cut into quarters were planted fifteen inches apart in the row. The materials containing the phosphoric acid were scattered by hand along the row after the potatoes had been covered.

The crop was dug, allowed to lie on the ground a few hours and then weighed, the large and small separately. The weights obtained are as follows:

From these weights it will be seen that the fine ground South Carolina rock did better than the coarse ground; that the excess

of phosphoric acid added to plots 8, 9 and 10 did no good, since the average of these plots is just the same as the average of plots 2.12, 6.15, 7.16; that the average of all plots fertilized with insoluble phosphoric acid is six pounds more than the average of the plots on which the soluble phosphates were applied, showing that this particular crop of potatoes made as much use of the insoluble as of the soluble; that the phosphate slag did much better than any other phosphate, and lastly, that the ground was already pretty well supplied with phosphates since the plots on which no phosphate was put, did about as well as the others.

METHODS OF PLANTING CORN.

A test was made of the different methods of planting that are possible with the Eclipse corn planter. The field was heavily fertilized with chemicals, 200 lbs. per acre being put in the hill or drill with the machine and the rest scattered broadcast. The rows were each 36 inches apart. The first two rows were planted with the planter set to drop five kernels in a hill, 36 inches apart ; the next two rows with the machine set to drop three kernels every 24 inches; the next two rows two kernels each 12 inches and the next two rows were intended to be one kernel each 6 inches. Then the whole set was repeated and then repeated again, making six long rows for each of the four methods of planting. Of course it is not to be understood that these kernels were planted exactly as they were designed, for on rough ground the planter varies slightly in the number put in a hill, and sometimes scatters between hills. Our trial was with the planter just as it would be used in ordinary farm practice.

The six rows of each of the four methods were weighed separately after the corn had stood several weeks in the shock and was quite well dried.