Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1874-03-13
EXPERIMENTS IN BARLEY
GROWING.

In ordinary farm practice, there can be
no question that well-mansged rotation Of
crops is the best system to adopt 1t has,
however, been often and thoroughly demon
strated, that the same crop may be raised
year after year, provided sufficient guam
tty of pIant-lood is regularly and constantly
supplied 1t has also been proved that
quite a respectable yield may be maintained
on unmanured land. when thorough tillage
aud scrupulously clean culture are given.
The soil kept porous and open to the sun and
air, none Of its strength wasted in growing
weeds, is productive up to and even beyond
the average Of common farming.
Messrs. Lawes Il Gilbert, prominent
English agriculturists, have devoted large
amount of time and money to experiments
designed to ascertain the relative productive
ness of manured and unmanured land, aud
also the comparative efficacy of barn-yard
and other fertilizers. Their tables of results
as to wheat'growing are well-known, and of
great value. They have recently made pub
lie the results Of twenty years experiments
10 raising barley continuously on the same
land. Twenty-eight separate plots Of
ground have been treated in the same man
ner year after year, for twenty years, and
drilled with barley. Two of the plots have
not been manured at all during the term the
remainder have been treated with applica-
tons Of farm-yard manure and various COM
mercia aud mineral fertilizers. All the
manurial matter put into the soil, and all the
products harvested from it, have been care.
fully weighed, aud much of it analyzed The
results may be briefly summarized as fol-
lows -
Two plots cultivated aud sown without
manure have produced on an average of
twenty years, 2l bushels of barley, weighing
b2 pounds to the bushe, and IL ewt. Of
straw. There has been no falling off either
in the weight or quality Of the grain, since
the beginning of the experimental term. A
similar course Of wheat-growing on unmanur-
ed land, gave an average of 10 bushels of
grain, aud Ia cwt. of straw, during twenty
eight consecutive years.
Twenty bushels of soil aud turf ashes
narrowed in annually with the barley, gave
returns very little better than those obtain.
ed from the unmanured plots.
A yearly dressing of barnyard manure at
the rate Of Ia tons 10 the acre, incI eased the
average yield for the twenty years to 484
bushels Of grain, and 284 cwt. Of straw.
The yield was proportionately greater dur.
ing the second term Of ten years than during
the first, showing gain in respect to the for
tiity of the soil resulting froH constant ap-
plicaton Of this old fashioned fertilizer.
The manure applied has been three times
the weight Of the extra grain and straw har-
vested. On this department of the expert.
ments, the North British Agricalturist makes
few observations we'll worthy Of note.
Reiterated trials appear to indicate that
of 200 pounds weight per acre of nitrogen,
furnished by good iarm.yard manure, only
one-seventh part is appropriated by the
wheat, and one-ninth by the barley. Al
though certain mixtures Of artificial ma
nures, such as nitrate Of soda and superphOs-
phate, produced on an average of years a
heavier produce than the farm-yard dung.
the older fashioned fertilizer has several spe-