Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1880-04-12
A9rienlinral Department.
UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT AND
STATE AGRICULTURAL
COLLEGE.

use OF commercial fertilizers in Vermont II IS hoped
that many farmers will hnd herein answers to ques-
tions which they are asking. Questions on which
further information is desired may be addressed to me-
and answer will be made either in future articles or
NJ H. BucKHAN, President.
The accompanying table gives:
lst. Results of several experiments
with potatoes, turnips, sugar beets and
oats.
End. A general summary of results OF
experiments, including those made under
the same general plan in other States. %
EXPERIMENTS WITH POTATOES.
In Mr.. Shows experiment No. l, every
plot which had superphospbate gave
fair yield, every one without it failed.
the chief need Of that soil seems to have
been phosphoric acid. In Mr.. Coles ex-
pertinent No. 2, all tie materials are use
full. The nitrate of soda increases the
crop lover that without manure) by 30
bushels, the superphosphate by 20 bvsh-
els and the potash salt So bushels. To-
gether they are more effective than singly.
The complete fertilizer sc" raises the
yield from $50 unmanured, to $40 bush
els while the mixture of superphosphate
and potash salt brings $50 bushels, net
increase of 220 bushels per acre with
fertilizer costing 1915 or less. But the
largest yield of all was the stable man
ure, nine cords per acre, 40 bushels
But while the fertilizers do so we'll on
Mr. Coles land, Mr.. Toby, No. 8, finds
no benefit from any of them. DR.. Cut
ting, No. 4, and Mr.. Rising, No. 5, get
fair returns. both finding, as is generally
the case, that the complete" chemical
fertilizer excels the farm manures. The
experiments of Messrs, Toby, Lane and
Cutting with turnips, sugar-beets and
oats, need no comment here. Among
the more important
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
to be derived from the experiments are
the following: The first as to soils,
though stated in a former article, will
bear repetition.
l. Soils vary widely in their capacities
for supplying crops with food and conse-
quently in their demands for fertilizers.
2. Some soils will give profitable re-
turns for manuring others without irri-
cation. drainage, tillage or other amend
ment, will not.
8. The right materials in the right
places bring large profits. Artificial fer
tilizers rightly used must prove most
efficient means for restoring the worn.
out soils of Vermont. But farmers can
not afford to use them at random.
4. The only way to learn what a sol
needs is to study it by observation and
experiment
THE EFFECTS OF THE DIFFERENT
FERTILIZERS.
as shown by the individual experiment.
and the general averages in the table
are worthy of careful study.
5. 1t must be remembered that tn,
trials were not only subject to all tn,
vicissitudes of weather and season, blu
were made on soils of all sorts, but most
ly very much run down. The direction
were to select WORKOUT soils. Hence
the average results with a given crol
do not fairly represent what might b
expected on soils adapted to its growtl
and in average condition.
6. The complete Chemical Fertili
zer," the mixture of 800 pounds Super
phosphate, l40 to 200 pounds Potasl
Salt, and $50 pounds Nitrate of Soda
&C." costing 1888 per acre Gnclud
ing So per acre for freight, brough
the largest crops. 1t must be remen
bered, however, that this mixture wa
proposed to test soils and not to brin
large yields, and does rot show how we
chemical fertilizers may do. The soon
plete fertilizers" prepared by reliabl
dealers for special crops are of couri
more appropriate for them and woul
give better results than this mixture.
z. "F." The mixture of superpho
plate and potash salt, costing $9.2
per acre, brought trihe less corn ar
decidedly more potatoes than farm m
nures.
s. The mixture of nitrate of SOC
and superphosphatc, 3D." which CORE
ponds closest of all to the ordinary al
nominated superphosphates, fish manur
and guanO, though costing more tn;
the mixture of superphosphate and pc
ash salt, brought less increase of cor
potatoes turnips, sweet potatoes, and i
deed of every crop but oats. The nul
Der of experiments with oats, howevt
Is too small for any general conclusion
1t is very probable that they and t
cereals generally would be more help
by nitrogen. and less by potash, tn
the other crops. The mixture of
trate of soda and potash salt, "E,'' "
the least efficient of ALL
0. AS to the efficiency of the n
terials separately, the nitrate of SO
by itself was seldom of much use,
sulphate of lime was frequently,
muriate of potash very often, and