The Iola register., 1884-11-14
WHEAT RAISING.
The Value of heterogeneous Fertilizers
Discussed.

There is nothing which shows more
plainly the great poverty of the soil on
which my permanently unmanured
wheat is grown at Rothamsted. than
| the small proportion of straw which the
crop contains. In our ordinary wheat
crops the relation between the straw
and grain is about 100 straw to 60 grain
The unmanured crop of the present
year gave for each 100 pounds of straw
80 pounds of grain. while some of the
highly manured plots gave very nearly
equal parts of straw and grain. In the
latter case the straw. having abundance
Of food continued to grow almost up to
| the time of harvest; while in the former.
the plant at an early period. finding
that the supply of food was short. used
what little there was as far aS possible
in the production of its seed.
The unmanurea land yielded barely
13 bushels per acre this year. while last
year the produce was Il bushels. Last
year the highest produce grown BY any
| artificial manure was s3i bushels per
! acre; this year it was 4+SS bushels-the
yield therefore of the two seasons is
very much the same
In order to produce double the crop
which was grown on the unmanured
land, or on the land which receives min
erals aione-that is to say, to produce
twenty-SiN bushels per acre-has re-
quired an application of two hundred
pounds of salts of ammonia. This
manure supplied fortyseren pounds of
nitrogen. while the increase of crop
would not contain twenty pounds. Very
early IN the spring when the crop began
to grow fast, the color of the leaf show
ed that the supply of nitrogen was not
sufficient to produce q very luXuriant
growth, and, as no drainage took place
after the manure was applied. 1 fear we
must come TO the conclusion that con-
siderable amount of nitrogen is destroy
ed in the soil.
1t has already been established that
while there are ferments which nitrifv.
there are other ferments which convert
ammonia and nitrates into nitrogen gas.
This Is most serious matter when we
have to deal with so costly substance
as nitrogen; and though some day,
when our knowledge with regard to
these fernents becomes more advanced,
We may possibly be able to prevent
some of these losses. at present we have
not arrived at this point
In our barley experiments we appear
to have less loss than in the wheat.
While the wheat soil is firm and COM
pact. owing to the autumn sowing and
the winter rains, the barley land is light
and porous For the wheat crop We do
all we can to produce firm seed bed,
while for barley. on the other hand. we
do exactly the reverse. The absence OF
air in the soil has been proved to be de-
structive to nitrates; it is therefore pos
sibie that the greater losses which occur !
in the case of wheat. rs compared with
barley. may be due TO this cause
In the States where so much spring |
wheat Is sown. it would be interesting /
TO know whether top-dreSsing OF nj |
trate or ammonia applied to spring
wheat would give more increase than /
when applied to autumn sown wheat |
Of course the manures should be ap-
Piled to both crops together. But prob
ably it would only be as an experiment
that this would be interesting. as look
ing at the present price CT wheat, it is
more than doubtful whether the in
crease of crop would repay the cost of
.he application
The large increase of straw which
5hese manures give Us. is of considerable
Talue in England. while in the States it
S frequently an incumbrance which has
% be get rid ef.-SR j. 3. Lai-es, tn
Country Gentleman.