The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-02-11

has been reached, each increase Of crop
requires proportionately larger appli-
cation of manure. When the price of
grain is high, large crops can be grown
more proftably than when the price is
low.
Is. When farm-yard dung is en-
ployed to grow wheat, considerably
larger amount of nitrogen must be APP
piled to produce given increase in the
crop; as much of the nitrogen contained
in the dung is not in an active form.
16. A given weight of nitrogen in the
form Of nitric acid will produce more
growth in the crop to which it is APP
piled than the same weight of nitrogen
in dung, but the influence of the nitrate
upon succeeding crops uiH be very much
less.
II. There is no evidence to show
whether the whole available effect of
the nitrogen in one manure is greater
than it is in the other.
UNExHAUsTED MANUREs.
10. In the absence of vegetation, or
when applied to crops in excess of their
requirement, both potash and phos-
phoric acid form insoluble ii. e., slowly
soluble] compounds with the soil, and
become available for future crops.
10. In the absence of vegetation, or
when the amount supplied is in excess
of the requirements of the crop, nitrates
and salts of ammonia do not appear to
form permanent compounds with the
soil, but, on the contrary, are liable to
be washed out by rain, or to be other
wise lost.
20. The application of larger
amount of nitrogen, as nitrates or salts
of ammonia, than the crop could util-
ize, owing to want of minerals, does
not appear to prevent the nitrifcation
Of the organic nitrogen of the soil.
81. The stock Of nitrogen Of the soil
itself, therefore, may be reduced; al
though the annual application of nitro
gen may be much in excess of the
amount of that substance removed in
the crop.
%. When large crops of wheat have
been grown by the application of nj
trates or salts of ammonia with mineral
manures, the soil does not appear to
have gained or lost fertility. Nitriica-
ton of the organic matter in the soil
may have gone on as usual, but the loss
has been made good by the amount of
nitrogen stored up in the stubble and
roots of the large crops previously
grown.
90. When dung is applied continu-
| ously to land, the accumulation of I'M
exhausted fertility becomes very large,
and the removal by crops of the sub
lance accumulated would extend over a
| long series of years.
"a. Dung applied to land in the ordi-
nary processes of agriculture will not be
entirely exhausted until considerable
number of years have elapsed from the
time of its first application.
REMARKs.-Thea above summary of
the most thorough and long continued
agricultural experiment station work
that has ever been done, ought to be
well studied by every progressive
farmer. We might make extended
comments, but perhaps it would be bet
ter to reserve them until our readers
will inform us what points are not clear
to them. One thing we will mention.
1t seems that on the Rothamsted farm
the deficiency of available nitrogen in
the soil is so great that wheat cannot
be made to yield full crop, even when
there is full allowance of potash and
phosphoric acid given in the manure.
1t was measurably the same when phos-
phoric acid or potash was withheld
though not to so great an extent. TIC
obtain full crop complete fertilizer
was necessary. This is probably true
on even the best soil that has been long
in cultivation.