The Portland daily press., 1892-08-11
HETEROGENEOUS FERTILIZERS.

Special Experiment Showing Their De-
STABILITY on Grass.
The comparative effectiveness Of nitro
genous and mineral fertilizers has been
the subject of special experiment at
the Storrs' School agricultural expert
ment station, concerning which the fol-
lowing statements occur in recent bull
letin:
Few if any Of our ordinary farm
crops make quicker and more profitable
response to commercial fertilizers than
grass 1t is frequently the case in grow
ing farm crops that the best results are
obtained by the use of stable manures
together with some commercial form OF
plant food that serves to meet the
special requirements of the crop or soil.
Grass responds readily to soluble nitro
gen compounds. A medium heavy ap-
plication of stable manure in the fall or
winter, followed by a light application
of nitrate of soda or sulphate Of am
monia about the first of May, is often
found to give the most profitable results
on grass.
The object of this experiment is to OBJ
serve the effects of heterogeneous fertil-
izers upon grass as shown by the yield
per acre, the financial results and the
chemical composition of the hay. 1t is
similar to the special nitrogen expert
ments upon corn that have been con-
Quoted by the station in previous years.
The field had been in grass for several
years, and the soil was considerably re-
duced in fertility Mineral fertilizers
(phosphoric acid in dissolved bone
black and potash in muriate) was ap-
piled to all the plots except two, which
were left unmanured. To all the ma
nured plots except two, nitrogen in the
form of nitrate Of soda or sulphate of
ammonia was applied at the rate of
twenty five, fifty and seventy five pounds
per acre. The experiment has been car
ried through two years, and is to be con-
tinued.
The addition of mineral fertilizers in
creased the yield of clover very marked
" in 1890 and somewhat so in 1891, but
did not seem to increase very decidedly
the yield of grass. The yield Of hay in
1890 increased with the quantity Of
nitrogen supplied, whether it was ap-
piled in the form Of nitrate of soda or
sulphate of ammonia. In 1891 the
largest yield was obtained on the plot
on which nitrate of soda was applied at
the rate of fifty pounds per acre. The
mineral fertilizers in both years, when
used alone, were applied at financial
loss. The best financial returns, a gain
of five dollars per acre, were obtained
in both seasons from the use per acre of
800 pounds of nitrate Of soda fifty
pounds Of nitrogen) in addition to the
mixed minerals. The drought in the
early part of June made the season of
1891 an unfavorable one for fertilizer
experiments of grasses.
The application Of heterogeneous fer
tilizers increased the percentages Of pro-
TEN nitrogen multiplied by $3.50 in the
grasses, and somewhat in proportion to
the amounts applied. This is in accord
with observations made by the station
upon the relation of the protein in corn
and slower to the nitrogen applied in
the fertilizers. Since protein, which
makes blood, bone, muscle and milk, is
a most important ingredient of food,
and is apt to be deficient in our feeding
stuffs, this increase Of protein from the
use of nitrogen is an important matter.
While clover and other legumes may be
called nitrogen collectors" the grasses,
such as timothy, redtop, ETC., must be
classed with the nitrogen consumers"
Fertilizers containing potash or phos-
phoric acid without available nitrogen
are usually much less effective for grass
than if they have nitrogen In addition.
1t would seem desirable that fertilizers
for grass lands should, therefore, con-
tain considerable quantities Of nitrogen
in o readily available form. Their use
has the twofold advantage of increasing
the total yield and the feeding value Of
the cron.