The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1895-03-06
Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station.
Encouraging Coop Crops--Commcrcial
Fertilizers on Potatoes--Im.
portant Tests.

encouraging coop pCrOpS-COMmerCl0i
Fertilizers on Potatoes--Im.
portant Tests.
The Ohio Experiment Station has
begun a series of experiments in
which the three crops, wheat, clover
and potatoes, are grown In rotation
with and without fertilizers Of diff
ferent kinds. The experiment Is to
be carried ON both at the Central
Station In Wayne county, and the
North. Western Sub. Station in Full
ton county, and was begun in
Wayne county in 1894 By planting
potatoes On land that had been two
years In corn, following grass, and
on newly cleared, yellow sand of
the oak opening region in Fulton
county.
The plan of fertilizing IL similar
to that which has been pursued in
the experiments n continuous
cropping at Columbus, except that
the fertilizers are used in both
smaller and large" quantities than
at Columbus.
The soil on which the test Is be-
ing made at the Central Station is
light clay. 1t was thoroughly
drained in the fall of 1893. with
three-inch tile drains, laid 36 feet
apart. The planting was done in
good season in 1894, and the fertil.
izers applied broadcast. The pota-
toes started off well, but their
growth was seriously retarded by
the excessive drouth of the sum-
mer.
The general results of the exper-
iment were that white partial fer
tilizers, containing only one or two
of the three essential elements of
fertility, produced some increase
of crop, that increase was irregular
and uncertain; but when COM
plete fertilizer was applied there
was an increase Of crop in every
case, and the increase rose regu-
larly with the quantity of fertilizer
applied. the largest yield, and in
Wayne county The largest net profit
after paying the cost Of the fertil-
izer, coming from an application of
4S0 pounds dissolved bone black,
800 pounds nitrate of soda and 800
pounds muriate of potash, total
of 100 pounds per acre, costing
about 500. This application in
creased the total yield to 65 bushels
per acre over the total yield of the
unfertilized plots adjoining.
On the yellow sand in Fulton
county where the unfertilized yield
was much smaller than in Wayne,
the increase from fertilizer was
much smaller than on the bettar
land in Wayne, and where incom-
pleIe fertilizers were used it was
still more Irregular, in several cas-
es falling to pay the cost Of the fer
tilizer; but the complete fertilizers
paid their cost in every case, with
potatoes at 80 cents per bushel, the
largest total increase here being Al
bushels, from the same mixture
that produced the largest increase
in Wayne.
This mixture carried approx
mately so pounds of nitrogen per
acre, equivalent to 60 pounds OF
ammonds, 75 pounds of phosphoric
acid and l5O pounds of potash.
1t appears that IN this test nitro.
gen was less essential than either
phosphoric acid or potash, and 1t il
probable that II the land had been
clover sod the amount of nitrogen
might have been very considerably y
reduced. Phosphoric acid appears
to produce equally good results
whether applied in the form of dis
solved hone black, Carolinia rock
basic Stag, bone meal or wheat bran
Potash was apparently almost ol
quite rs necessary as phosphorit
acid.