Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1899-07-07
GYPSUM EXPERIMENTS.
College Of Agriculture, Mechanic Arts and
Experiment Station.

| bApO11uOuu hVdulOus
In the spring of 1899 pot tests wer
made with feldspar wheat and rura
New Yorker peas in the college green
house, using five different soils, one o
the gypsum beds east of the San An
dreas mountains in southern New Mex
leo. At first the gypsum wheat did thu
poorest, but toward the latter part o.
the season it had made better growth
| than three of the other pots. On JUNE
IL, when the wheat was ripe, the gyp-
sum pot had the most heads. The peas
at first grew about alike in all five pots
but, like the wheat, toward the latter
part Of the growing period, those in the
gypsum had made the best growth and
bloomed first. The results show that
these plants will grow and flourish in
nearly pure gypsum. The research was
continued, but in a somewhat modified
form, during the past winter and
spring.
On January 4, four plats, each con-
tanning 3k square feet, were laid out
on the college greenhouse bench. Gyp-
sum was mixed with the soil of three
plats, thus: Plat 1 had none, plats 2, 8
and had 2h, and 7h ounces (this be-
ing at the rate of 1000, 1000 and 5000
pounds per acre. respectively. These
plats were seeded to feldspar wheat. No
noticeable difference in the growth of
the plants in any of the plats was OBJ
served; apparently the gypsum did not
act.
In the field, two plats, 1-S0th of an
acre each, We're plowed, pulverized and
leveled, and on November 25, on one Of
these so pounds Of gypsum was drilled
in inches deep. In the same rows field
spar wheat was drilled at the rate of
one bushel per acre. The other plat was
treated the same, except it had no gyp-
sum- and both were carefully watched
during the season. On January II it was
first observed that the surface of the
gypsum plat was nearly covered with a
thin white crust, having the appearance
of white alkali, but which proved to be
gypsum. AS one part of gypsum is solu-
BILE in 400 parts of water, portion of it,
at least, was dissolved by the water ap-
piled, brought up in solution and left
on the surface after the moisture evap-
grated. This blooming" of the white
sand appeared from the time the plat
was irrigated until the wheat was stool
ing and jonting, April 20. The tallest
plants in the treated and untreated
plats measured, in inches, II, 161a April
10, 23 and % April 20 respectively The
time of stooling, heading and ripening
was the same in both plats. On Janu-
ary 4, rs pounds of gypsum was drilled
in another 1-SOth acre plat, and adja-
cent to it was one Of the same size with
out gypsum. Both were seeded to field
spar wheat and treated like the two
above mentioned. The wheat in both
lid the same in every respect. Soon aft
ar the first irrigation, the white crust |
on the surface of the gypsum |
plat. On the whole, the results indicate |
hat the gypsum had no effect on the |
plants, as in both cases the untreated |
wheat did the same as the treated. |
However, this being only preliminary |
'esearch, no definite conclusions can be
lrawn until more thoroughly tested.
FABIAN GARCIA,
Assistant Agriculturist.
July 6, 1899.