The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1906-09-29
FORTY pusHiLs TO THE ACRE.
1ouynal Of Aorievltws.

Journal Of Agrttpytws.
For twenty years the Ohio agricultural expert
ment station has grown potatoes. wheat and
clover in a three year rotation on one OF It's
farms in Wayne county, a farm no better in
natural fertility than Thousands of others which
may be found in this region of the State.
The land under experiment is divided into
three sections and each crop Is grown every
season. Each section is sub-divided into plots
of one-tenth acre each. every third plot being
left continuously without fertilizer or manure,
while the intervening plots have received differ
ent combinations of fertilizIng materials. the
fertilizers being divided between the potato and
wheat crops.
The average yield Of wheat In this test for the
last ten years has been % bushels per acre
on the unfertilized land. The application
of 100 pounds of acid phosphate per acre to
wheat. following a like application to potatoes,
has increased the wheat yield by bushels.
When to this application 100 pounds OF muriate
of potash was added for each crop. the yield of
wheat was increased by bushels. while the
use of a complete fertilizer, made up of 100
pounds Of acid phosphate, 100 pounds of muriate
of potash and the equivalent of $50 pounds of
nitrate of soda for each CROP has increased the
total yield of wheat to more than 40 bushels per
acre for the ten-year average.
The increase in the potato crop in each of
these cases has more than paid for the fertilizer
leaving the increase in wheat as net gain, gain
which has been further augmented by con-
siderable increase in the yield of clover.
Not only has the yield been maintained at
high point. but it seems to be steadily increas-
ing; the average yield for the three plots which
receive the combination given, and which are
located in different parts of the field, being 3Sx
bushels per acre for the first half of the ten-year
period, and AK bushels per acre for the second
half.
1t has therefore been possible to produce 40
bushels of wheat per acre in Ohio as q ten-year
average, and to accomplish this result by q
method which has much moro than paid the
cost.
1t is the general observation Of farmers that
wheat does exceptionally well when it follows
potatoes and this fact in part accounts for the
large yields obtained IN this experiment. The
fact that the land was In good condition to start
with-part of it having been cleared from the
forest for purposes of this test, must also be
borne In mind. But on another Of the stations
Wayne county farms, one which had been re-
duced to very low state of fertility by long
continued and exhaustive cropping, an average
yield of 2sK bushels of wheat per acre has been
maintained Tor the same period IN rotation OF
corn. oats, wheat, clover and timothy.
In this test the unfertiized yield has been OK
bushels of wheat per acre. This yield has been
increased to 2SX bushels by fertilizer of the
same composition as that above mentioned,
namely: 100 pounds acid phosphate, 100 pounds
muriate of potash and the equivalent of 100
pounds of nitrate of soda per acre.
In this case, as in the potato rotation, the in
crease In the other crops of the rotation has
more than paid all the cost of the fertilizers,
leaving the increase of wheat as clear gain.
In this case also the rate of gain is increasing,
the average yield for the first five years of the
period being % bushels per acre. as against 80
bushels for the last five years. and there seems
to be no good reason to doubt that after the
wasted fertility of this land has been restored it
will be possible to still further increase the yield
to point equaling that In the experiment first
mentioned.