The Little River news., 1916-08-19
ROTHAMSTED EXPERlMEN STATION AND FERTILIZERS.

HB6en Iue uISI lO ulSCONeI uldHS Ol these laws, and has in all it's history been especially interested in working eont a plan of farm management by which soil fertility could be maintain ed al a minimum cost to the farmers
 The Rothamsted experiments began lin the year 1887, when Sir John Ben anett Lawes began experiments on his private estate. He was a man who 4oved the soil and to experiment with 4f. Strange to say, he was a fertil- atZer manufacturer in certain sense, zas he early discovered a process for transforming bone into supCrphOs- E9hate by the use of sulphuriC acid. .nook out a patent for this in 1942, asand built an extensive business, which dhe managed for about thirty years. 1n 1843 he associated with him J. H. .SGilbert, and these two men for more sthan fifty years conducted extensive agricultural investigations in regard ito soils and fertilizers, and feeds and Geeding of domestic animals. In 1889 sir John turned over his large estate, twhich had now groE.n so important. ssand had become so tell known in all parts of the civilized world to 6 lsboard of directors, and endowed it vwith half million dollars.
 Among many other things that ~sWere done, experiments were conduct .4ed with fertilizers, mineral salts, and 4anany forms of amm oniates. also with animal manures, to determine just ~what the soils needed to grow the smost crops For this work plots of .,ground were set aside, marked off ssand carefully measured, and then gplanted to the crop with which the rsnveStigator wished to work. Small 7,plots would be used for the different sAinds of mineral and animal manures, .-and in each series enc plot would be laeft unfertilized throughout the entire experiments, while the others would shave applied the different combina- 8ions of fertilizers, etc. Careful re- ports were taken from each end of Hthese plots, and with interesting re- .s3ults The same experiments were continued for twenty years and more
 Many experiments were conducted ~withs hay and some of these with the 4a'oiowing results: The plots that had no manure of any kind averaged in twenty years, 2,3S3 pounds of hay; the plots which had mineral manure alone 3 598 pounds; the plots with mineral manure and 400 pounds of ammonia salts, 5,711 pounds of hay; those with mineral manure and 500 pounds of ammonia salts, 6,726 pounds of hay; teyhe plots which received the mineral ygnanure and nitrate of soda, 6,407 s,po,hfda of hay. Considering the very Ftow cost of the fertilizers in compar ,ysson to the increased yields brought sEhout,hy their use, one could not fail Ho see the value of the manure salts.
 Tfe Rothamsted station was inter- tested in the permanent improvement osyf hand and the part played in this 9pby the use of fcrtilzing materials. arrom the many experiments carried e4out, there was never a doubt of the wisdom of applying plant food to the ..soil Larger yields were always ob- ,4ained, other things being equal and ,sahe fertilization of the soils through s.out England and her possessions rec commended It was decided to ascer- 7ftain the effects of fertilizers on corn. Seven plots were treated as follows:
 Plot 1. Unmanured.
 Plot 2. Mixed mineral manure, 300 rs,ounds sulphate of potash, 200 pounds s:sulphate soda, 100 pounds sulphate 4,magnesia, $50 pounds superphosphate Rl ime.
 Plot 3. Ammonia-salts, comprising 200 pounds sulphate ammonia and 200 -epounds muriate of ammonia.
 Plot A. Ammonia salts and mixed 9anineral manures, as Plot 2.
 Plot ,. Five hundred and forty pounds Peruvian guano.
 Plot 6. Two thousand pounds rape scake.
 Plo- !. Fourteen tons farmyard ma nure.
 The results of six years of experi- ments follow: The greatest increase in yields was obtained with fertilizers richest in ammonia. The ammonia salts the guano and the rape cake gave the largest increase. which was about four or five bushels increase of dressed corn. In Plot ?, where only the mineral manures were used she increase was least, while in Plots 3 and 5 it was greater, and in great- .sest. It seems that the mineral ma nures needed the effect of the am- monia salts in order to help them be. ,scome available. There was in every ease substantial increase where fer ,filizers were used over the plots that EemaiE-d unmanured.
 The great object in giving the above information is to bring to the attention of farmers and business men that the question of fertilizers for the average farm crops is subject as old as any form of agricultural edu- cation, and Rothamsted did much fun .damental work on it. In no case was if found that ammonia salts and other mineral manures, when applied to
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