The Nevada County picayune., 1916-02-03
ROTHAMSTE0 EXPERIMENT STATION AND FERTILE ZERS.

STATION AND FERTILIZERS.
 The Rot4ams.od E>perm.r. Sta ion is in England, and Is noted for the great work is has done along all lines of agricultural work It has gone into the laws of soil fertility. has been the first to discover many of these laws. and has in all it's history been especially interested in working out a plan Of farm management by which soil fertility could be maintain ed at A minimum cost 10 the farmers
 The RothamSted experiments began in the year 1S37 when Sir John Ben private estate He was man who loved the soil and 70 experiment with it. Strange 10 say, he was a fertl i2er manufacturer ill a certain sense, as he early discovered a process for transforming bone into supsrphos- phate by the use of sulphuric acid, took out a patent for this in 1842, and built an extensive business, which he managed for about thirty years. In 1S43 he associated with him J. II. Gilbert, and these two men for more than fifty years conducted extensive agricultural investigations in regard 10 soils and fertilizers, and feeds and feeding of domestic animals, In 1889 Sir John turned over his large estate, which had now grown so important, and had become so well known in all parts of the civilized world, to board of directors, and endowed 1t with half million dollars.
 Among many other things that were done, experiments were conduct
 d with fertilizers, mineral salts, and many forms of ammoniates, also with animal manures, to determine just what the soils needed to srow the most crops For this vosk plots cf ground were set aside, marked off and carefully measured. and then planted to the crop with which the investigator wished 10 work. Small plots would be used for the different kinds of mineral and animal manures, and in each series one plot would be left unfertilized throughout the entire experiments while the others would have applied the different Combina- lions of fertilizers, etc. Careful re- ports were taken from each end of these plots, and with interesting re- suits The same experiments were continued for twenty years and more
 Many experiments were conducted with hay, and some of these with the following results: The plots that had no manure of any kind averaged in twenty years, 2,3S5 pounds of hay; the plots which had mineral manure alone 2, ,59S pounds; the plots with mineral manure and 400 pounds of ammonia salts, 5,711 pounds of hay; those with mineral manure and 500 pounds al ammonia salts, 726 pounds of hay the plots which received the mineral manure and nitrate of soda, 6,407 pounds of hay Considering the very low cost of the fertilizers in compar ison to the increased yields brough' about by their use, one could not fai to see the value of the manure salts.
 The Rothamsled station was inter csted Tn the permanent improvement of land and the part played in this bv the use of fcTtiliZlng materials. From the many experiments carried out, there was never doubt of the wisdom of applying plant food 10 the soil Larger yields were always ob- tained, other things being equal, and the fertilization of the soils through out England and her possessions rec commended IL was decided to aseer- tain the effects of fertilizers on corn. Seven plots were treated as follows:
 Plot | Unmanured.
 Plot ? Mixed mineral manure. 300 pounds sulphste of potash, 200 pounds sulphate soda. 100 pounds sulphate magnesia $50 pounds superphosphete lime
 Plot 3 Ammonia salts. comprising 2 200 pounds sulphat@ ammonia and 2o0 pounds muriate If ammonia.
 Plot | Ammonia salts and mixed mineral manures, as Plot ?
 Plot 5. Five hundred and forty pounds Peruvian guano.
 Plot $. Two thousand pounds rape cake.
 Plot '. Fourteen tons tarmyard ma nure.
 The results of six years of expert 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 Ave bushels increase of dressed corn. In Plot 2. where only the mineral manuyes were used, the increase was least, while in Plots 8 and it was greater and in great. est It seems that the mineral ma. npres needed the effect of the am. monia salts in order to help them be come available. There was in every ~sse a substantial increase where fer tHjxers were used over the plots that