The Newark journal., 1916-02-24
ROTHAMST E&PE lent
STATION AND FERTILIZERS.

liuil 10 III GllBldllu, anu - HpltA iDl
the great work is has done along all
lines of agricultural work. II has
gone into the laws of soil fertility, has
been the first to discover many of
these laws, and has in all its history
been especially interested in working
out a plan of farm management by
which soil fertility could be maintain
ed at a minimum cost to the farmers
The Rothamsted experiments began
in the year 1887. when Sir John Ben
nett Lawes began experiments on hts
private estate. He was a man who
loved the soil and to experiment with
it. Strange to say, he was a feGtil-
izer manufactures in certain sense,
as he early discovered a process for
transforming bone into superphos-
plate by the use of sulphurie acid
took out patent for this in 1912,
and built an extensive business, which
he managed for about thirty years.
In 1913 he associated with him J. H.
Gilbert, and these two men for more
than fifty years conducted extensive
4
to 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 a
board of directors, and endowed it
with half a million dollars.
Among many other things that
We're done experiments were conduct
ed with fertilizers, mineral salts, and
many forms of ammoniates, also with
animal manures, to determine just
what the soils needed to grow the
most crops For this work plots Of
ground were set aside, marked off
and carefully measured. and then
planted TO the crop with which the
investigator wished to 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-
tions 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, 1883 pounds of hay: the
plots which had mineral manure alone
1888 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, 6726 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 brought
about by their use, one could not fail
to see the value of the manure salts
The Rothamsted station was inter
ested in the permanent improvement
of land and the part played in this
by the use of fertilizing materials.
From the many experiments carried
out, there was never doubt of the
wisdom of applying plant food to the
soil. Larger yields were always OBJ
tanned, other things being equal, and
the fertilization of the soils through.
out England and her possessions rec
commended 1t was decided to aseer-
tain the effects of fertilizers on corn.
Seven plots were treated as follows:
Plot l. Unmanured.
Plot 2 Mixed mineral manure, 800
pounds sulphate of potash. 200 pounds
sulphate soda, 100 pounds sulphate
magnesia, $50 pounds superphosphate
lime
Plot 8. Ammonia-salts, comprising
200 pounds sulphate ammonia and 200
pounds muriate of ammonia.
Plot a Ammonia salts and mixed
mineral manures, as Plot ,.
Plot s. Five hundred and forty
pounds Peruvian guano.
Plot 6. Two thousand pounds rape
cake.
Plot Z Fourteen tons farmyard 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 five bushels increase
of dressed corn. In Plot 3 where
only the mineral manures were used,
the increase was least, While in Plots
and 5 it was greater, and in 4 great
est. It seems that the mineral ma
nures needed the effect of the am
monia salts in order TO help them be
come available There was in every
case a substantial increase where fer
tilizers were used over the plots that
remained 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