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This Kmi !• f ilimd at Mm reduction ratio choclwd bolow / C« dociOTMiit ast filmi au taux da rMuction Indiqui ci*daasoua. lOx 14x 18x 22x 26x 30x >/ 12x 16x 20x 24x 28x 32x Th« copy filmed h«r« hu b««n riproducad thanks to th« ganaresity of: Library Agricultura Canada Tha imagaa appaaring hara ara tita baat quality poaaibia eonsidaring tha condition and lagibility of tha original copy and in icaaping >Mith tha filming contract spacifieationa. Original copiaa in printad papar covara ara filmad beginning with tha front eovar and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or llluatratad impraa- sion, or tha baclc eovar whan appropriate. All othar original copiaa ara filmad beginning on tha first paga with a printad or illuatratad imprea- sion. and ending on tha last paga with a printed or illuatrated impreeaion. Tha laat recorded frame on eech microfiehe shall contain tha symbol «>^ (meening "CON> TINUEO"). or the symbol ▼ (meening "END"), whichever applies. Mapa, platae. charts, etc.. mey be filmed at different reduction retioe. Thoee too large to be entirely Included in one expoaura ara filmed beginning in the upper left hand comer, left to right and top to bottom, aa many framee aa required. The following diagrama illustrate the method: L'axamplair* filmA fut rcproduit grica i la gAniroait* da: BibliotMqiw Aaricultura Canada Laa imagaa auivantaa ent 4t* rapreduitaa avae la plua grand toin, eompta tanu da la condition at da la nattat* da i'axampiaira film*, at an conformity avac laa eonditiona du contrat da fllmago. Laa axamplairaa originaux dont la couvartura an papiar aat imprimia sont filmte an commanpant par la pramiar plat at an tarminant soit par la damiira paga qui comporta una amprainta d'Impraaaion ou dtlluatration, soit par la aacond plat, aalon la caa. Tous laa autraa axamplairaa originaux sont filmte an commandant par la pramiAra paga qv are siTiously ooti-iideriuK all pomi'olc means that may lead to a profitable increaws in our omp .yields, to review the more important conelusions that have been reached on the Kx|i«>rimeiital Farm* from experi- ment! conducted towards the increase of noil fertility. This investiitution has included trials with nianurc, fresh and rotted, firtilizer ingredient* singly and in mixtiireo. applications piirtly of ninnure and partly of ferti- lizers and experiments to ascertain the manurial values of the aftermnth and of the residues left by clover and by several other of our more iniimrtant legume tons per acre, than on our plots receiving commercial fertilizers applied in various mix- tures ind proportions according to the best known prjictice. manure: THB value of KRUyl KNCV I.N AI'IM.ICATION. . ' the after effect, that is, the influence on subsequent crops, of manure ^ ' marked than in the case of fertilizers, it is evident that comparatively ■J' , Htions at short intervals are more effective than larger dressings applied ' : .y. Thus, on most soils, but more especially light loams, 6 tons per acre e. .. and ot pliyiic», but they would be larij^ly ponjectural and their diacuMion would not aerro any uiieful pu;po«e in thii brief review. The fact remains. The loaaea that occur in the rotting of manurt have been carefully and repeatedly determined. Under the very bt-.i practici* -that of keeping the heap eompitrl and meitl and proleeltd from Uachiny rainf. the losaca aro conniderable ; under currleaa methods involving excossivo fcrmentittir«. Th8 quMtton it not merely ou« ot incre««inir the yield, but of obtainiiiR Ihf maximum yield at the minimum expenditure. In many inntaneea an increawj yield haa b««i ofctaiiiipr.- ii.u of »,ailable plant food in the soil ruthor than to increase m8U>rially the amount of tlii' lolal plant food therein contained If future work contirms this conclusion, the avnilability of the elemmts in the fertilizer IS a matter of even greater importance than we at prenent deem it. It would seem frt)in our work that it would lie altogether too expensive to try to build up a toil, to materially increase its percentages of the elements of plant food, armply by the use of fertilize nt. A coMPi.eTE reHTii.i/,i:ii dkkirabi.b. Our ex|)crimento with fertiliiort have included trials with varioua forms of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and poUali, singly owl in combinations. Nitrate of sodu alone and applied at a top^resting early in the seaaon haa frequently proved bene- ficial for hay and grain crop* on toiU poor in available nitrogen. Similarly, super- phosphate hat occasionally given a good response on turnips and basic slag on old pastures. But in the larger number of initancee, and more partioularlj on corn and roots, including potatoes, we have found it more profitable to use a complete ferti- luer, that is, one furnishing nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash. We therefore are of the opinion, in general practice and unless there are special oonaiderationn. that it It wise to use a complete fertilizer; experience has shown that such entails lest risk of failure. NrrRooENous rr.RTiLizERa. Probably th.- chief crop among those reda and partly aa sulphate of a^noni... This Z. i of a more or less continuous supply of nitrogen throughout the growing seasoV (),. !1 T- v"u'"'u^"'."' "J°l '""'?"* ""^ P""!*""*^ ^y ploughing under a ^ood clover sod which has been lir-'y dressed with manure, the results at severnl of the branch Jarras indicate that . .plication of 75 pounds nitrate of soda and 75 pounds su phate of ammonia pc re, marks the approximaU maximum dressing that can be given with profit. " " "^ Organic forms of nitrogen, tuch as fish waste and tankage, are more pH-ieuIarLv useful on moderately heavy, warm, moist soils, promoting ^owth mor, especial? during the latter weelw of the season. Hence, they are not ideal forms when Huick response la required m the spring or early summer, but are beUer suited for lon!r seasoned crops. A cold wet spring retards their nit.ification and in some seasons their nitrogen may not become available till well on in the summer when the cron has pasMid the period of ite chief vegetative growth. Similarly, they may be comparatively dormant in light soils durir seasons of drought. More work, on different tvnes of toils and under various ser«>nal conditions, is necessary before final condusionV^ can be r^ched as to the role and compan ive valae of these organic forms of nitrogen but this much may be said that in t«» .ral instance* in which no appreciable responst^ wu obMrrcd on Ui« crop of Um ytt ol •ppliMtion. • favourable ln«u«»e* waa notip*- abU cm th» lucoisediiif crop. Of all dauM of fartlllaer^ thtm- ■». doubt app'"'"' mora cl<«ly Dm farm nuwuraa, in ibair Ualinc oharwUr and in mMIdc to tha toil a •tors of organ io nMtter. PHOarHATK) rBRTILIIUia. The choice of a phoaphatio f*rtill«er will depend lamely on the character of the Mil to which it in to be applied. For aoib rioh in lime, tupcrphoBphatc (acid p»i»»- phato) will give the q\iiclieat return and wpccially for oropi that need, in their early •taxaa, the •timuhm afforded by immedintfly available phoaphoric acid, e.g.. the tur- nip crop. Hupcrphfrtphate ii alio an excellent form for the eeroala, in conjunction »ith nitrogen.* The profitable application it in the neighbourhood of 300 pounda . ,. acre. For all aour aoiU, many clay loama deficient in lima, peaU and ni'iikn. basic uli'g hai proven the moat deairable form. It it an alkaline phoaphate contuiimiK a .•..rt.iin ani.iunt of free lima. It oonUini no water-aoluble pbonphoric acid lut ncvcr- thelcM vieldi thii element fairly rnadily for crop utt. The drcminu may b«' from 300 to 600 poupdi per acre. Bone iin'iil hai proved a valuable fertiliser, more c-ix-pially on the liifhter loam, 'hat do not dry out too rwdily. It reauirce a well aeraH-d and nioint toil for iU beat rctulta. It it wscntially a ph.itphatic fertilir-or. but undoubtedly a part of the reaponte obtained from iU application i« in many inttance due to ita nitrotten. which, according to the method of iU preparation, may vary from 1 to 4 per cent. It would teem to be ran..t tuitablc for cropa with a long teaton of growth. The application it utually about WX) pouiidt per acre, and baa given gooo rctuma in conjunction with wood athea— tay !» to 40 buihelt per acre-to tupply pot. ih. roTAsaio rERTiLiZERa. Xo potataic fertilizert haa proved more valuable than good hardwood aahea. They pretent their potash in the form of carbonate which appeart to be ideal for crop uie. Further, they fumith a notable amount of phoaphoric acid (about 2 per cent) and contain a oontiderable percentage of carbonate of lime, which it particularly efficient on light tandy loams and on peaty and muck soile. The application may be from 96 to 40 butheiU per acre, the latter dretting being uied by orchardiata and market gardenert. Muriate of potath and aulphate of potath are the two poUttic fertilizers put on the market from the Statafurt minee. Of the highest grade, they are practically identical at to potash content— about 48 per cent. They have been uted more especially for the potato crop the aulphate being preferred, aa the muriate, it it alleged, reaults in an inferior quality of tuber. Our ezperimenU have thown these two com- pounds to be equally effective aa to yields, with no marked inferiority in quality due to the muriate. Of late yeara the t^rceotage of potash in many brands of fertilizer int'^nded for the potato crop haa been steadily increased, in response to a demand for a fertilizer with a high potash content. A fiw years ago 2 per cent of potash in a fertilizer was considered rich enough; rec-' u.ands containing 8 per cent and 10 per cent hava not been uncommon. T! e re»u..4 of our experiments have not borne out this belief in the value of larRs dressings of potash. The maximum application of muriate of potash that has yielded a profit has been 100 pounds per acre (approximately 50 pounds potash) and not infrequently a dressing of 60 pounds per acre has marked the limit o' profitable application. On heavy clay soils, potash fertilizers are not, ns a rule, remunerative, but at already rei. arked, they are chiefly required by tandy, gravelly toils and thoae rich in organic matter, such as peat and mucka. imOtAlT An AOYICB. R.tion.l f.n,.i,.ff I. •'n,i»«l- f.rminir. b, whioh y,» .md-ftand the kpppin» of J^. fT'""" r '"T ,»""'""'"" °' '*»• •'"P* «»"«" "" Ih. f.rm. Thereby th.. et«.) into hiKh-pncI pr.Kl,,cU whioh. lold K. the ..itv .-..n-iMmr. t«kn fr.,m th« fnrm oomp.r.t.»ebr littl. of the pUnt food of iu «.il «,d lo.v« m.„u«. th. very b«t. th!l moft »^u.ble ..f .11 *,««••• for ..ron..iiii.-nlly mginuiniiu ...id inm-H.iuR fwtility. Haniyard manure ii umiumtioiiiibly tla< ni.«t effective of all fi>rtlliicn. Our chemical work haa .hown that the li.„.id portion of tho manure i. bv far the inore valuable for it ■■ not only richer in nitrnfon an-* oota.h that it the ^lid. hux Uiene elemenU arc priaont in a soluble and imm.Miaifl. av,nl.,|.le condition and can be at onoo utilued by rropa. It i. therefore, th.. part of wi..l...n to u.e .um.i..|.t litt«r in the barn, and aUblea to abaorb all the li.,uid. If the .upply of straw ia the •. »awilii«t and air-drie.1 |>eat or muck may be cniploywl aa nupplcin.-ntal litU-r. On the lari^.r number of Oanadinn famw, the amount ..f manure producwl ii iniufflcicnt to keep all the land at its limit of pr.Kluction. \\\. muit therefore use it judicioualy and to this end we advocate frequ. nt li«rht drcwinga, rather than Inrtfcr ones at lonirer intervaU. The manure i« mom advantaip-ou.l, applied for the ro..t or com crop in the rotatinn. Althoiwh the couHtant ain- juld be towards dccpeninR the si-rfaco soil-tl... chief feeding zone of our crop*-i..is should be underUkcn Kruihuilly. espcially with naturally |i.H,r i«.iU. In so far as this is brought about by manuring, we believe that It IS not w,Me to " bury - the manure. A shuilow ploughin* under, or the incorpor,.- fion by the m. ns of the dixc burrow, ia for mo,t soils and crops thi most profitable practice. "^ Manure is never worth more for the general improvement of soils than when fiwt voided. Since losses m humu«-formin« material and in the claments of fertility ineviubly result from rotting; it follows that the sooner the monuro is in the soil- lU very bmt storehouse-tho larg..r the return that may l» cxpe.t«l from the farm's supirfy. Moreover, practical ex|H-riraent» conducted over a riumU-r of years have shown that for ordinary farm crops, fresh manure, weight for w- ight. has given yields almost equal to those from rotted manure. The imporUnt part that manure plays in improving the tilth > k, i and in supporting the useful niicrobic life of a soil, has been well brought ; so that we can truly say thot manure has a greater value than that indi. nted by percentaitcs o' plant food. Rational farming involves a rotation of cropa; there n many excellent reason^, to support this statement which we need not here enumera „r distuss. We would however, emphasize the value from the manur.a 'nndpoint . , ti.e place of clover or other legume, in the rotation. Laboratory inve ■ , '.wm and pr.-ctical field tests have alike contributed in proving the high maruirinl valuo of clover, aifnlfn n.i.l other mem- bers of this family. Their growth odds much nitrogen to the soil nnd this in a form more or less stable and at the same time usable by subsequent crops. This nitrogen is appropriated from an inexhaustible source— the atmosphere, which !s thus har- nessed as it wore to enrich our soils. The value of the legumes in this connection is emphasized when it is remembered that of all the elementa of plant f ,d purchase.l in fertilizers, nitrogen is the costliest. Further, the growth of the k^ume enriches tiie soil in humufl-forming material, so that in many ways these planU are in a very real sense soil improvers. The lesson is then grow a leguminous crop in the rotation, for thereby will not only much valuable feeding material be produced but the land will be benefited. All other crops save the lesrumes leave the soil poorer for their growth. Commercial fertilirer. cannot be depended upon profitably to maintain fertility. Their excluaive uae is strongly discountenanced. They are no substitutes for manure, yet they may frequently be employed as supplemental to it with profit, more especially if the crop be a high-priced one, as potatoes. Their function in rational agriculture seems to be to raise the proportion of immediately available plant food. They are altogether too expensive to be used for the general building up of a soil Iheir use ut first should be expcriraentul. for it is almost impossible to foreteU what profit may result. Nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash are the three elements furnished by ferti- lizers. Fertilizer inprredieuts are readily purchasable and mixtures can be made witii- out any expensive n>achinc on the farm. By home mixing a saving of from 25 to 35 per cent may be effected, and this course is advised on grounds other than economy, for it puts the farmer in possession of information respecting the "«*«« °[ t^e materials, their functions and the proportions most profitable to use, that will be of muph value for his future guidance. The text of this bulletin enumerates the various fertilizer ingredients on the market. A fertilizer containing all three elements has, in the majority of instances, proved the most profitable. Urge dressings have not. as a rule given as large a profit as small applications and the aim in exporimentiug with fertilizers should be to ascertain the minimum dressing for tl.e largest return, or to put it otherwise, the maximum yield for the minimum expenditure. Profits rather than yields must be looked for. The paragraphs relating to special nitrogenous. phosiiJiatic and potassic ferti- lizers should be closely studied, for the information therein contained cannot well be further condensed. Particulars are there given which explain the nature and func- tion of these and the amounts generally found profitable to apply are stated. h