AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 497, 3 May 1909, Page 10

AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT

MANURING OF POTATOES. jjj At tho Carterton District High School (writes our Carterton correspondent) ex- K periments havo itgain been carried out in those manuring of potatoes on the same plots for , the.purpose of demonstrating to tho lads of' 25 tho upper classes the method of conducting su<!h experiments. The scheme adopted was in accordanco with directions issued by tho v chief chemist of the Agricultural Depart- w ment, in leaflet No. 76, and tho directions j, were followed as nearly as possible. _ The 0 j piece of ground available was not ap suitable ni as . could havo been wished, being somewhat si uneven in. fertility.ft ■ Plots Nos.' 3 and 4 (unmanured) and 5 had tc tho advantago of being more -free from stones than the others. Tho seed potatoes L consisted of Victor Rose and Scotia, obtained from a Government experiment farm, and Up-to-Dat-Oj obtained locally. All were jj of a fairly uniform size and unsprouted. S Very few of tie sets of Victor Rose and S Scotia failed to sprout,' but this, was-not so B with the Up-to-Dates. Tho two new varieties li havo proved to be excellent eating ■ potatoes —m fact, much superior to Up-to-Dates. The plots measured each l-40tli of an acre, and seed weighing ,361b. were allotted to each. - (e In. the detailed results which follow, al- u lowance must bo mado for tho fact that of tho Victor Rose and Scotia varieties the product of only tliroo rows was weighed, while the figures given for Up-to-Date are for eight rows: — ® Plot 1. —2cwt. superphosphate, _ ljcwt. ° bonedust;. yield of Roso and Sootia 881b., Up-to-Date, 1681b. -, , j ■' Plot' 2. —2cwt. superphosphate, ljcwt. <- boiiedust, ljcwt. dried blood; Rose and Sco- . tia 971b., Up-to-Date 1531b. ■ I Plot 3.—2cwt. superphosphate, ljcwt. I bonedust, ljcwt. dried blood, lewt. sulphate of potnsh; R-050 and Scotia 961b., Up-to-Date 1941b. Plot 4.—No manure: Rose and Scotia Jj 651b., Up-to-Date 1461b. I Plot ; 5. —2cwt. superphosphate, ljcwt. /, bonedust, i|cwt. sulphate of ammonia, X X cwt. sulphato of potash; Roso and, Scotia X 1231b!, Up-toDato 2381b. ■ '' i Plot 6. —2cwt. superphosphate, ljcwt. s bonedust, dried blood, lewt. sulphate ] of-potash, 1 cwt. sulphato of iron; Rose and Scotia 761b., Up-to-Dato 1741b. . " . .Plot 7. —2cwt. superphosphate, ljcwt. dried blood,'lewt. muriato of potash, ljcwt. bonedust: Rose and Scotia 1071b., Up-to- . Date 1701b. \-\Plot 8. —4cwt. superphosphate; Roso c and Scotia. 1191b;, Up-to-Dato 1091b. i Total product.—Victor Rose, 3761b. or. 31 t lb. per row of 46ft.; Scotia, 3951b., or 331b. per row;. Up-to-Date, 13521b., or 211b. per row; total, 21231b., or 4J tons per acre.' i As the effects of . tho fertilisers can best be judged from the product of Victor Roso and Scotia (among which very few sets fail to spTout), the following comparison with the results of tho previous year's experiments on tho same plots takes into account only tlieso kinds for 1909. In 1908 Up-to- ' D*tes alone wero used, and tie crop was practically ruined by the drought. 1908. —Firsf, plot 2, 981b.; second, plot 5, 911b.; third, plot 1 8, 891b.; fourth, plot 6, 871b.; fifth, plot 3, 801b.; sixth, plot. 1, 761b.; seventh, plot 7, 761b.; eighth, plot 4, :631b. . '■ 1909. —First, plot 5,- 123lb;';' second; plot 8, -1191b.; third, plot 7, 1071b..;. fourth, plot _■ . 2, 971b.; fifth, plot 3, 9Glb.; ■ sixth, .plot 1, 881b.; seventh, plot 6, 761b.; eighth,' plot 8, ' ,631b. , , ■ , ' " ' i