At Cost of Dollar an Acre,
Alfalfa Yield Is Shown |
Much Heavier.
WASHINGTON STATE
PULLMAN, July 4.—(Special.)
Two hundred pounds of gympsum per acre on a 30-acre alfalfa field, applied in 1917 on the field owned by H. H. Curtis, near Pullman, at a cost of $1 an acre, with the alfalfa cutting just made, have netted Mr. Curtis an increase in alflafa of five and three fourths tons per acre over the untreated alfalfa land. The increase is for two years-1918-1919.
The increase in alfalfa yield for the two crops, 1918 and 1919, is worth $116 an acre, which sum, at present land prices, is a fair price for the land. The alfalfa is valued at $20 a ton. Was Experiment. These results were obtained in an alfalfa fertilizer experiment planned by George A. Olson, chemist of the Washington state experiment station of 1917 developed proof that gypsum, applied to alfalafa land , would increase the yield; and, in order to make practical field demonstration of a laboratory theory, entered into cooperative experiment with Mr. Curtis, who, for the purpose of the study, proffered the use of his 30-acre alfalfa field. The benefits of the gypsum application of the spring of 1917 did not show up materially that spring, but showed up strong in the alfalfa cutting in 1918, and better still in the alfalfa hay harvest just over.