3o8 Bulletin 146. 



The Work i7i General Agriculture (/. F. Roberts ^ Chief). 



BY J. L. STONE. 



With the view of carrying the University Extension Work in Agri- 

 culture to the farmers, early in the spring a circular was prepared 

 describing some simple tillage experiments with potatoes, com or 

 sugar beets. Such decided results have been secured at the Station 

 grounds by frequent and long continued tillage of the potato, that it 

 was desired to learn if similar results might be secured by the farmers 

 of the state, and with other crops as well as with potatoes. Corre- 

 spondence was solicited with farmers who were willing to undertake 

 experiments in co-operation with the Station. The Department of 

 Agriculture at Washington supplied us with a quantity of sugar beet 

 seed which was sent to farmers asking for it so long as the supply 

 lasted. 



The interest of the farmer seems to center in the sugar beets, very 

 few undertaking tillage experiments with any other crop. Nor 

 were many of them so much interested in the effect of different 

 methods of cultivation upon the crop as they were to discover if, under 

 the system of cultivation most common in the vicinity or most con- 

 venient to them during the season, their soils would produce a large 

 yield of beets of sufficient richness to be profitably manufactured into 

 sugar. There was, therefore, very little uniformity of methods in 

 preparing the soil or cultivating the crop, and few attempted the com- 

 parison of different methods on the same field. 



During August, members of the Station staff visited a large number 

 of these experimental plats to note the conditions existing and advise 

 the farmers in regard to their care. Again, in October, representatives 

 of the Station helped to harvest parts of many of them. The result 

 of this work is fully set forth in Bulletin No. 143. The data relating 

 to other work has not yet been tabulated for publication. Figure 172 

 shows the post offices at which sugar beet investigations have been 

 made. 



