1 82 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



tooth harrows and finally smoothed and levelled with spike 

 tooth harrows. Owing to the frequent heavy rains and lateness 

 of the season for seeding oats the soil could not be worked 

 into the most mellow and desirable condition for a seed bed. 



In the past season plots of 1-40 acre in extent have been 

 adopted as the unit area for tests of oat varieties. Each varietv? 

 is planted in four of these unit plots which are scattered 

 throughout the field. This affords a wide distribution of each 

 strain, subjecting it to variable soil conditions. Good evidence 

 for the use of several small plots widely scattered in a field 

 instead of one acre plots or larger for the testing of varieties 

 has been established by workers in the Rothamsted Experiment 

 Station in England. The percentage of error in the results of 

 tests on several small unit areas is so low that it is impracticable 

 and inefficient to use the larger areas. The small plots permit 

 so much greater scope in plant breeding work for the season 

 that many more varieties and developing strains may be grown 

 each season. The field in which the tests of this past season 

 were carried on contains the most variable soil conditions on 

 the farm. The soil ranged from sand to clay. The land slopes 

 to the west, presenting fairly level surfaces to abrupt slopes. 

 Numerous depressions occur throughout the field, wherein suffi- 

 cient moisture was maintained during the season, while the 

 knolls became too dry for well balanced development of the 

 plants. However, the distribution of a variety throughout this 

 field insured the testing of each under the various conditions 

 in which it was desirable to observe the behavior of the oat 

 plant. 



Each of these fields was fertilized at the rate of 500 lbs. per 

 acre of a high grade fertilizer containing 4 per cent, nitrogen, 8 

 per cent, phosphoric acid and 7 per cent, potash. In past 

 seasons the fertilizer has been applied in the drill at the time 

 of seeding. This year the fertilizer has been broadcasted and 

 harrowed in before planting. 



The seed of each variety of oats to be planted in these tests 

 is carefully cleaned and graded in a fanning mill in order that 

 only heavy plump grains be sown. In regard to the question 

 often asked about the relative value of heavy and light grains 

 for seed it should be stated here that most investigations show 

 in general a greater yield from the heavy seeds. The seeding of 



