126 STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE BULLETINS. 



ing growth of tops and roots, the roots showing the marked tendency to 

 run deep and to be well supplied with tubercles. 



Desiring to have personal supervision of the care of the plant and to 

 wateh its action, and also to get a quantity of the plants to producing seed 

 as soon as possible, I determined in the spring of 1891 to sow much the 

 larger part of the seed on a sandy knoll at the college. This knoll had 

 been under cultivation for a number of years, and had been fertilized from 

 time to time, hence the growth of the flat pea here cannot be taken as 

 indicative of what it will do on even lighter and entirely unfertilized soils, 

 but this plot was in about the same condition and had about the same his- 

 tory as much of the sandy soil in large areas of southern Michigan. The 

 seed was sown about 3 in. deep in drills 2^ ft. apart, May 8, and a few 

 days later. The seed has a very hard outer coat, and germinates slowly. 

 The seed was sown in a dry time, and only a little rain fell for some weeks. 

 The soil was full of the seeds of weeds which started in great profusion, 

 and by the time the flat pea was up at the end of twenty-three days, the 

 weeds were so well grown that it was vain to try to exterminate them and 

 save the plants of the pea. The whole plot had to be plowed up. 



In order to insure against the destruction of all the plants by a possible 

 drouth, I had selected in the beginning a low place in the garden, suffi- 

 ciently near the forcing house to carry water in a hose for watering, in 

 case of need. The soil was deep muck, and had been well cultivated for 

 some years. It was chosen not for the purpose of showing the capacity of 

 the flat pea to grow on poor soil, but for the purpose of trying to insure 

 the growth of some plants from a portion of the costly seed. 



Here the seed was planted fully three inches deep, about two inches 

 apart in the drills, and the drills fifteen inches ajjart. It came up in three 

 weeks, every seed seeming to germinate. Rain came, so that it was not 

 necessary to water. The plants made a vigorous growth, and by fall were 

 twelve to fifteen inches high. They were healthy, strong, luxuriant. The 

 roots grew deep and wide, extending twenty-four inches down and fifteen 

 to twenty inches on each side. They were abundantly supplied with 

 nitrogen-secreting tubercles, or rather with tubercles to serve as homes for 

 the nitrogen-secreting bacteria. In the cool weather of the fall the plants 

 throve well. The first frost of the season came the night of October 7. 

 The plants showed no evil effects. Frosts followed on October 8 and 9, 

 but still the plants were green and vigorous. Other frosts on subsequent 

 nights and days affected the plants slowly, some of the leaves turning yel- 

 low and the whole plant becoming somewhat brown, but when college 

 closed in the middle of November the plants were still growing. The really 

 cold weather had been slow in coming. 



The plants wintered well. All started growing as soon as frost was out 

 in the spring. April 2d, the rows were green. The plants had been grown 

 in the rows close together. I desired to give them more room and to get 

 them upon sandy soil, hence upon April 19 they were all transplanted, 

 except three rows which were left in the muck. They were put upon the 

 land where the year before the weeds had smothered the plants. In dig- 

 ging we found all the roots strong and fleshy, and the smaller ones with 

 many tubercles. In transplanting, the roots were cut to about six inches 

 in length. They were planted in rows fifteen inches apart, and four inches 

 apart in the row. They grew well throughout the spring and summer. 

 The rows were cultivated sufficiently to keep the weeds down, which was 

 an easy task, as the pea vines soon covered the ground. 



