146 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



which such products can most economically be produced. A large 

 number of seedlings have been grown and only those of greatest prom- 

 ise retained, of which there are some 300 considered of sufficient 

 value to warrant further testing. These are being tried out in co- 

 operation with the various State stations, and as soon as they have 

 proved their worth in any section arrangements will be made to 

 establish the variety in the region to which it is best adapted. 



AGRONOMIC AND HORTICULTURAL INVESTIGATIONS. 



Corn. — Effective methods of corn breeding have originated higher 

 yielding varieties of corn. For the best results in any locality local 

 adaptation and selection must follow the origination of higher yield- 

 ing varieties, the lasting benefits of which depend upon a broad un- 

 derstanding of corn variations and the fundamental requirements of 

 the crop. Methods of planting by which one or two rows of an early- 

 maturing variety alternate with one or two rows of a later maturing 

 variety have given higher yields than either variety planted alone. 

 Where there is likely to be a shortage of moisture during certain 

 periods of the growing season, dependence should not be placed in a 

 single variety; under such conditions two or three varieties which 

 differ, considerably in length of growing season should be grown. 



Sugar beets. — Sugar-beet seed was grown commercially in this 

 country during the past year in several States, from Michigan to 

 California. The crop of seed harvested in 1915 was so satisfactory 

 in each of the areas tested that a largely increased acreage was 

 planted this year. This bureau has assisted in an advisory way in 

 growing, selecting, and siloing the roots, planting them in the spring, 

 harvesting and cleaning the seed, and, in general, has endeavored to 

 produce the largest amount of -commercial seed possible at a mini- 

 mum cost. Approximately 5,000 acres are in beet seed in this coun- 

 try this year, while we require the product of at least 16,000 acres 

 for a normal planting, not considering the natural expansion of the 

 beet-sugar industry. Each new mill will require an average of 200 

 acres in seed to meet its planting requirements. Seven new mills 

 are in process of construction for this year. 



The problem of drying the sugar beets for the purpose of increas- 

 ing the amount of raw material for the mill and thereby increasing 

 the length of the sugar campaign has been further investigated. The 

 principal difficulty has been in finding or devising a drier of suit- 

 able capacity to handle enough beets per day to be profitable. A 

 satisfactory solution of the problem will be very beneficial in those 

 small valleys in the intermountain States where the acreage is not 

 sufficient to support a sugar mill and yet the sugar beet is necessary 

 to the highest results in the farming operations. 



Fruit-production investigations. — The results of these investi- 

 gations make it possible to outline six fairly well denned pomological 

 districts in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee as a unit of 

 territory, the divisions being based principally on physiographic and 

 climatic features and the behavior of the fruit varieties grown in 

 these different sections. The behavior of fruits grown in these dif- 

 ferent districts has been determined through repeated observations 



