The Bulletin. 29 



comments on distance tests. 



These tests this year were conducted at the Edgecombe and Ire- 

 dell farms, using seed of Cocke's Prolific at Edgecombe and of Week- 

 ley's Improved at Iredell for planting the different tests. The 

 distancing best suited to the Edgecombe farm in its present state of 

 fertility, as indicated by an average of five years' results, is 4 by 3 

 feet; while at Iredell, as the average of three years' results, 5 by 2 

 feet afforded the highest yield. It will require a number of repeti- 

 tions of this test to arrive at a fair idea of the best width of rows and 

 distance in rows for planting corn on the types of soil used in the 

 experiments. This will no doubt vary with the different kinds of 

 corn, soil and season. 



In Table VII is presented in concise form the results of all distance 

 tests with corn at the Edgecombe and Red Springs farms during the 

 past five years, and at Iredell during the past three years, that have 

 been conducted by the Department. 



II. Variety and Distance Tests of Cotton. 



Preparation and Cultivation. — All plats devoted to these tests were 

 broke 8 to 10 inches deep during the middle of March at Edgecombe 

 and in January at Iredell with a two-horse turning-plow, followed 

 by a thorough disking during the middle of April at Edgecombe and 

 on the first of May at Iredell. Just before laying off the rows, 

 which was from the last of April to the middle of May, the ground 

 was "gone over" with a smoothing harrow. The rows were run 5 to 7 

 inches deep Avith an 8-inch shovel, and the fertilizer materials applied 

 in the drill at the following rate per acre in all tests : 



Four hundred pounds of a mixture of acid phosphate, manure 

 salt and dried blood, which contained 1 per cent available phosphoric 

 acid, 214 per cent potash and 2^/2 per cent nitrogen (equal to 3.04 

 per cent ammonia), costing $4.12, were used. 



The cultivation was level with cultivators, being moderately deep 

 at the beginning of the season and shallower as the root zone in- 

 creased. The cultivator was never run more than twice to the row 

 at a time, as this more than covered the middle, and an effort was 

 made to work over the plats as quickly as possible immediately after 

 rains to break the crust formed by the showers and leave a dust mulch 

 to check evaporation. The cultivator was run about 1 14 to 2 inches 

 deep toward the close of the season. It was attempted to cultivate 

 every ten days, which had to be changed, of course, to suit the season. 



results of variety tests of cotton. 

 The results of these tests are included in the following tables : 



