36 The Bulletin. 



comments on vauiety tests of corn. 



The variety tests were conducted this year at the Edgecombe, Ire- 

 dell, Transylvania, and Experiment Station farms. The land at the 

 Edgecombe farm devoted to this test was good bottom-land, contain- 

 ing much organic matter and which had a heavy growth of cow-peas 

 on it the previous season, which were cut for hay, while at Iredell a 

 fine brownish clay soil with a red-clay subsoil was used. These ex- 

 periments at Transylvania were on a clayey loam soil located in the 

 French Broad River bottom, which is subject to overflow during very 

 high tides, and which is of fairly uniform character through both soil 

 and subsoil, and capable of fair yields without fertilizers. The 

 land was in cabbage and Irish potatoes the previous year, which 

 had been fertilized with a moderate application of commercial high- 

 grade fertilizer and stable manure. This land being about seven 

 feet above the average water-level of the river, was fairly well 

 drained. A clay loam with a red-clay subsoil, both containing 

 many rock fragTaents, was used at the Experiment Station farm; 

 putting the tests on the same piece of land during 1904, 1905, 

 and 1906. The land at all the places was tolerably level and 

 uniform in character. To eliminate all inequalities in the character 

 of the land, if any, the designated varieties at the different farms 

 were planted each in separate rows, arranged consecutively, and this 

 plan was repeated from two to four times, varying with the length of 

 the rows, in order to give the desired acreage to each variety. The 

 varieties are arranged in Table I in the order of their productivity 

 of shelled corn per acre; also the rank in yield of stover per acre is 

 indicated in the second column. In Table II is brought together the 

 results of varietal tests obtained at the Edgecombe farm during 

 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, and 1906, at Red Springs in 

 1900 and 1901, and at Statesville during 1903, 1904, 1905,' and 

 1906 ; at Transylvania during 1906, and at Experiment Station 

 during 1903, 1904, 1905, and 1906. Results from the testing of 

 varieties of corn were first obtained at the Transylvania farm during 

 this year. The gi'owth of the varieties were fairly good throughout 

 the season, after their recovery from a killing frost on May 10. 

 Much, or almost all, of the corn was so badly frosted that it fell dovm 

 and was apparently dead, and much of it never recovered, but a large 

 part of it was up and growing again by May 19, when it was culti- 

 vated. There was at all times a noticeable difference in the growth 

 and appearance of the different varieties. Each had a splendid color 

 throughout the growing season. Cocke's Prolific from Tennessee- 

 grown seed and Eureka were remarkable throughout the season for 

 their vigorous growth. The lower blades, especially, of all the late 

 and medium late maturing varieties, seem to have been severely 

 affected by rot, but in no case was there any noticeable "firing." It 

 was not observed that there was any difference in tendency of the 



