FOKAdE-CROP EXPERIMENTS AT SAX ANTONIO. 9 



It will bo observed that the average yield from the three plats of 

 the Sumac variety was nearly a ton larger than from the three plats 

 of the Red Amber. Another point in favor of the Sumac variety is 

 that there were only two cuttings of the Sumac, while there were 

 three of the Red Amber, and it costs more to harvest tliree crops 

 than two. 



METHODS OF PLANTING. 



Two methods of planting are practiced by farmers, namely, plant- 

 ing in rows far enough apart so that cultivation is possible, and 

 planting closer, either in drills or by broadcasting. Practically no 

 sorghum is grown under irrigation in cultivated rows, but in recent 

 years an increasingly large area is being planted on dry land in culti- 

 vated rows. When sorghum is planted in rows and cultivated, the 

 crop may have to be harvested with a grain harvester or by hand if 

 there 1 is a heavy growth, but if the rows are not more than 2 feet 

 apart or the growth is not too heavy it may be cut with a mowing 

 machine and handled in the ordinary manner. Even with the rows 

 4 feet apart the sorghum at the field station the past four years 

 has been harvested in the same way as broadcasted sorghums. 



Drilled compared with cultivated rows. —The yields from sorghum 

 grown without irrigation have been larger when planted in cultivated 

 rows than when the crop was sown broadcast or in 8-inch drills. 

 Unfortunately, this comparison was not made in 1908, which was a 

 very favorable season. Table IV gives the yields in this experiment 

 for the years 1907 to 1911. 



Table IV. — Yields per acre of Sumac sorghum planted in cultivated rows 4 feet apart 



and in 8-inch drills. 



1 There were no plats of Sumac sorghum close-planted in 1908. 



The great difference in yield between the cultivated plats and 

 those in 8-inch drills in 1910, the comparatively slight difference hi 

 1909, and the difference in favor of the 8-inch drills in 1911 are due 

 to the seasonal rainfall. As will be noticed by reference to the rain- 

 fall table (Table I), the year 1908 was a very favorable one and 

 much moisture that collected in the soil was carried over to 1909, 

 while 1909 was exceedingly dry, and 1910 was more favorable dur- 

 69799°— Cir. 106—13 2 



