20 CIRCULAR NO. 116, BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 



and 18.8 tons per acre. The results slightly favor shallow cultiva- 

 tion, though the differences are scarcely significant. 



Irrigation of beets. — The methods followed were (1) the usual 

 irrigation, (2) irrigation as the soil requires water to keep it moist 

 throughout the season. (3) irrigation at intervals so that the plants 

 suffer for water before it is applied, and (4) delay of the first irri- 

 gation until the plants begin to suffer for water, and then irrigation 

 by the common method. The yields of the beets were 16.5, 15.9, 16.6, 

 and 17.4 tons per acre, respectively. On account of the excessive 

 rainfall during the growing season, the results are not significant. 



Distance of pi ant lug beets. — Sugar beets were planted in rows 18, 

 20. 24, and 28 inches apart. In each of the plats the plants were 

 thinned to 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 inches apart in the rows, respectively. 

 The highest yield was obtained from rows 28 inches apart, with the 

 plants 9 inches apart in the row. the yield being 18.5 tons per acre. 

 The second highest yield. 18.-3 tons per acre, was obtained from 20- 

 inch rows, with the plants 9 inches apart in the row. Greater dis- 

 tances than 20-inch rows, with the plants 9 inches apart in the row, 

 are not recommended, as the beets are likely to be large and over- 

 grown, and require more labor to harvest. The 18-inch planting 

 makes working in the beets more difficult, especially the cultivation 

 and irrigation. 



ORCHARD AND SMALL FRUITS. 



The severe conditions of the winter of 1911-12 did much damage 

 to the orchard trees. Many of the tender varieties were killed and 

 some of the more hardy varieties were severely injured. Only those 

 fruit varieties which are relatively hardy can be expected to succeed 

 under the rigorous winter conditions on the project. It has been 

 found that windbreaks can be made to furnish considerable protec- 

 tion to orchard trees, and the presence of good, strong windbreaks 

 is one of the essentials of successful fruit growing. Numerous small 

 additions were made during the year to the variety tests of orchard 

 trees and bush fruits. 



In tests conducted to determine the most satisfactory time to plant 

 strawberries the best results have been obtained from late summer 

 planting. It has been found much better to plant from August 1 to 

 15 than at any time during the spring. 



TREES AND ORNAMENTALS. 



During the year about 5,000 cuttings of several species of trees and 

 shrubs were set out in the nursery rows and a large number were 

 grown from seeds. A windbreak was set out on the north and Avest 

 sides of the orchard, and it made excellent growth. A large number 



[Cir. 116] 



