WORK OF BELLE FOURCHE EXPERIMENT FARM. 



19 



One plat is used for the continuous production of each crop for 

 purposes of comparison with the regular rotations, which arc as 

 follows: Eleven 2-year rotations, four 4-year rotations, throe 3-year 

 rotations, and six 6-year rotations. 



It will be several years before results of a conclusive nature can be 

 obtained from the rotation experiments. Because of the fact that 

 the land used was irrigated for the first time in 1912 there was much 

 difficulty in properly leveling the land and applying the water, and 



Fig. 2.— View in irrigated rotation field, showing plats of oats, flax, and sugar beets. Thirty-two dif- 

 ferent cropping systems are being tested in this field. 



the crop yields were consequently low. Table III shows the number 

 of plats <»f each crop harvested in the rotation field in 1912, together 

 with the average yield per acre of each crop. 



Table III. — Number of plats end average yields per acre of crops in the irrigated rota- 

 tion experiments on the Belle Fourche Project, I'M'.. 



i Six samples of sugar beets from this field averaged 14.8 per cent sugar and 82 per cenl purity. The 

 average weight per beet on all IS plats was 17 ounces. 



TREE PLANTINGS. 



The tree-planting experiments in cooperation with the Forest 



Service were started in the spring of 1909, when a tract of 3 acres 



above the ditch was planted to the following varieties: Cottonwood, 



white and golden willow, green ash (fig. 3), white elm, black locust, 



[Cir. 119] 



