EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS 



191 



true ill five out of the eight individual plots examined. See table of moisture deter- 

 minations for the season, page 183. 



In the second place, the table shows that the 2.43 inches of rain between October 

 1st and October 22d made a marked increase in the first and second feet, but in the 

 third the increase was so slight that the moisture on October 22d was not as high as 

 on September 12th. We have here an instance of 4.46 inches of water added to the 

 soil in the course of five weeks, and yet no increase of the moisture in the third foot. 



A COMPARISON IN APRIL, OF THE MOISTURE CONTENT OF FALL PLOWED ANI> 



UNPLOWED LAND. 



This test was made in Field No. 8, in corn the year previous and partly plowed in 

 the fall. Samples were taken on both the unplowed and fall plowed areas on April 

 11th, 15th and 18th. The average per cent of moisture in these samples for the two 

 areas is here recorded: 



Unplowed... 



Fall plowed. 



l.st foot. 



Per cent. 



17.61 

 16.14 



1.47 



Average 

 three feet. 



Per cent. 



16.19 

 15.64 



.55 



In Field No. 6.— Fall plowed grew sugar beets and the unplowed mangels in 1897.) 



The balance is unquestionably in favor or the unplowed land under the conditions 

 existing in our experiments during the early spring. 



Results secured later in the season show the opposite to be true for the late spring. 

 On the 6th and ITth of May, samples were taken on ground which had grown oats 

 the previous year, one area of which was fall plowed and another left unplowed, 

 with the following average results: 



Unplowed... 

 Fall plowed. 



2nd foot. 



Per cent. 



7.09 

 7.62 



— ..53 



3rd foot. 



Per cent. 



8.71 

 8.59 



Average 

 three feet. 



Per cent. 



8.77 



.15 



Here there is a difference in favor of the fall plowed. The stirred soil has acted as 

 a mulch to retard evaporation, hence the change. 



I'he moisture determinations by dates in the oat plots in No. 8 also show a larger 

 per cent, in moisture in the fall plowed land as the season progresses as follows: 



