EXPERIMENT 



Moisture in air, 

 Date. per cent of satura- 



tion, degrees. 



March 31 



April 1 42.4 



April 2 50.7 



April 3 37.8 



April 5 35.0 



April 7 40.0 



April 10 44.1 



April 12 41.01 



April 14 GO.O 



Mav 7 61.5 



Mav 12 35.9 



Mav 19 59.3 



May 26 67.9 



June 5 40.7 



June 12 81.2 



June 27 > 46.4 



The results are instructive and show how susceptible all portions of the wheat 

 grain are to hydroscopic conditions. One hundred pounds of flour, bran or shorts, 

 weighed on the 31st of March, increased in weight irregularly to the 24th of May. 

 Thereafter, to the 12th of June, the weights fluctuated within rather wide limits, 

 reaching the minimiim on the 5th of June, maximum on the 12th, and on the 22d the 

 whole series finding a level a little below the original weiglit. 



CORX^. 



Some experiments conducted at this Station in 1896 and 1897, and reported in 

 Bulletin 154, gave interesting results bearing on the relative weights of the ears, 

 leaves and stalks. It was found that on August 24, 24.3 per cent of the total weight of 

 the corn pilant above ground was in the ear. Tliis per cent gradually increased until at 

 harvest time, September 14, 35.7 per cent of the total weight of tlie plant was in the 

 ear. At harvest, 46.3 per cent of the dry matter of the entire plant was found in 

 the ear. 



The experiment was repeated in 1897 with almost identical results. Nearly 47 

 per cent of the total dry matter of the corn plant was found in the ear. In 1897, 

 at harvest, September 14, tlie ears contained 45.57 per cent of dry matter, the stalks 

 21.53 per cent, and the leaves 27.27 per cent. The ears were not as drj-, therefore, 

 relatively as the stalks and leaves. 



THE WHOLE PLANT STORED. 



An experiment was recorded in the report for the Connecticut Experiment Station 

 for 1878, page 65, bearing on the shrinkage of the whole corn plant. Here the corn 

 was sown in drills two feet apart, three bushels of seed to the acre. The crop made 

 a good growth and was ten to twelve feet high at harvest, although the ears were 

 mostly nubbins, with a few well matured ears. Below are given the results of two 

 separate trials the same season: 



_ Crop 1. Crop 2. 



September 1 — Lbs. Tons. Lbs. Tons. 



Freshly out 54,723 27.36 51,074 25.5 



Containing water 47,184 23.59 43,413 21.70 



X^ovembcr 11 — 



Field cured 9,583 4.8 10,454 5.2 



Containing water 2,644 1.3 2,799 1.4 



February 8 — 



In barn 15,028 7.5 16,988 8.5 



Containing water 8.089 4. 9,327 4.7 



Actual dry matter 0,939 3.5 7,061 3.8 



