No. 1, February, 1921] AGRONOMY 7 



50. Shepherd, A. N. Summer green fodder trials. Murrumbridgee irrigation area, 1919- 

 1920. Agric. Gaz. New South Wales 31: 554-556. 1920. — General cultural notes for sorghum 

 and maize grown for summer green fodder, and the yields obtained at the various places of 

 experimentation. The heaviest yield was 25.5 tons per acre with Sorghum saccharatum 

 following lucerne. — L. R. Waldron. 



51. Snodgrass, M. D. Report of the work at Fairbanks station. Rept. Alaska Agric. Exp. 

 Sta. 1917: 57-72. PI. 5-7. 1919. — Ninety-five acres were cropped with small grain and five 

 acres with root crops. Nearly all the winter grain was killed by freezing. Owing to drought 

 in May and first half of June, spring grains yielded only half as much as usual. This drought 

 also caused uneven germination and consequent uneven ripening. Three varieties of spring 

 wheat, 2 of oats, and 2 of barley were grown under field conditions, and larger numbers were 

 grown in small plots or in head-to-row tests. A spring wheat originally received from 

 Irkutsk, Siberia, in 1914, and known as H. G., is considered the best wheat for the region. 

 Grown under different rotations and exposures, it showed considerable differences in yield. 

 Japanese buckwheat was successfully grown. Reports are given on the behavior of field peas, 

 alfalfa, and clover. Red clover winter kills, but grew 24-30 inches high by September 7 from 

 spring seeding. Grains are grown for hay. Calamagrostis langsdorffi. produces the native 

 hay. The potato is the chief money crop of the region. Results of the tests at the station 

 are given. Some potato blight and a verj^ little scab were present. Petrowski turnip is 

 another important crop of this region, and seed is grown and distributed by the station. 

 Notes are given on garden vegetables and on flowers; also on strawberries, red raspberries, 

 and native berries. Twenty-five requests for seed were filled. — J. P. Anderson. 



52. Snodgrass, M. D. Cooperative work. Rept. Alaska Agric. Exp. Sta. 1917:84-86. 

 1919. — Gives report of cooperative work among the farmers of the Matanuska valley and the 

 Anchorage-Knik region in southern Alaska. — J. P. Anderson. 



53. SoMERViLLE, W. [Presidential address.] Grass. Rept. British Assoc. Adv. Sci. 

 1919: 364-379. 1920. — From the experiments which have been carried out, the following 

 conclusions may be drawn: "(1) That the quality of a pasture is not primarily dependent 

 on its botanical composition, though, as a rule, the presence of white clover, and other 

 Leguminosae is indicative of high feeding value. (2) That poor pastures, especially on 

 clay soil, can be rapidly and profitably improved by the use of phosphates, especially basic 

 slag. (3) That, as a rule, phosphates alone are suflBcient to effect and maintain the improve- 

 ment, and that, of supplementary substances, potash and lime are occasionally worthy of 

 attention. (4) That the improvement of poor pasture is very dependent on the presence of 

 Leguminosae, and especially of white clover. (5) That renovating with the seed of wild 

 white clover may, in the absence of natural Leguminosae, be a necessary preliminary or con- 

 current operation. (6) That cake can rarely be used at a profit, and that, as an agent in 

 improving poor pasture, it occupies an unsatisfactory position. (7) That nitrogen, whether 

 in the form of artificial manure, or as cake residues, when added to phosphates for pasture, 

 is always unnecessary and frequently detrimental. (8) That, in the case of hay on per- 

 manent grass land, equal weights of produce may have very different feeding values. (9) 

 That few forms of agricultural expenditure are more certain in their results than the judicious 

 use of manures on grass land, and that the meat and milk producing capacity of the country 

 can be largely and rapidly increased, with great pecuniary gain to the farmer, and still 

 greater economic advantage to the nation." — C. L. Wilson. 



54. Syme, J. E. The grain wheats for central western districts. Farmers' experiment 

 plots, 1909-1919, summarized. Agric. Gaz. New South Wales 31:533-538. 1920.— "Federa- 

 tion," "Marshall No. 3." "Cranberra" and "Hard Federation" did best.— L. R. Waldron. 



55. Syme, J. E. In a dry season at Parkes. Agric. Gaz. New South Wales 31: 477-478. 

 1920. — Discusses Sudan grass and considers it valuable. — L. R. Waldron. 



