The Bulletin. 37 



COMMENTS ON DISTANCE TESTS. 



These tests were conducted this year at the Iredell, Edgecombe and 

 Buncombe farms, seed of Cocke's Prolific having been used at Edge- 

 combe, and Weekley's Improved at Iredell and Buncombe for planting 

 the different tests during all the years. The distance best suited to the 

 soil at the Edgecombe farm in its present state of fertility, as indicated 

 by an average of seven years' results, is 4 feet by 3 feet; at Iredell as 

 an average of sis years' results, 5 feet by 2 feet. It will require a num- 

 ber of repetitions of this test to arrive at a fair idea of the best width 

 of rows and distance in rows for planting corn on the types of soil used 

 in the experiments. This will no doubt vary with the different kinds 

 of corn, soil and season. 



In Table VIII is presented in concise form the results of all distance 

 tests with corn that have been conducted at the Edgecombe farm during 

 seven years and the Iredell farm during six years. 



II. Variety and Distance Tests of Cotton. 



Preparation and Cultivation. — All plats devoted to these tests were 

 broken 8 to 10 inches deep during March with a two-horse turning plow, 

 followed by a thorough disking during the middle of April. Just before 

 laying off the rows, which was during the last of April, the ground was 

 gone over with a smoothing harrow. The rows were run 5 to 7 inches 

 deep, 3% feet apart, with an 8-inch shovel, and the fertilizer materials 

 applied in the drill, at the following rate per acre in all tests : 



Four hundred pounds of a mixture of acid phosphate, manure salt 

 and dried blood, which contained 7 per cent available phosphoric acid, 

 2% per cent potash and 2% P er cen * nitrogen (equal to 3.04 per cent 

 ammonia), costing $3.95, were used. 



The cultivation was level, with cultivators, being moderately deep at 

 the beginning of the season and shallower as the root zone increased. 

 The cultivator was never run more than twice to the row at a time, as 

 this more than covered the middle, and an effort was made to work over 

 the plats as quickly as possible immediately after rains to break the 

 crust formed by the showers and leave a dust mulch to check evapora- 

 tion. The cultivator was run about 1% to 2 inches deep toward the 

 close of the season. It was attempted to cultivate every ten days, which 

 had to be changed, of course, to suit the season. The cotton was reduced 

 to a stand of 15 inches at Edgecombe and 16 inches at Iredell between 

 the hills in the rows with the variety tests. 



RESULTS OF VARIETY TESTS OF COTTON. 



The results of these tests are included in the following tables : 



