THK EXPERIMENT IN NEBRASKA. 23 



DRAINAGE. 



On account of a moderate slope in two directions the drainage of 

 the experimental ])lats is excellent, none of them being so situated 

 as to be in danger of sulVering injury on account of standing water. 

 The field contains 21 acres and was divided into as many equal parts, 

 one being devoted to each of the regional varieties under test. In 

 1902 the field bore a crop of oats and in 1903 of corn. 



PREPARATION OF LAND AND SEEDING. 



In preparing the seed bed for the clover, the land was double disked 

 with a pulverizing machine and well leveled with a common harrow. 



Oats were used as a nurse crop, one half of all plats l)eing sown to 

 the Early Champion variet}", the other half to the Kherson oats, a 

 variety of Russian origin that has proved exceedingly valuable in 

 Nebraska. The oat crop was harvested just after the middle of July, 

 the Kherson variety' yielding 35 and the Early Champion 25 bushels 

 to the acre. 



The clover was sown at the same time as the oats. Seeding began 

 on April 15, but on account of unavoidable delays due to inclement 

 weather was not completed until Aj^ril 21. The seed was sown at 

 the rate of 10 pounds to the acre, and by April 25 seedling plants 

 had appeared on all the plats. After July 23, when the removal of 

 the oat crop was completed, the clover had the whole use of the 

 land. By the time for the cutting of the oats the clover had made 

 a sufficient growth to be slighth' clipped by the harvesting machine. 

 Except for a light pasture with calves in November no further treat- 

 ment was given the crop during the growing season of 1904 



GENERAL WEATHER CONDITIONS DURING 1904. 



The general condition of the weather throughout the season was 

 favorable to securing a good "catch" of clover. There was plenty 

 of rainfall during the season as a whole and no extended or injuri- 

 ous periods of drought occurred, although during September the dry- 

 ness was sufficient to cause the soil to become very hard, as is char- 

 acteristic of it when even moderately dry conditions prevail long 

 enough. 



COMPARISON OF STRAINS OF CLOVER ON ENTERING THE WINTER OF 1904. 



According to notes taken by Mr. Young about the middle of Novem- 

 ber, 1904, there was a great degree of diversity in the general thrifti- 

 ness of the various strains of clover when thev entered the winter. 

 In view of the data secured in 1905 the fact that the Iowa plat rep- 

 resented the normal or mean condition of all plats, the Nebraska 

 strain standing next below it, is significant. In the data for the crop 

 year 1905, given in Table VI, it will be noted that Nebraska seed 



95 



