Investigations at All Stations. 



81 



about 6 inches deep early in November and a good seed-bed formed by 

 repeated harrowing on March 30, just preceding hoeing in the crops. At 

 this time, general farming operations had begun. 



The soil at all the stations was in good tilth as regards soil-moisture at 

 the time of seeding. Owing to a late spring, with severe freezes and snow, 

 especially during the first half of April, the crops developed rather slowly, 

 particularly those at the stations with the higher altitudes. The com- 

 parative development of the crops at the several stations on April 28 to 30 

 is shown in table 24. The precipitation during this period was 3.2 inches 



at Lincoln, 2.0 at PhilUpsburg, and 3.9 at Burlington. However, at Lincoln 

 this was distributed over 5 periods (where the rainfall was at least 0.23 inch), 

 but at the other stations over only 2 periods. The great water-loss to the 

 soil occasioned by high run-off, especially at the Great Plains stations, has 

 already been discussed (p. 61). 



Available water-content on April 28 to 30, to a depth of 4 feet, is shown 

 in table 25. It may be noted at a glance that the soils at practically all 



' The fluctuations of soil-moisture at depths below 2.5 feet slightly above or below the hygro- 

 scopic coefficient are due largely to variations in the texture of the soil which occur even at 

 the short distances apart at which the samples were taken, and not to actual changes in the 

 water-content. 



