17 



Number of cars. — The results of the two years' experiiiients iiulicate 

 in general tliat while the number of ears is increased by thicker plant- 

 ing the proportion of barren stalks and nubbins is also increased. 



Yield.— lu tho experinieuts for 1888 and 1889 plantinj^ at the rate of oiio kernel 

 every G iucbes gave better results than planting at tho rate of one kernel every 3 

 inches, if tho crop was grown for fodder purposes. Planting at the rate of one kernel 

 every 9 inclies or one kernel every 12 inches gave better results, if kernel was tho 

 main object, than thiclier or tliinuer planting. 



Neither for fodder purposes nor for the j)roduction of corn merely do thete experi- 

 ments show any material advantage in planting in drills over planting in hills, and 

 this where the cultivation was such as to keep tho land equally free of weeds, what- 

 ever the method of planting. Taken as a whole, there was very little ditferencc iu 

 the results, whatever the methods of distribution of the seed, so long as the rate of 

 seeding was the i-ame. 



Experiments 8, 9, and 10 — Frequency and depth of cultivation and root 

 prnning of corn (pp. 254-263). — These are practically one experiment 

 with three sets of conditions. In No. 8, in which the effects of fre- 

 quency of cultivation are tested, the comparison is between cultivating 

 four times (ordinary cultivation), cultivating five times (ordinary culti- 

 vation and once after tasseling), and cultivating fourteen times. In 

 jSTo. 9 the effects of deep and shallow cultivation are compared. In 

 iSTo. 10 the effects of root pruning are observed. As regards frequency 

 and depth of cultivation the results in 1889 were substantially like those 

 in 1888, and indicate that " in this soil [which is very fertile] very good 

 crops of corn may be raised with no stirring of the soil after the corn is 

 -planted, if the weeds are thoioughly removed." In the root pruning 

 the object was — 



To cut the corn roots at the distance from the hill and to tho depth which an ordi- 

 nary so-called deep cultivator would break them, hut without disturbing the soil, so 

 that it might be determined whether such mutilation of the roots by the cultivator, 

 without reference to the stirring of the soil, was harmful. 



With root pruning 3 inches deep in 1888, by which only a small por- 

 tion of the roots were severed, the yield was uniformly but not largely 

 in favor of the unpruned corn. 



This season, with the pruning 4 inches deep, the average difterenco iu favor of tho 

 unpruned portion was 13.6 bushels. Tho least differeuco in any jdat, that with fre- 

 quent, shallow cultivation, was 10 bushels, while the greatest diiference iu any plat, 

 the one that had no cultivation, was nearly 17.4 bushels. The greatest decrease in 

 yield from root pruning was about one fifth, the least about one eighth, and the aver- 

 age about one sixth. There can be no doubt that this decrease iu yield was directly 

 due to cutting the roots. 



Experiment No. 54: — Gorn,root growth (pp. 263-267). — "The particular 

 object of inquiry in this experiment was to ascertain the number of the 

 roots of corn and their depth at the points where they are likely to be 

 disturbed by cultivation, and what proportion of all the roots was 

 likely to be so injured." The results of the examination of seven plants 

 in accordance with the plan followed in previous experiments reported 

 2553— No. 1 2 



