329 



One-and-onc-hiilf-inch planks 14 feet long were cut into pieces 1| inches square and 

 7 feet long with a rotary saw. Then, with a snitahle plane, I plowed a deep groove 

 in one side of each piece and sharpened one end and rounded the other so that it 

 would pass thrnngh the hole in one of the hay caps. By a few trials in the 

 clover field we found that it was best to build a hay-cock about 2 feet high, and 

 then push the sharpened end of one of the little poles into it to the ground. After- 

 wards the cock was completed by building the hay aronnd the pole. * * * In 

 very small cocks of partially cured hay and in largo cocks of wet grass or hay the 

 poles did not have the desired effect, because the small and the large wet cocks did 

 not heat readily, while in large cocks of wilted or partially dried clover Miey did have 

 the desired effect when the surface of the leaves and stalks were dry. In every in- 

 stance, when the heating process began within a reasonable time, the hay dried 

 rapidly without being injured in color or substance. 



Hay caps made of ducking were also successfully used. These should 

 be soaked iu a solution of sulphate of copper to prevent their being 

 injured by mildew. The hay caps are relatively expensive ($40 to $50 

 IJer hundred at the station), but the author thinks it will pay well in 

 low^ to use them. 



Cultivated and wild varieties of the grasses in Iowa, R. 

 P. Speer, 0. M. Wade, B. S., and Gr. E. Patrick, M. S. (pp. 448- 

 480). — "Blue-grass and the clovers do well in Iowa; but many of the 

 cultivated grasses which are valued highly in moist climates have not 

 given satisfaction on account of occasional severe droughts and cold 

 winters. As we believed that some of the wild Western grasses might 

 prove valuable under cultivation, the station collected the seeds of 

 many native grasses in 1888 in Iowa, Minnesota, Dakota, Montana, 

 Idaho, and Colorado, which were planted in rows on our experiment 

 grounds in the spring of 1889. We planted seeds of many of the cul- 

 tivated grasses also alongside of them at the same time in rows and 

 broadcast, so that it would be easy to determine differences of growth 

 and adaptation to our soils and climate." 



Descriptive notes by R. P. Speer and analyses by C. M. Wade and 

 G. E. Patrick are given for timothy {Phleum pratense), tall meadow oat 

 grass {Arrhenatherum averiacGum), meadow fescue {Festuca elatior and 

 var. pratcnsis), orchard grass (Dactylis glomeraia), redtop (Agrofttis 

 vulgaris) from Idaho, wild timothy {Phleum pratense) from Idaho, cord 

 grass {Spartina cynostiroides), ribbon-grass {Phalaris arundinacea)^ large 

 Iowa blue joint {Andropogon provincialis), panieled blue joint {(Jhrysopo- 

 gon nutans), little blue joint {Andropogon scoparius), false redtop {Poa 

 serotina), Galamagrostis canadensis, Agropyrum violaceum, Colorado 

 blue stem {Agropyrum glancum), short awned brome {Bromus breviari- 

 statns), awnless brome {Bromus incrmis), rye-grass {Elymus canadensis), 

 common red clover, alsike clover {Trifolium hyhridum), prickly comfrey 

 {Symphytum asperrimtim), Russian flax, asparagus, and prolific tree 

 bean. 



''We have tested sanfoin, Lespedeza striata (Japan clover), and three 

 kinds of vetches, and have found that they are not adapted to Iowa. 



