336 



the stalk is worthless. Thick planting checks the rank growth of stalks, and in- 

 creases the value of the fodder by increasing the proportion of leaves and grain. The 

 ears fro-a the thick planting are small and easily eaten by cattle, without needing to 

 be broken, crushed, or ground. Corn fodder from corn grown in this way should al- 

 ways be fed without husking. 



(4) Listing vs. surface planting. — Tabulated notes on an experiment in 

 which these two methods of planting were compared show a gain of 3^ 

 bushels of corn per acre, or 4 per cent in favor of listing. The season 

 was wet and thus very favorable to surface planting. In the dry sea- 

 son of 1888, the results of a similar experiment favored listing by nearly 

 15 per cent. By listing, corn can be jjlanted with less time and labor, 

 withstands drought and winds better, and requires less cultivation. 



(5) Methods of cultivating corn. — Ordinary (three times), surface (2 

 or 3 inches deep), and excessive (four times) cultivation gave results 

 which did not differ materially. This is in accord with numerous sim- 

 ilar experiments on the college farm. 



" Moderate cultivation, such as will keep the ground free from weeds, 

 seems to be all that is required by the corn plant when grown on good 

 soil in an ordinary season. The general experience seems to show that 

 a greater amount of tillage may be profitable in a dry season or on poor 

 land." 



(6) harvesting for fodder and corn. — " In 1888 a series of experiments 

 were made to test the effect on yield of both fodder and corn of harvest- 

 ing the crop at different stages of growth. The trials were made with 

 several varieties of corn, and in two different soils, and every test showed 

 a remarkable loss in cutting corn before tbe ear was hard and the leaves 

 beginning to turn " (See Kansas Station Eeport for 1888, p. 42). These 

 experiments were repeated in 1889 with only slight modifications. The 

 corn was cut at four different stages of growth, in the milk, in the 

 dough, when the grain was hard and the husk dry but the leaves yet 

 green, and when left standing until the stalks were dead. Tabulated 

 details and summaries are reported for 4 varieties of dent corn grown 

 in one field and for King Philip corn grown in another field. 



These trials have been made in two very different seasons in fields that difier consider- 

 ably as to character of soil, and in each year With several varieties of corn (8 varie- 

 ties in 1888, 5 varieties in 1889), and all show like results— a serious loss in the yield 

 of corn whenever the stalks are cut for fodder. Even when the stalks are left, before 

 cutting, until the husks are dry and the leaves begin to turn, there is still a loss of 

 from 10 to 12 per cent in the yield of corn over that left standing. Considering all 

 the facts shown in this experiment and in the experiment with corn planted at dif- 

 ferent distances, the inference seems plain that we must plant corn with the sole 

 object of raising grain or with the sole object of raising feed. 



Experiments with wheat (pp. 29-42).— A reprint of Bulletin No. 7 of 

 the station (See Experiment Station Record, Vol. I, p. 214). 



Forage crops (pp. 42-52). — Twenty-four varieties of forage crops 

 were grown at the station in 1889. Brief notes are given for soja beans, 

 teosinte, and Golden Wonder millet, which promise to be of value in 



