FIELD CEOPS. 39 



more profitable first crop than spring breaking followed immediately by corn 

 planting. Summer tillage resulted in more profitable crops tban untilled 

 fallow, but in case of fallowed land practically no difference in yield of grain 

 was obtained between the fall and spring plowed soils. About 5 pk. appeared 

 to be the best average rate of seeding for dry land grain crops, and the yield 

 appeared to be lessened if fall-sown grains were harrowed in spring. Grains 

 drilled in the ordinary way gave in general larger yields than those planted in 

 rows 24 in. apart and intertilled. 



Grain investig'ations with, wheat, oats, and barley, A. Atkinson {Montana 

 Sta. Bui. 8Jh pp. 207-230, figs. 3).— The 5 years' work with wheat, oats, and 

 barley herein reported was done under irrigation. 



In a test of 20 varieties of wheat and emmer the white milling variety 

 Stanley and the durum Kubanka yielded 49.75 and 47.54 bu. per acre, respec- 

 tively, while Red Fife or Spring Fife also stood high in the list with a yield of 

 45.G bu. per acre. The average straw yield was 2.74 tons per acre, and the 

 average length of straw was 44.13 in. The weight ratio of grain to straw was 

 1 : 2.11. Periods of 130 days from seeding to harvesting, 75 days from plant- 

 ing to heading, and 55 days from heading to ripening are recorded. Irrigation 

 water was applied at heading time. On the whole, durum wheat was the high- 

 est yielding type, common milling wheat being second and feeding wheat 

 lowest. Early planting, about the middle of April, at the rate of 2 bu. per 

 acre, yielded better than later planting and heavier seeding. 



In a test of 27 varieties of oats Banner, White Danish, Siberian, and Swedish 

 Select yielded 97.9 to 102.3 bu. per acre each. The Sixty Day. a superior dry 

 land variety, stood next to lowest on the list with a yield of 73.9 bu. The 

 proportion of hull for all varieties averaged 24.5 per cent, or nearly 6 per cent 

 below the average for the continent. The average straw yield was 2.45 tons 

 per acre, and the weight ratio of grain to straw was 1 : 1.88. The total grow- 

 ing period was 127 days, with 74 days from planting to heading. The spread- 

 ing headed varieties yielded more heavily than those with a side or mane 

 head. Early planting at the rate of 3 bu. per acre gave the best returns. 



In a test of 33 barley varieties the two-rowed brewing variety New Zealand 

 and the hull-less Guy Mayle produced the highest yields, 3,705.2 and 3.582.2 lbs, 

 per acre, respectively. The average straw yield was 2.18 tons per acre, and 

 the weight ratio of grain to straw was 1 : 1.45. The hull-less varieties gave the 

 highest yields and the six-rowed varieties the lowest. The most profitable 

 yields followed seeding about the middle of April at the rate of 1^ bu. per acre. 



Tables state in full the data obtained in the tests. 



Top-dressing permanent mowings, W. P. Brooks (Massachusetts Sta. Bpt. 

 1910, pt. 2, pp. 10-17). — These pages report the results of 3 years' tests of a 

 mixture of slag meal with muriate of potash, low-grade sulphate of potash, 

 and high-grade sulphate of potash as top-dressings for permanent mowings. 

 Each of the 3 mixtures was tested both with and without nitrate of soda. 



In the section of the field devoted to the test of slag meal and muriate of 

 potash the average yield on the check plats during the 3 past years has been 

 1.419 lbs. per acre as compared with 3,133 lbs. where slag meal and muriate 

 of potash were applied. The application of 150 lbs. of nitrate of soda re- 

 sulted in gains ranging from 557 to 1,205 lbs. per acre as compared with aver- 

 age gains of 1,419 and 1.283 lbs. per acre, after applications of 200 and 250 lbs. 

 respectively of nitrate of soda. The second crop was lighter on the nitrate 

 of soda plats because of the difference in the relative abundance of clover. 



On the portion of the field devoted to a test of slag meal and a low grade of 

 sulphate of potash, an increase in proportion of white clover was noted. This 



