136 EXPERIMENT STATION EECORD. 



Brassica oJeracea, which are rich in fat, and of Medicago .^ativa, poor in fat, 

 were preserved in the presence of burnt lime and of concentrated sulphuric acid 

 or calcium chlorid. 



The results of the experiment were as follows: Original germination of the 

 Brassica seed 98 ; germination 4 years later, when preserved with burnt lime 

 88; 11 years with sulphuric acid 10.5, and with calcium chlorid 54.8 per 

 cent ; water content (> per cent. With M. sativa, not counting the " hard " 

 seed, the following results were obtained : Original germination 88.8 ; germina- 

 tion with 11 years' preservation with sulphuric acid 79.5. and with chlorid of 

 calcium 85. In the case of M. satira complete drying of the seed with the 

 suli)huric acid had practically no effect on germination, but rather helped to 

 preserve the seed. 



With the oily Brassica seeds the results were less favorable, the medium 

 drying in the presence of lime for 4 years giving much better results than com- 

 plete drying with sulphuric acid. The point is made that the ability of seeds 

 to germinate does not necessarily continually decrease with age, but that this 

 is dependent in considerable measure upon the dryness at which they are pre- 

 served. 



Experiments in the manuring of a meadow, J. H. Stewart and H. Atwood 

 (West ]'irgiiiia Htu. Bid. 101, pp. 251-262, pis. 2). — For 6 years an unfertile 

 upland meadow was treated with barnyard manure and commercial fertilizers, 

 and the yields of hay per acre were increased from a little more than li tons to 

 over 5^ tons. 



It was found that both systems of manuring were highly profitable. The 

 barnyard manure, when applied in the fall and thoroughly harrowed in the 

 spring, became so disintegrated and incorporated with the soil that it was not 

 raked up with the hay in harvesting. The use of barnyard manure at $1 per 

 load, when spread upon the meadow, was found to be more profitable than the 

 use of commercial fei-tilizers, and the annually repeated top-dressing of barn- 

 yard manure also left the soil in better condition than the other treatment. 



Fertilizer experiments on meadows, A. Grete {La>i(ln\ Jalirh. >Schiceiz, 20 

 (1906), Xo. .'f, pp. 2-')9-286). — Fertilizer tests were conducted for several years 

 in poor, sandy soil. It was found that with a production of 3,000 kg. of dry 

 matter per hectare a lack of phosphoric acid in the soil became manifest. The 

 insufiiciency of potash supply in the soil was also shown when the maximum of 

 production, without the use of potash in the fertilizer, was reached. The third 

 year of the experiment the application of potash was capable of producing in 

 the yield more than .3,000 kg. of dry matter per hectare. The use of nitrogen 

 on these meadows was not profitable. 



The quality of the grass was improved through the use of potash and phos- 

 phoric acid and reduced when nitrogen was given. The plat receiving potash 

 and phosphoric acid produced in each of the three years the highest quantity of 

 protein. It was observed that Gl per cent of the phosphoric acid and 100 per 

 cent of the potash applied was recovered in the crop. In addition to the potash 

 recovered 1.8 per cent was taken from the soil. 



Alfalfa, F. C. Burtis and L. A. Moorhouse (Oklahoma Sta. Bui. 11, pp. 12). — 

 In connection with the general directions for alfalfa culture in Oklahoma, fall 

 seeding is recommended, particularly for the less adapted soils. At the station, 

 on a clay loam underlaid by a very stiff, impervious subsoil, an average of 2.32 

 tons of alfalfa hay per acre were secured during 4 years, the yields increasing 

 from 1.70 tons in 1902 to 3.13 in 1905. On another Series of plats, on the same 

 kind of soil, 3.08 tons of hay were secured on an average for 3 years, while a 

 field of about 5 acres gave an average per acre for 4 years of 2.G9 tons, the maxi- 

 mum yield in any one year from 5 cuttings being 4.20 tons. 



