546 EXPEEIMENT STATION RECORD. 



aspect as well as with i-eference to breeding particular crops. A bil^Iiography 

 is presented. 



Report of school of agriculture farm, 1905, W. Cartwright ( Yearbook 

 Khcdiv. Agr. Soc. Cairo, li)U5, pp. 2Ji5-2r)Jf, chart 1). — In an outline of the gen- 

 eral work conducted at the farm during the year a fertilizer experiment with 

 corn is described. The crop was grown after barley and after berseem. Nitrate 

 of soda was applied at the rate of 104 kg. and ammonium sulphate at the rate of 

 80 kg. per feddan (1.08 acres). The quantities of nitrogen furnished by these 

 api)lications were equal to the amount applied in a 10-tou dressing of manure. 

 The gain from the use of nitrate and manure was insutticient to pay for the 

 expense incurred, but the ammonium sul]»hate gave a profit which is considered 

 due to its having been more fully utilized than the nitrate. The increase pro- 

 duced l)y the sulphate after berseem was far less than after barley, which is 

 taken to indicate that the optimum application on the berseem field had been 

 passed. 



Alfalfa as a forage crop for Pennsylvania, G. C. Watson {Pennsylvania 

 ^ta. Bui. 19, pp. 12). — General notes on the culture of alfalfa in Pennsylvania, 

 together with reports of experiments conducted on the station farm and in 

 Lancaster County of the State. 



It was found in these ex])eriments that alfalfa thrived in a compact, gravelly 

 soil of good drainage quite as well as in a loose loam. In fertilizer tests the 

 croj) made the best growth where a heavy application of phosphoric acid and 

 potash had been made. The use of 5 tons of barnyard manure per acre gave 

 better results than the phosphoric acid and potash contained in 500 lbs. of a 

 good brand of commercial fertilizer. Turkestan alfalfa did not give as good 

 results as common alfalfa. 



It was also found that fall-sown alfalfa on dry land withstands the severe 

 winters of this climate perfectly and better than the common red clover. In 

 several instances, however, the alfalfa withstood the first winter, but was 

 completely winter killed during the second. The larger growth seemed to give 

 no assurance of success on wet soil. It was observed that where the plants made 

 a strong and vigorous start the roots were provided with nodules, while where 

 plants were weak and slow in starting, only a few of the plants were so pro- 

 vided. Lime was in no case applied to advantage. 



The A B C of corn culture, P. G. IIoloen (Springfield, O.: Simmons Pub. 

 Co., 1006, pp. 92, flgs. 8'/). — This is a popular treatise on corn culture, discussing 

 briefly soil preparation, cultivation, preparation of seed corn, combating corn 

 pests, harvesting and storing seed, selection and judging of corn, and the im- 

 portance of the crop. Descriptions are also given of a number of standard 

 varieties. 



Score card for dent corn {Ohio Sta. Bui. 61, pp. -'/). — The score card pre- 

 sented has been adopted as the official score card of the Ohio Experiment 

 Station and the department of agronomy of the State University. The dilferenl 

 points are brietiy explained. 



Cotton, its production, consumption, and economic importance, R. Pupin 

 {Le Coton, sa Production, sa Consommation, son Role Economiquc. Paris: Felix- 

 Alcan, 1906, pp. 84). — The history of cotton is briefly reviewed, and its culture, 

 comrnerce, and consumption, together with its influence as an economic factor 

 discussed, and statistics bearing on different phases of production and trade 

 are presented. The processes of spinning cotton and manufacturing and dyeing 

 cotton fabrics are also described. 



The selection of cotton seed, G. P. Foaden {Yearbook Khedir. Agr. Soc. 

 Cairo, 1905, pp. 119-l-'fl, pi. 1. figs. 3). — The necessity for the selection of cotton 

 seed is discussed, the method used in Egypt described, and plans for a more 

 systematic selection outlined. 



