330 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



it comes during the summer. Farming is successfully carried on witli an annual 

 average rainfall of about 15 in. Clean summer fallowing and cropping the land 

 every alternate year, together with thorough tillage, are considered the basis of 

 successful dry farming in this section. The most important crops grown are 

 wheat and alfalfa, and thin seeding is found essential to the best results. Under 

 the best methods of tillage the laud apparently remains highly productive, even 

 where no other crop than wheat is grown. At present dry farming is used only 

 as a supplement to irrigation farming and its independent extension is con- 

 sidered as depending upon the development of underground water for domestic 

 use. 



Agronomy department, A. Atkinson {Montana Sta. Rpt. 1906, pp. lo8- 

 167). — The average results of a 2 years' test with 2.3 varieties of barley showed 

 that Guy Mayle, a dark kerneled hulless variety, gave the largest yield. New 

 Zealand, a 2-rowed high-grade brewing barley, stood second. The hulless 

 varieties produced the largest quantity of feed. The 2-rowed varieties gave much 

 larger yields than the G-rowed varieties, and in the G-rowed sorts large yields of 

 grain were associated with large yields of straw. The average results show a 

 yield of 1.26 lbs. of straw for each pound of grain in the 2-rowed varieties, 1..31 

 lbs. of straw to each pound of grain in the G-rowe<l varieties, and 1 lb. of straw 

 to each pound of grain in the hulless barley. Early maturing varieties gave in 

 general light yields. 



The average results of 2 years' test with 23 varieties of spring wheat are 

 reported. Glyndon G92, a red milling wheat, stood first with a yield of 57 bu. 

 per acre. This variety, together with Glyndon 650 and Glyndon 715, was origi- 

 nated by the Minnesota Experiment Station and all appear to be valuable for 

 Montana. Wild Goose, of Canadian origin, stood second with a yield of .55.7 bu. 

 and seems to be Avell adapted to both dry and irrigated lands. In yield of 

 grain the common milling wheats and the durum varieties were about equal, 

 while spelt and emmer, which are referred to as feeding wheats, gave much lower 

 yields. The common wheats produced the^ost straw and spelt and emmer the 

 least. The durum wheats were the quickest in ripening and gave the greatest 

 weight per bushel. 



Of 34 varieties of oats Progress, Swedish Select, and Siberian, as in earlier 

 experiments, were the highest yielders. The varieties tested had an average 

 of 24.75 per cent of hull, being over 5 per cent below the average of varieties 

 generally grown. Salzer Big 4 had as low as 20 per cent of hull, while Sparrow- 

 hill had 29.8 per cent. 



Seed of Reid Yellow Dent corn from northern Iowa was planted from May 12 

 to 16 on different farms in the Yellowstone and the Bitter Root valleys. Some 

 ears showed almost perfect maturity by October 10. Seed was selected for next 

 year's planting. It is believed that this variety can be perfectly acclimated in 

 from 3 to 5 years. 



Alfalfa was grown with and 'O'ithout a nurse crop. The first year oats used 

 as the nurse crop yielded 83 bu. per acre, but no hay was made on any of the 

 plats. The second season the yields of alfalfa hay were practically identical on 

 the different plats, so that up to this time the value derived from the nurse crop 

 is limited to the yield of oats secured the first year. 



Experiments with. Indian corn, forage crops, leguminous crops, J. H. 

 Shepperd and O. O. Churchill {Norfh Dakota Hta. Bui. 7'6, pp. 339-376). — 

 Over 120 varieties of corn have been under test. Of 22 varieties grown for 

 several years, N. K. & Co. fodder corn ranked first as to fodder with a yield 

 of 9,224 lbs. per acre, and Dutton first as to ears with a yield of 2,640 lbs. per 

 acre. The average yield of all the varieties was 5,431 lbs. of fodder and 2.069 

 lbs. of ears. The early varieties gave as large yields as the late ones, and the 



