Field crops. 747 



amount and distribution of rainfall during this season was such as to 

 give nearly the maxiniuin yield of barley; so that there was little dif- 

 ference between the yields on the irrigated and unirrigated plats. The 

 clover following the barley, however, was decidedly benefited by irri- 

 gation. This crop received 3 additional irrigations (July 23, August 

 20, and September 8), amounting in the aggregate to 12.84 in. 



The result of these 3 irrigations was a second crop of barley and clover mixed, 

 which was cut and put into the silo September 22, weighing 6,552 lbs., from 25,330 

 sq. ft., or 1.36 tons of hay per acre, containing 15 per cent of water. With the rain- 

 fall of this year this crop would have been nothing, and there would have been a 

 much poorer stand of clover. 



Clover. — The rainfall during the season of growth of the clover was 

 9.44 in. This was supplemented by 5.85 in. of irrigation water, divided 

 between May 18, June 1, July 7, and July 22, making the total amount 

 of water which the clover crop received 15.29 in. The total yield of 

 hay in 1897 was 4.43 tons, the second crop being 1.8 tons. "It is safe 

 to say that with plenty of water, either as rain or irrigation, both the 

 first and second crops of hay may easily be made double what is 

 usually realized." 



Potatoes. — In these experiments Rural New Yorker potatoes were 

 planted in rows 30 in. apart, with hills 15 in. apart, and Burbauk pota- 

 toes were planted 30 in. apart both ways. Alternate groups of 6 rows 

 were irrigated in each case, the Eural New Yorkers receiving 8.25 in. 

 of water July 20, 21, August 19, and September 8; the Burbanks 6.79 

 in. on the same dates, making; with the rainfall of 11.49 in., 19.74 and 

 18.28 in. respectively of total water. The gain due to irrigation was 

 12G.2 bu. per acre in case of the Rural New Yorker and 117.1 bu. in the 

 case of the Burbanks. The results also show that water applied to 

 one side of the row (half irrigation) "does not produce the maximum 

 results, the mean loss by half irrigation being for the 2 years and 4 

 sets of trials 70.3 bu. of merchantable potatoes per acre, while the 

 mean gain for full irrigation over no irrigation was 105.8 bu. per acre. 

 " In the case of the rows of potatoes next to the half irrigated ones the 

 mean yield was increased by the watering 7.9 bu. per acre. It is plain, 

 therefore, from these two years' work that plenty of water at the right 

 time is indispensable to the largest yields of potatoes." 



It was observed that tip burn did less injury on the irrigated plats 

 than on those which were not irrigated. 



Com. — Plats which have not been fertilized since 1894 have been 

 planted continuously from 1894 to 1897, one-half in flint corn, the other 

 half in dent corn. The rainfall, which ranged from 4.48 in. in 1895 to 

 15.02 in. in 1896, was supplemented by irrigation water amounting to 

 from 5.7 in. in 1897 to 26.6 in. in 1895. The yield was invariably 

 increased by the supplemental irrigation, showing that in none of these 

 years were the amount and distribution of rainfall such as to produce 

 the maximum yield of corn. In these experiments the effect of the rate 



