342 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. [Vol. 38 



The highest average tonnage for six years has amounted to approximately 18 

 tons per acre for 18-in. rows. 



Although it has been demonstrated that commercial beet seed production is 

 possible and profitable in the State, it is not deemed feasible for the individual 

 farmer but should more properly be financed and operated by sugar beet seed 

 coiupanies. 



Velvet beans, J. R. Fain, S. H. Starr, and P. O. Vanatter {Ga. State Col. 

 Agr. Circ. ^S {1911), pp. Jf). — The production and use of velvet beans in Georgia 

 are briefly outlined. la a tabular comparison of the yields of 14 varieties 

 Medium Early showed the highest yield for 1916, 24.62 bu., with a yield of S.15 

 bu when sown with corn. Ninety-Day Bunch gave the highest yield when sown 

 with corn, 11. .55 bu. The latter variety required 135 days to mature, the former 

 170. 



Velvet beans in Mississippi, E. B. Ferris (Mississippi Sta. Bui. 179 (1911), 

 pp. 19, figs. 4). — Approved field practices and cultural methods for velvet bean 

 production in Mississippi are outlined and the value of the crop as a feed and 

 for soil improvement noted. It is concluded from " 15 years' experience on 

 the cut-over lands of south Mississippi . . that cattle and hogs with corn and 

 velvet beans will come nearer solving the problem of profitable agriculture for 

 the section as a whole than all other things combined." 



Growing' winter wheat on the Great Plains, E. C. Chilcott and J. S. Cole 

 (U. S. Dept. Agr., Fanners' Bui. 895 (1917), pp. i2).— The adaptation, relative 

 value, and cultural methods of winter wheat production are briefly reviewed 

 for Montana, North and South Dakota. Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, 

 Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. 



Limited rainfall is regarded as the controlling factor in crop production in 

 the Great Plains, the relation l)etween soil moisture at seeding time and yield 

 being much closer with winter wheat than with other crops. Well-prepared 

 land, summer tillage, and a sufficient moisture supply to a depth of 3 ft. are 

 deemed essential to a successful crop. 



In the northern section of the Great Plains winter wheat can be replaced 

 with spring wheat without serious loss. In the central section winter wheat 

 is deemed superior to spring wheat, and can not be replaced by the latter with- 

 out serious loss. In the southern section winter wheat is regarded as less cer- 

 tain and less productive than farther north, and can not be replaced by spring 

 wheat. 



Proportion of grain to sheaf as a factor in wheat selection, J. T. Pridham 

 (Agr. Gaz. N. S. Wales, 28 (1917), No. 2, pp. 91-94).— The proportion of grain 

 to sheaf was determined for 36 varieties of wheat at Cowra in 1914, and for 

 55 varieties in 1915, in an attempt to ascertain whether a high proportion of 

 grain to sheaf is generally associated with high grain yield per acre. The 

 results obtained indicated that a rather higher proportion of grain to sheaf 

 was present in the heavier-yielding varieties, but that the proportion varied 

 with the season. 



Plants of two strains, " A " and " B," of a hybrid Yandilla King X Zaff in 

 the sixth generation were harvested in 1914 to secure a wheat with a high 

 proportion of grain to sheaf. Strain A appeared to be constant, while Strain 

 B appeared to be mixed. In 1915 seed was sown from one plant " Q," repre- 

 senting the A strain, and from two plants " D " and " E,'' representing the B 

 strain. Q reproduced the uniform results of the parent, but D and E appeared 

 to include two strains, each one yielding a higher proportion of grain to sheaf 

 than the other. The few higest-yielding plants, however, had a medium to 

 low proportion of grain to straw, and it is concluded, therefore, to be unwise 

 to pursue selections for this quality except as of secondary importance to that 



