FIELD CROPS. 



343 



The clovers wintered well, but the freezing and thawing in the 

 spring killed nearly all of the crimson clover. It had proved valuable 

 for late fall pasture and as a cover crop. 



Some remarks are made on Hungarian grass, millet, sorghum, teo- 

 sinte, and sachaline. 



Fertilizer analyses of castor-bean plant, G. L. Holter and 

 J. Fields (Oklahoma Sta. Bui. 25, pp. 7, 8). — The authors report analy- 

 ses with reference to the fertilizer constituents of the different parts of 

 the castor bean, as follows: 



Fertilizer analyses of castor bean. 



Water. 



Leaves, small brandies, and fruit 



June 19 



July 6 



July 31 



September 29 



Average , 



Stalks and roots: 



June 19 



July 6 



July 31 



September 29 



Average 



Beans 



Pods and pod stems 



Per cent. 

 81. 05 

 81.32 

 80.46 

 80.56 

 80.85 



85.10 

 83. 93 

 80.02 

 78.09 

 81.78 

 4.40 

 8.24 



In dry substance. 



Nitrogen. Pho °P horic Potash 



Percent. 

 4. 17 

 3.88 

 3.60 

 3.20 

 3.71 



1.28 

 1.04 

 .70 

 .93 

 .99 

 3.62 

 2.54 



Per cent. 



1.14 



1.01 



.78 



.65 



Percent. 

 4.21 

 3.94 

 3.39 

 2.67 

 3.55 



Potato culture, I. P. Roberts and L. A. Clinton {New York Cor- 

 nell Sta. Bui. 130, pp. 151-163). — Culture experiments were made in 1895 

 and 1896 to ascertain the possibilities of rendering available the ferti- 

 lizing materials of the soil and to note the effects of tillage on the crop. 

 Cultivation was continued until there was danger of injuring the plants. 

 The plats were one-twentieth of an acre in size and had all been sub- 

 ject to the same cultivation and rotation. In 1895 the same thorough 

 cultivation was given all plats until the plants showed themselves 

 above ground, after which some plats received 13 cultivations and the 

 remainder 9 cultivations. The average yield for 13 cultivations was 

 337.5 bu. and for 9 cultivations 307.5 bu. per acre. In 1896 the experi- 

 ment was continued on a larger scale, and 3, 6, 7, and 11 cultivations 

 were given to various groups of plats. The plats receiving 7 cultiva- 

 tions produced the largest average yield — 343.1 bu. per acre. Com- 

 mercial fertilizers gave no beneficial results on account of a lack of 

 moisture. It is shown that with a soil containing little more than 

 half the amount of potential plant food ordinarily contained in soil a 

 yield was secured from 3 to 1 times the average yield of the State. 

 Analyses showed that 4,008.8 lbs. of phosphoric acid and 11,329.8 lbs. 

 of potash were locked up in the gravel of a surface foot of 1 acre of 

 laud. The authors consider that the mineral elements were made more 

 available by frequent tillage. 



The conservation of moisture is discussed. The plants were kept in 

 a healthy condition by spraying. The authors conclude that sufficient 



