FIELD CROPS. 



959 



Analyses of the. dry matter of the leaves and stems of alfalfa at different stages of growth. 



Time of cutting samples. 



June 

 3. 



June 



7. 



June 

 11. 



June 

 16. 



June 

 21. 



June 

 25. 



June 

 30. 



Leaves: 



Dry matter 



Total nitrogen 



Proteid nitrogen 



Per cent proteid to total nitrogen 



Crude protein (total nitrogen x 6.25) . . . 



Ether extract 



Fiber 



Ash 



Stems: 



Dry matter 



Total nitrogen 



Proteid nitrogen 



Per cent proteid to total nitrogen 



Crude protein (total nitrogen > 6.25) ... 



Ether extract 



Fiber .' 



Ash 



Per et. 

 21. 90 



4.36 



3.69 

 84.69 

 27.25 



2.56 

 12. 76 



7.83 



1.95 



1.32 

 67.77 

 12.18 



1.19 

 50.76 



6.79 



Per ct. 

 30.84 



3.66 



3.02 

 82.74 

 22. 87 



4.48 

 13.04 



6.54 



25.84 

 1.76 

 1.23 



69. 77 



11.00 

 .78 



48.13 

 5.56 



Per ct. 

 28.36 



3.73 



3.33 

 89.20 

 23.31 



4.48 

 17.80 



7.31 



23.66 

 1.88 

 1.46 



77.43 



11.75 

 1.66 



46.69 

 5.62 



Per ct. 

 32.44 



3.12 



2.51 

 80.66 

 19.50 



3.80 

 13.37 



7.76 



30.21 

 1.59 

 1.24 



78.00 

 9.94 

 1.95 



48.21 

 6.36 



Per ct. 



34.18 



2.74 



2.17 



78.95 

 17.12 



6.12 

 17.89 



8. 35 



32. 63 

 1.05 

 1.35 



81.96 



10.31 

 2.53 



48.16 

 6.00 



Per ct. 

 32. 70 



2.74 



2.18 

 79.44 

 17.12 



5.45 

 18.89 



7.66 



32. 84 

 1.60 

 1.40 



88.47 

 10.00 



2.48 

 48.12 



4.98 



Per ct. 

 59.10 



2.77 



2.17 

 78.25 

 17.31 



4.56 

 20. 05 



8.62 



58.90 

 1.46 

 1.28 



87.60 

 9.13 

 3.19 



55. 15 

 4.61 



About June 11, after the plants had begun to blossom, part of the leaves began to 

 turn yellow and to fall, hence the largest proportion of leaves to stems existed just 

 before the blossoming period. The leaves of the sample taken when the blossoms 

 appeared contained 23.06 per cent of crude protein. On June 3 the leaves contained 

 63 per cent of the nitrogen in the part of the plant above ground, but by June 11 

 this percentage had fallen to 57. The dry matter increased quite regularly in both 

 leaf and stem as the season progressed. In the leaf both total and proteid 

 nitrogen decreased as the plant ripened, the proteid nitrogen decreasing more 

 rapidly. The ether extract increased in both leaves and stems, but rather irregu- 

 larly in the leaves, while the fiber increased in the leaves, but remained almost 

 the same in the stems. The percentage of ash or mineral matter decreased in the 

 stems, but remained almost stationary in the leaves. The results of the ash analyses 

 of leaves and stems procured at different dates are given in tables. From these 

 analyses it is shown that an average yield per acre of 8,000 lbs. of cured hay, which 

 will contain about 6,880 lbs. of dry matter, removes from the soil 206 lbs. of potash, 

 58 pounds of phosphoric acid, 89 lbs. of lime, and 22 lbs. of magnesia. The ash of 

 alfalfa seed contained 32.77 per cent potash and 44.29 per cent phosphate. The 

 compositinn of the dry matter of the roots, blossoms, young plants, the first and 

 second crops, and the seed is reported. 



Variety tests with barley, C. Sonne {Tidsskr. Landbr. Planteati, 8 {190^), pp. 

 47-60; 9 {1902), pp. 99-114). — The work here reported is conducted by the Royal 

 Agricultural Society of Denmark on 5 different farms and has been in progress for 

 5 years. The average yield per acre for this period for the different varieties was as 

 follows: Prentice 2,380 lbs.. Chevalier 2,210 lbs., Goldthorpe 2,030 lbs., Erh. Fre- 

 deriksen Hybrid 1,977 lbs., and Imperial 1,671 lbs. According to a scale of 20 points 

 for perfection these varieties scored 14.4, 15.5, 17.9, 15.0, and 16.1 points, respectively. 

 The results were not materially changed when the data for the season of 1901 were 

 also included in the summaries. — f. w. woll. 



Commercial bean growing in New York, J. L. Stone {Neic York Cornell Sta. 

 Bui. 210, pp. 231-254).— This bulletin includes an historical account of bean culture; 

 statistics of bean production taken from the Twelfth Census; complete directions for 

 growing the crop, and a report on variety, fertilizer, and soil tests conducted by the 

 station, The diseases and insect enemies of the bean plant are briefly noted. 



Cooperative variety tests were conducted for 3 years. Taking the average results 

 into account, the most productive varieties were Blue-pod medium, Marrow pea. Day 



