960 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



leafless medium, and Boston small pea. The j'ields of straw in some of the variety 

 tests were also reported. The results varied C( msiderably in different localities. In a 

 number of tests to determine the adaptation of the variety to the soil it was found 

 that in general the best yields were obtained on the lighter soils. From these 

 experiments it is concluded that there is a great difference in the productivity of the 

 different varieties on a given soil and that the results in a variety test may not be 

 applicable to other localities. 



Fertilizer experiments were made with different combinations of commercial fer- 

 tilizers and with barnyard manure. The results are reported, l)ut are considered as 

 not leading to satisfactory conclusions. Phosphoric acid in the form of South Caro- 

 lina rock is believed to be more likely to give profitable results than any other 

 application. 



The composition of cull beans as determined by the station chemist is compared 

 with the composition of oats, gluten feed, and corn, and the digestible nutrients in 

 bean straw are given with those of timothy hay, corn stover, and oat straw. 



Flax culture, R. Kuhnert {Der Flachsbau. Berlin: Deut. Landw. GeselL, 1903, 

 pp. VIII + £3). — This book is a brief popular account of the culture and preparation 

 of flax and the cost of its production. 



Corchorus, jute, or goeni, H. J. Wigman {Teysmannia, 12 {1902) , No. 12, pp.' 

 616-621). — The author calls attention to jute culture in Java and thinks the impor- 

 tance of the subject warrants him in reproducing portions of a paper by J. A. B. 

 Wiselius, published in a report of 'S Lands Plantentuin in 1886. Two species are 

 grown for flber, Corchorus capsularis and C olUorius, the latter yielding the better 

 product and being grown on low lands, while the former is better adapted to higher 

 situations. The best lands for jute culture are those that are never under water but 

 always moist, though much is grown on land covered with shallow water, or on land 

 on which periodic floods leave a layer of silt. 



The seeds germinate promptly and the plants are ripe in 4 months after the 

 seed is sown. If the crop is cut too early the flber is weak, while if the plants are 

 allowed to bloom the flber loses its gloss and becomes too stiff. The methods 

 employed to separate the flber from the rest of the plant are described. The culture 

 of jute is said to be profltable for the small planter who does much of the work him- 

 self, but when all of the work must be paid for there is little proflt. — h. m. pieters. 



Variety tests with oats, K. Hansen {Tidsskr. Lcmdbr. Planteaii, 9 (1902), pp. 

 203-261). — The best yielding and most satisfactory varieties of oats tested at the dif- 

 ferent Danish plant culture stations were the Grenaa or Hessel and the Island or 

 Forslev. The author believes these two kinds to be one and the same variety, since 

 they correspond closely in all essential characteristics and appear to have originated 

 in one locality, and he therefore proposes the name Danish oats for the same. On 

 good and medium soils these oats in nearly all trials yielded about 1 cwt. more grain 

 per tondeland (i.36 acres) than the Beseler and about 2 cwt. more than Ligowo. 

 On light, dry, sandy soils Grey oats gave practically the same results as the Danish 



oats. — F. W. WOLL. 



Potato culture, A. Agee {Pennsylvania Dept. Agr. Bui. 105, pp. 96). — This bulle- 

 tin is a popular treatise on potato culture, discussing at some length the •soil and its 

 preparation, the seed, planting, cultivation, harvesting, storing, insect enemies, 

 diseases, and the use of potatoes for food. 



Variety tests with potatoes, 1881-1898, A. J. Hansen {Tidsskr. Landbr. 

 Planteavl, 8 {1902), pp. 167-1S9). — Reports of 4 series of potato experiments con- 

 ducted at Danish experiment stations since 1881, with summaries. — f. w. woll. 



Spelt, emmer, and einkorn, P. Hauptfleisch {Landw. Vers. Stat., 58 {1903), 

 No. 1-2, pp. 64-136, figs. 29). — This article discusses the distribution and culture of 

 these cereals; describes the different varieties under each species; presents a study 

 of the anatomical structure of the kernels; gives the chemical composition of the 



