FIELD CROPS. 255 



Cooperative BUgar beet culture tests were made on 156 fields, which gave an aver- 

 age yield of 14J tons, with about 15 per cent of sugar and a purity of over 81. 



The average yields per acre of 14 fields of different forage crops were as follows: 

 Maize 12.83, Amber cane 14.64, Kafir corn 9.67, and Egyptian corn 7.83 tons. In a 

 second test Amber cane, Kafir corn, Egyptian corn, and Planter's Friend yielded 

 from two cuttings 29.30, 28.17, 23.10, and 38.47 tons per acre, as compared with 23.57 

 tons of maize from one cutting. 



Rotation experiments ( .1////. Rpt. West Alabama Agr. Expt. Sta. 1903, pp. 1-7). — 

 On a series of plats corn and cotton were grown continuously or in rotation with 

 peas and oats. The plats under rotation showed a small increase each year over the 

 other plats. Among 8 varieties of cotton tested Russell Big Boll gave the largest 

 yield, 1,040 lbs. per acre. In a fertilizer test with cotton the plat receiving cotton- 

 seed meal and acid phosphate at the rates of 200 and 240 lbs. per acre, respectively, 

 gave the best returns. 



Plant breeding experiments, Steglich (Brr. Tilt. Landw. AM., K. Vers. Stat. 

 Pflanzenkutt. Dresden, 1903, pp. 5-9).— The results with continued inbreeding of rye 

 since 1895 show that the type of head remained constant. Length of stem was also 

 a character transmitted to the progeny, and the short and long stemmed strains 

 were clearly differentiated in the length and compactness of the heads. The short- 

 stemmed strains have the shorter and more compact heads. 



The results of crossing experiments indicated that the mother plant exerts the 

 greatest influence on the form of the grain and the male parent on its color. Leu- 

 towitz mangel proved much more prepotent than Ovoide des Barres. Characters 

 with reference to the foliage seemed to be independent of the form of the root. 

 Crossing these two types brought forth latent characters of the Leutowitz mangel. 



Crossing of cultivated plants, T. Jamieson ( Agr. Research Assn. Scotland Rpt. 

 1903, pp. 30-32, pi. 1). — Two-rowed and 6-rowed barley were sown in alternate rows 

 for the purpose of confirming the principle of self-crossing. Nine intermediate forms 

 are reported to have been obtained, and although the author does not believe the 

 evidence to show that the crossing was general, the intermediate forms are consid- 

 ered as confirming evidence that cereals cross by merely growing side by side. Notes 

 are also given on work with grasses and clovers. 



The prospects of cassava starch, H. H. Cousins (Bid. Bcj>t. Agr. Jamaica, 2 

 (1904), Ab. 3, pp. 49-51). — A brief account of tests on cassava growing, together with 

 analyses of cassava products. 



Corn growing, C. P. Hartley ( U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers' Bui. 199, pp. 32, figs. 

 23). — This bulletin points out the possibilities of increasing the yield of corn and dis- 

 cusses the different means by which this may be accomplished. In thisj:-onnection 

 attention is given to improvement in quality of seed, condition of soil, and methods 

 of cultivation. The treatment of corn lands and the culture of the crop is considered 

 in detail. 



The preservation of corn, Loir (Agr. Prat. Pays Cliauds, 4 {1904), No. 19, pp. 

 65-79, figs. 4).— This article discusses the preservation of cereal grains in granaries 

 and silos, by means of chemical reagents, and by treatment with sulphurous acid 

 fumes according to the Clayton process. 



Field experiments with flax in 1903, Kuhnert (Mitt. Bent. Landw. Gesell, 19 

 (1904), Xo. 14, pp. 97-100).— These experiments were conducted by the German 

 Agricultural Society for the purpose of determining the influence on the quantity 

 and quality of flax" fiber when either phosphoric acid or potash is used alone and 

 ascertaining the losses of fiber which result when the flax is pulled in the ordinary 

 way and when it is cut. Three cooperative tests are compared. Each test com- 

 prised 4 plats of 10 ares each. 



The first plat received no fertilizer, the second received either 45 kg. or 50 kg. of 

 Thomas slag, the third received 30 kg. of 40 per cent potash salt or 90 kg. of kamit, 



