770 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



In another experiment the cropping rapacity of a number of varieties was com- 

 pared. Among 12 varieties of swedes Webb Imperial and Sutton Magnum Bonum 

 stood first, with yields of 20 tons 1} cwt. and 20. tons 50 lbs., respectively, and among 

 4 varieties of yellow turnips Challenger and Sittyton Purple Top, with 24 tons 2f 

 cwt., and 23 tons 2J cwt., respectively. The 12 varieties of swedes contained on an 

 average 10.94 per cent of dry matter and 7.44 per cent of sugar. The results of 

 chemical and physical analyses of the soils are shown in a table. 



Wheat raising on the plains, J. E. Payne (Colorado Sta. Bui. 89, pp. 25-30). — 

 The history and development of wheat culture in eastern Colorado are reviewed and 

 the methods of soil preparation and seeding are described. Notes are also given on 

 the use of the straw and the magnitude of the wheat-growing industry on the plains. 



Analysis of wheat grown under irrigation, F. W. Traphagen (Montana Sla. 

 Rpt. 1903, pp. 35-37). — Analyses of wheat were made to determine the influence of 

 irrigation upon the composition. The results indicate that under ordinarily care- 

 ful irrigation the protein content is not appreciably reduced, and that under careful 

 irrigation it may be actually increased. The data are given in tabular form. In 

 addition, analyses of barley, clover, alfalfa, Canada field pea, and flour are also 

 reported. 



Studies on the development of the wheat and rye plant, B. ScnuLZE (Landw. 

 Jahrb., 33 (1904), No. 3, pp. 405-441). — After 6 months of winter growth rye plants 

 weighed over 12 times as much as they did at the beginning of the period in N< >vember. 

 The dry matter during this period increased slightly more than the Mater content. 



Among the substances elaborated during the winter the nitrogen-free substances 

 ranked first. The percentage of these substances in the dry matter of the plant was 

 considerably higher in the spring than in the fall. The increase in mineral con- 

 stituents during this time remained nearly parallel with the increase in dry matter. 

 Nitrogen assimilation was carried on at a lower rate, so that the percentage of nitrogen 

 in the dry matter w r as lower in the spring than in the fall. 



The relation of proteid and amid sul (stances in the fall and the spring was about 

 the same. Practically the whole supply of amids in the roots passed into the upper 

 part of the plant during the winter. The elaboration of material within the plant 

 was most active during the interval from heading to blossoming. Under the present 

 conditions this interval consisted of 28 days, during which more than 60 per cent of 

 the dry matter present at blossoming had been elaborated. Apparently no assimila- 

 tion of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash, and sulphur took place after the heading of 

 the plants. In the newly elaborated material for this period the carbohydrates again 

 ranked first. 



Of the total increase in dry matter, amounting to about 157 gm. for 100 plants, 

 approximately 130 gm. or 83 per cent consisted of nitrogen-free extract and crude 

 fiber. The supply of amid substances and fat was greatest at the time of heading. 

 The proteids increased rapidly during this period and considerable quantities of ash 

 constituents were also taken up. The moisture content reached its height when the 

 plants were heading. 



From heading until blossoming the 100 plants showed a gain of 63 gm. in dry matter, 

 consisting practically all of nitrogen-free substance, including crude fiber. Some 

 proteid substance was built up from amids, and a small quantity of lime and mag- 

 nesia was also taken up. The assimilation of carbon and the translocation of sub- 

 stances to the growing parts are considered the principal activities of the plant 

 organism during this period. It is believed that after blossoming the rye plant is 

 not at any time very active in withdrawing plant food from the soil. The translocation 

 of substance consisted in the movement of amids and mineral substances from the 

 roots to the parts above ground, the amids being there largely replaced by proteid 

 substances. The readily soluble alkali sulphates and phosphates moved fastest, as 

 the comparatively heavy content of these substances in the developing heads of rye 

 would go to show. 



