FIELD CROPS. 965 



The work in rye breeding has shown that Petkus rye tends more toward the pro- 

 duction of green-grained than yellow-grained strains. The plants with green-colored 

 stems produced the longest and softest straw, being followed in these respects by the 

 plants with bluish stems which, however, produced a more compact form of culm 

 and head. The most perfectly formed plants were those producing bluish kernels. 

 The straw in the yellow and brown-grained forms was shorter than in the strains 

 just mentioned, while in the greenish and short-grained form it was shortest. The 

 transmission of color was most intensive in the blue strains while the yellow forms 

 transmitted their color characteristic more slowly but quite definitely, and the green 

 forms more or less irregularly. 



A cross between wheat and ^Egilops orata is reported as having been obtained. 

 Breeding experiments with wheat and barley are in progress and the variations 

 observed in the plants produced are discussed. Observations on the prolificacy of 

 rye plants were made and the number of heads, blossoms, and kernels produced in 

 8 different tests is recorded. 



The results of field experiments indicated that rye is a surer crop than wheat, and 

 that among spring wdieat varieties Green Mountain and Strube Bearded gave most 

 promise of being successful, although not always the best yielders at the station. 

 Noe and Red Schlanstedt wheat and Goldthorpe barley proved sensitive to drought. 

 Hanna barley seemed most drought resistant. Liineburger Kley and Beseler II oats 

 and Strube Early Victoria peas are recommended. The squarehead forms of winter 

 wheat sometimes winterkill. The best varieties of potatoes were Magnum Bonum, 

 Kaiserkrone, Frauenlob, Saxonia, Early Zwickau, Paris Sugar, Up-to-Date, Fi'irst- 

 enpreis, and Muhlhaus. 



Alfalfa growing, A. S. Hitchcock ( U. *S'. Dept. Agr., Farmers' Bui. 215, pp. 39, 

 figs. 8). — This bulletin gives the history, description, and distribution of alfalfa; dis- 

 cusses its requirements of soil and climate and its cultivation, and presents directions 

 for its use in crop rotations and as a seed, hay, pasture, silage, and soiling crop. 

 Notes are also given on the feeding value and the enemies of the plant. "Special 

 effort has been made to secure data applicable to the Eastern and Southern States, 

 where experience with the crop is most limited." 



Alfalfa culture in humid lands, J. E. Wing {Pennsylvania Dept. Agr. Bui. 129, 

 pp. 64, figs, 3).— This bulletin treats of the history, habit of growth, and uses of 

 alfalfa, and gives directions for the culture of the crop in a humid climate such as 

 prevails in the Eastern States. Among the more important topics discussed are 

 inoculation of the soil, care and treatment of alfalfa meadows, making alfalfa hay, 

 enemies of the crop, feeding value, and plowing up alfalfa sod. 



In the directions for securing a good stand special stress is laid upon the preparation 

 of the soil, the kind of seed, and the manner of sowing. The necessary porous con- 

 dition of the soil may be obtained by tile draining and the use of heavy applications 

 of bulky manure. After the land has been heavily manured it should be plowed 

 deeper than usual and planted to a hoed crop in order to free it from weeds. After 

 the crops are harvested a winter cover crop of rye or hairy vetch may be sown. The 

 following spring the land should be plowed about 2 in. deeper than ever before. 

 The soil is then mellowed as for corn. 



Northwestern-grown seed sown at the rate of 7 to 12 lbs. per acre, and the use of 

 a nurse crop for spring sowing are recommended for Pennsylvania. In this connec- 

 tion the author advises the use of oats drilled at the rate of 3 pk. per acre, or beard- 

 less barley at the rate of 4 to 5 pk. per acre. 



The influence of barley and beets on the humidity of the soil and on a suc- 

 ceeding alfalfa crop, S. Tretyakov (Khutoryanin, 1903, No. 46; abs. in Zhur. 

 Opuitn. Agron. \_Russ. Jour. Expt. Landw.'], 5 {1904), No. 4, pp. 541-543).— The 

 results given in the following table were obtained on the Poltava Experiment Field 

 in experiments with fodder beets, barley, and alfalfa, conducted from 1888 to 1900, 

 inclusive. 



