36 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Experiments ■witli grain and forage crops, R. A. Moore ( Wiscoyifiin Sta. Rpt. 

 1900, pp. 227-238, fifjii. 2) . — Experiments with grain consisted of tests for liardness and 

 productiveness of 35 varieties of oats, 15 of barley, 10 of spring wheat, 6 of peas, 2 of 

 speltz, and 1 of spring rye. The yields of straw and grain and other data connected 

 with the experiments are given in a table and discussed. 



The best varieties of oats were Swedish, Poland White, and Tobolsk, and of bar- 

 ley, the Oderbrucker and Mandshury varieties. The observations on varieties of bar- 

 ley listed as Mandshury, Manshury, and Mandschuri indicate that they are all the 

 same variety. Speltz stooled abundantly and grew rapidly. Sowing oats at the rate 

 of 2J to .S^ bu. per acre had no effect on the tendency to lodge, but sowing at the rate 

 of 1 bu. was very effective in preventing lodging. Treating seed oats with a solution 

 of 1 lb. of formalin to 50 gal. of water was found to be absolutely effective in this 

 experiment. A comparative test of Victoria and Dwarf Essex rape indicated that 

 Victoria rape is probably Dwarf Essex under a different name. A test was made of 

 sowing rape at the time of seeding and two weeks later. Where rape was sown with 

 oats on the same day the yield of oats was 50.3 bu. per acre, and where the rape was 

 sown 2 weeks later the yield was 60.3 bu. The same variety of oats without rape 

 yielded 64.5 l)u. per acre. A good yield of rape for fall fodder was obtained in both 

 instances. Clover was sown with oats as a nurse crop, with oats that were cut for 

 hay while green, and without a nurse crop. Clover sown with a nurse crop gave the 

 best result, and where the oats were cut for hay a much better stand of clovei was 

 obtained than where the oats were left to ripen. Black, yellow, and green soy beans 

 were grown experimentally. The black and green varieties matured seed, while the 

 seed of the yellow did not ripen. The green soy bean yielded 9.9 tons of green 

 forage per acre. 



Experiments with, corn, forage crops, and spring cereals, A. M. Soule, P. O. 

 Vanatter, and J. K. Fain {Tennrfsec Sta. Bui, Vol. XIV, No. 1, pp. SI, figs. 13).— 

 This bulletin reports the results of tests w'ith varieties of corn, sorghum, Kafir corn, 

 Durra, broom corn, eowpeas, millet, Canadian field peas, and spring varieties of 

 Avheat, oats, and barley. In connection with these trials tests were made of sowing 

 rape, oats, and barley at different dates, and of seed corn taken from different parts 

 of the ear. The draft these crops make on the soil and the root systems of corn, 

 sorghum, eowpeas, and soy beans were also studied. 



Of 31 varieties of corn, Florida gave the largest yield, 18 tons per acre. No. 3889, 

 Ellis, and Huffman all yielded over 14 tons. The best grain-producing varieties 

 were No. 3889, yielding 72.09 bu. per acre; Improved Golden Beauty, 68.07 bu. ; and 

 the Improved Leaming, 56.69 bu. The varieties giving the highest percentage of 

 grain in the whole crop were Three-eared with 20.48 per cent and New Klondike 

 with 17.72 per cent. New Klondike gave the smallest total yield and the Florida 

 and Huffman, two of the varieties giving tlie largest total yields, produced only 7.90 

 per cent and 5.64 per cent, respectively, of grain in the whole crop. Seed corn from 

 the North gave smaller total yields, but a higher percentage of grain than Southern 

 varieties. Several of the Northern varieties ripened in 97 days, while 119 days were 

 required to mature the best yielding Southern varieties. 



Among the different forage crops, teosinte gave the best yield of green crop, 26.25 

 tons per acre, followed by rape with 18.50 tons, corn and eowpeas together 17.70 tons, 

 corn alone 17.60 tons, and eowpeas alone with 14.10 tons per acre. There was no- 

 advantage in growing eowpeas together with rape, corn, or millet, the yields being 

 practically the same when the crops were grown alone. There was also the difiiculty 

 of obtaining crops maturing at the same time. The results showed that a succession 

 of forage crops may be had in that region from the middle of June until November. 

 The best yield of sorghum was 11.85 tons per acre, and of Kafir corn 8.01 tons. The 

 varieties of eowpeas giving the largest yields of peavine hay were Taylor, Wonderful, 

 Clay, Blackeye, and Whippoorwill, in the order given, the yields varying from 2.3 



