128 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



•' Luxuriance or vegetative activity is intimately associated with the amount of 

 nitrogen available and taken up. Further, chlorophyll formation to a great extent 

 follows nitrogen assimilation. But the results relating to the increased amount of 

 nonnitrogenous su1)stance yielded in the mixed herbage under the influence of the 

 various manures clearly indicate that the nitrogen l^eing taken up and the chloro- 

 phyll formed, the carbon assimilation and the carljohydrate formation depend 

 essentially on the amounts of jjotash available." 



Alfalfa; metliods of culture and yields per acre, K. B. Voorhees and C. B. 

 Lane {New Jersey Stas. Bid. 14S, 2>p- 3-15, j^ls. 4)- — This bulletin notes the growing 

 importance of alfalfa on American farms, indicates methods of culture, and points 

 out the usefulness and value of the plant. The yields from the different cuttings of 

 alfalfa grown at the station, the cost of its culture per acre, the chemical composition, 

 and the quantities of the various elements obtained per acre from the different cut- 

 tings are recorded in tabular form. The average production of green forage, dry 

 matter, and total protein per acre of alfalfa, compared with corn, red clover, crimson 

 clover, barnyard millet, cowpeas, and oats and peas, are also given. In 1899 and 

 1900 the yields of green forage were 20.21 and 26.60 tons per acre, respectively. The 

 first cutting, made the latter part of May, was large in each year. The average cost 

 for 3 years of growing alfalfa at the station was $29.20 an acre. On account of the 

 permanent character of the crop, the average cost per acre was reduced as the num- 

 ber of crops increased. The authors recommend leaving alfalfa in the swath after 

 cutting just long enough to become well wilted, and then to put it up into cocks to 

 continue the curing process. 



Bromus inermis, F. L. Watrous, H. H. Griffin, and J. E. Payne ( CoJorado 

 Sta. Bui. 61, pp. 10). — This bulletin contains directions for the culture of Broinvs 

 inervm, and records the cultural tests with this grass on the college grounds and at 

 the Arkansas ^'^alley and the Plains substations since 1892. In summarizing the 

 results the authors report that the growth of />. inrrmi.'i has been very unsatisfactory. 

 The greatest difficulty was experienced in obtaining a stand. The al)sence of rain 

 after seeding, or even after the young plants had continued to grow, was sure cause 

 of failure. It is believed that under more favorable moisture conditions the grass 

 might succeed. On subirrigated land it made a growth of from 1 to 2 ft. high, Init 

 where flooded it became sod bound and made almost no growth. 



Culture tests of cereals, Edler {Jahrh. Dcid. Lcmdv. Gesell., ].'> {IHOO), pp. i'Jl- 

 225). — A brief discussion on culture tests with grains. 



Corn culture, J. F. Dugc^ar {Alabama College Sta. Bid. Ill, jtp. 95-154, Jig. 1) ■ — 

 This bulletin is a record of the results of experiments in corn culture, comprising 

 variety, fertilizer, seed, and culture tests. Similar work has been previously reported 

 (E. S. R., 9, p. 828). The results obtained during several seasons are discussed and 

 presented in tables. Of 36 varieties of corn tested from 1 to 5 years, no single variety 

 stood at the head in productiveness for more than one year. Mosby gave the highest 

 average yield of varieties grown 5 years; Shaw, of those grown 4 years; Cocke of 

 varieties tested 3 years, and Renfre and Higgins head the list in the 2-year tests. 

 Mexican June corn made a heavy growth of stalks and leaves, but gave an unsatis- 

 factory yield of grain. Seed corn from Virginia seemed to be more jiroductive than 

 seed from Illinois, Delaware, (Jeorgia, and Alabama. As in previous experiments, 

 the difference in the yields obtained from i)lanting middle, butt, and tip kernels 

 were too slight to indicate any real superiority of seed from any particular jiortion of 

 the ear. Owing to a wet season, corn planted in the water furrow of bedded plats 

 gave small yields, and the method is considered practicable only in well drained, 

 light soils. This season corn planted May 1, in ordinary upland soil, yielded nearly 

 30 bu. per acre, while a number of varieties jilanted July 13, on good soil, proved 

 complete failures. In a comparison of medium and thick planting of corn, Goklen 



