FIELD CROPS. 341 



considere<l equal to the Dewey Xavy ou uceonnt of l)eing dwarf ami light-yielding 

 varieties. 



Experiments in corn culture, J. t^. Xkwman {South CaroUmi. Sta. Bui. 61, pp. 12, 

 pis. 3) . — In this bulletin the reports of experiments on corn culture are prefaced 

 with a brief consideration of the preparation of the soil and the cultivation of the 

 crop. The experiments were conducted on river bottom land and embrac-ed methods 

 of planting and cultivation and fertilizer and variety tests. The effects of different 

 methods of planting and cultivating were not pronounced. The best results in the 

 distance experiments were obtained from plats on which the stalks had each from 4 

 to 6 sq. ft. of space. In connection with these tests it was observed that planting 

 peas in drills between the rows of corn increased the yield, and that where the peas 

 were sown Itroadcast the increase in the yield of corn was still greater. The use of 

 commercial fertilizers did not increase tlie yield sufficiently to cover the cost of the 

 application. Albemarle Prolific gave the best yield of the 7 varieties tested, but it 

 showed the smallest percentage of shelled corn on the weight in the ear. 



The culture of maize, C. Gixek {Bol. Agr. Min. e. Ind. [^Mexico], 10 {1900) , o. 

 2, pp. 61-93). — An article treating in general and at some length of the culture of 

 corn and discussing the effect of climate and cultivation on the growth, composition, 

 and value of the plant. 



Studies upon flax in 1900, H. L. Bolley {North Dakota Sta. Rpt. 1900, pp. 43- 

 45). — A study of the uneven ripening of flax was made by sowing seed on different 

 dates at varying depths. Seed from several supposed farieties and several different 

 grades of one variety were used. The conclusion drawn from the results is that an 

 equally maturing crop of flax can be grown from good uniform seed sown at a uniform 

 depth on land of even quality. The date of sowing was not found to be an influen- 

 tial factor. In studying the effect of frost on young plants it was determined that 

 plants killed back to below the 2 seed leaves will not put forth new sprouts, while 

 plants with the seed leaves tininjured branch freely. Germination tests of flax 

 injured liy frost before it had matured showed that it had a very low germinating 

 quality. 



The removal of the hop vines immediately after the hops had been har- 

 vested ( U'i'irteiiiberg WchnU. Laitdu:, 1901, Xo. 4, pp. 42, 43). — A brief note dis- 

 cussing the advantages and disadvantages of this method. 



Culture tests with horse beans on different soils under the same climatic 

 conditions, J. Seissl and E. Gross {Ztschr. Landw. Versuchw. Ocsterr., 3 {1900), No. 

 2, 2)p- 153-164, Jig. 1). — In these experiments the horse beans ( Viciafaba major) were 

 grown in pots of various kinds of soil from different sections of the country. The 

 amount of plant food withdrawn from the different soils by the plants Avas calculated. 

 Although no definite conclusions are drawn, the author calls attention to the rela- 

 tion existing l)etween the yield, the assimilation of jihosphoric acid by the jilants, 

 and the proportion of phosphoric acid to the ses(juioxids of iron and annnonium in 

 the soil, a factor acting on the solubility of the phosphoric acid. 



Results with variety tests of lupines, Edlek {Jahrb. Deut. Landu. Gesdl., 15 

 {1900), pp. 546-560). — Cooperative tests with different species and varieties of lupines, 

 begun in 1897, are here described and the results obtained recorded. The results show 

 that varieties of blue lupines yielded nuich more seed but less straw than varieties of 

 the yellow lupine. Only on poor, dry, sandy soils did the yellow lujiines produce 

 more seed than the 1)lue. The yields of seed of the yellow lupine and the black 

 lupine {Lupiiius lutf'u.<< and L. luteus si'iui)u' uigro) were equal. The yellow lupine 

 developed slower than the blue, requiring from 2 to 3 days more to come up, a week 

 longer to come into bloom, and about 10 days more to ripen. The yellow luj)ine is 

 much more sensitive to the lime content of the soil than the blue lupine, and its 

 seed also has a much higher alkaloid content. The albumen content of the seeds of 

 yellow lupines was much greater than that of Vjlue lupines, 

 luioy— ^^o. 4 4 



