FIELD CROPS, 841 



were grown on these different plats for the purpose of determining the benefits to 

 the soil resulting from these methods. The plats grazed by the steers produced 

 626.5 lbs. more seed cotton, 14 bu. more corn, and 1,188 lbs. more oat hay per acre 

 than the rest of the plats. "The profit from the grazing paid the cost of the cowpea 

 seed and of jtlanting them, also the cost of the cotton seetl, and a good i)rofit besides. 

 The manure from the cotton seed and cowpeas was therefore furnished free to the 

 soil." In another test cotton grown 2 years in succession after peanuts, chufas, and 

 soy beans grazed by pigs was compared with cotton following a corn crop which was 

 cut and the stover removed. The yields in both years weie in favor of the i>lats 

 which had been grazed. 



A comparative test of corn, cowpeas, and Spanish peanuts resulted in yields oi 

 1,86.'>, 8,040, and 4,460 lbs., respectively, of thoroughly dry fodder per acre. The 

 value of these different crops for forage and soil improvement is discussed. 



The relative merits for forage purposes of crops with different drought-resisting 

 qualities were studied. Sorghum, Kafir corn, and Indian corn compared in this test 

 yielded 7,012, 5,412, and 2,835 lbs., respectively, of dry fodder per acre. The advan- 

 tages of the different crops for forage are outlined, and the method of harvesting 

 them by means of corn binders and shredders is descril>ed. 



Wheat, hairy vetch, Virginia Winter Gray oats, crimson clover, and winter vetch 

 were tested as winter crops for soil covering and early hay. The wheat and crimson 

 clover were cut May 25, and the other crops June 5. Wheat produced the largest 

 yield of hay, 2,340 lbs. per acre, and crimson clover the smallest, yielding only 

 945 lbs. 



A broken and unbroken seed bed for corn and cotton were compared. In one case 

 the crops were simply listed on an unplowed ridge of cowpea stubble, and in the 

 other they were planted with a planter on the same kind of land, but well prepared 

 with the plow and harrow. The well-prepared plats yielded 4.7 bu. more corn and 

 268.8 lbs. more cotton per acre than the unl)r()ken plats. 



Report on certain economic experiments conducted in connection with, 

 the botanic station, Antigua, F. Watts and W. N. Sands {Barbados: Imp. Dept. 

 Afjr. West Indies, 1901, pp. 14)- — Variety tests with millet, corn, leguminous crops, 

 including velvet beans, cowpeas, soy beans, sweet potatoes, yams, cassava, tanniers 

 and eddoes, castor beans, sesame, and cotton are briefly reported. 



Green crops for winter fodder, P. Quirk {Agr. Gaz. New South Wales, 12 {1901), 

 No. 7, pp. 784-786). — Notes on the culture of sorghum, corn, barley and vetches, oats 

 and rape, and millet for green forage for winter feeding. 



Substitutes for clover {Wallaces' Farmer, 20 {1901), No. 40, p. 1138).— A note 

 on the uses of alfalfa, cowpeas, soy beans, and vetches as substitutes for clover. 



Broadcasting and drilling grain, Bachmann {Landw. Wchnbl. Schleswig-IIolstem, 

 51 {1901), No. 38, p. 567). — A brief report on a comparative test of sowing rye broad- 

 cast and in drills. The results were largely in favor of drilling. Hoeing the drilled 

 irop twice during the season gave very profitable returns. 



Contributions to the Alinit question, C. Scrulze {Landw. Jahrh., SO {1901), 

 No. 3, pp. 319-360). — This article reviews the experiments made with Alinit by dif- 

 ferent investigators, discusses the growth of Alinit bacteria in iiitrogeu-free media as 

 shown ])y various experimenters, and reports the results of laboratory, pot, and field 

 experiments in 1808 and 1899. In discussing the laboratory work, the author l)rieliy 

 describes the apparatus employed and the process of disinfecting the grains used fof 

 seed. The effects on the germination of disinfecting the grains of wheat and barley 

 with corrosive sublimate solutions and alcohol are given in a table. The results of 

 the different experiments showed that the application of Alinit in no case had pro- 

 <luced an appreciable increase in the yield of the cereals grown in connection with 

 the tests, and that the claims of Stoklasa that tiie addition to the soil of suitable 

 carbohydrate substances such as xylose and dextro.se insure the effectiveness of 



