850 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



the results liere recorded were obtained during the third and fourth seasons follow- 

 ing the application of barnyard manure on the fertilized plats. The chemical analy- 

 ses of the soil from the fertilized and unfertilized plate are reported. The results 

 with sugar beets showed but little difference in the richness of the beets in favor of 

 the unfertilized plats. Where parsnips were grown on unmanured soil the growth 

 of the plants almost ceased during the driest part of the season, owing to the crack- 

 ing of the soil along the line of the row, while on the manured plats well supplied 

 with humus the soil did not crack and the plants continued to grow. Experiments 

 with onions indicated that a well-manured soil, early planting, and good cultivation 

 produce a bullj typical of the variety, while a poor soil and late planting tend to 

 produce bull)S poor in quality and of undesirable forms. Irrigation increased the 

 yield in 2 out of 3 instances over 100 Iju. per acre. A general note on tomato culture 

 concludes the Itulletin 



Some muskm.elon experiments, E. Walker (Arkansas Sta. Bui. 69, pp. 63-80). — 

 Herewith are reported the detailed experiments and results of transplanting musk- 

 melons, the different methods of manuring the crop, and a test of various cultural 

 methods and of varieties. The results secured along these various lines with musk- 

 melons at other stations are given throughout the work and the methods of growers 

 generally noted, thus making the bulletin quite a complete guide as regards musk- 

 melon culture. 



In the transplanting test, 6 seeds were sown April 18 in 5-in. pots and these placed 

 in frames. The plants were thinned from time to time and transplanted to the open 

 field May 13, and 2 plante finally left in each hill. On the same day that the plants 

 were set in the field seed of the same varieties was also sown in hills, thus making 

 the difference between the dates of sowing the seed for transplanting and seeding in 

 the o})en field 25 days. Three hills of each variety were used for the transplanted 

 melons, 2 of which in each case were manured with a couple of shovelfuls of well- 

 rotted manure, and the third left unmanured. With the field-planted melons, only 2 

 hills were used for each variety and but one manured. 



The transplanted manured melons on the whole averaged 20.82 days earlier than 

 the manured field-planted melons. The transplanted nonmanured melons averaged 

 8.88 days earlier than the manured field-planted melons. It required 90 days from 

 the time the seed of the transplanted melons was sown until the first fruits on the 

 manured plats were gathered, and 85.6 days from seed sowing to the first gather- 

 ing of the crop in the case of the field-planted seed, thus showing that transplanting 

 had no hastening but i-ather a retarding effect on the period of growth of the melons. 

 In every instance with the transplanted plants, manuring increased the earliness of 

 the crop and on the average about 12 days. 



In these tests, while the earliness of the crop was hastened, the greatest number of 

 melons per hill and the largest melons were obtained from the field-sown seed. 

 Thus, the unmanured transplanted plants averaged 5.21 melons per hill, weighing 

 24.11 oz. each, the manured transplanted jjlants 7.11 melons per hill, weighing 20.88 

 oz. each; and the field-grown jilants 8.43 melons per hill, weighing 31.1 oz. each. 



The earliest melons grown were Golden Netted Gem, Rocky ford. Emerald Gem, 

 Paul Rose, and Jersey Belle. These vines matured on the average in 82.57 days, 

 whether transplanted or field grown. The first 4 matured fruit by July 11. 

 Emerald Gem and Paul Rose are considered less desirable shipping sorts than the 

 others. 



In the fertilizer experiment 37 plants of 8 hills each were used and 34 different 

 varieties grown. Thoroughly mixed well-rotted barnyard manure was used. Two 

 hills in each plat had the manure applied in a circular trench, leaving a worked 

 space of soil in the center of the hill 18 in. across and free from manure. Tw^o had 

 the manure applied on the surface and well worked into the soil. With 2 others a 

 hole spade-deep was dug and manure placed in the bottom to within 4 in. of the 



