214 



EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



"The soil [in which the plants were grown] was a sandy loam, upper 

 bench, and several feet deep at the point tried, to the cemented limey 

 subsoil hlteved into gravel." With oats, barley, wheat, and timothy 

 duplicate tests were made, in other cases only one determination. 



The following table gives the results in condensed form: 



Dry matter of roots in an acre of soil, by inches. 



■First 6 in. 



"Oats gave the greatest weight [of roots] at 3 in. deep. The weight for the first 

 inch was very small; after passing the fourth inch the weight of the roots decreased 

 very rajiidly, the total liaving for the 8 in. below the upper 4 in. less than the amount 

 in the third inch. 



"The weight of roots for the clover was greatest for the first 4 in., after whicli 

 it decreased with great rapidity until it reached the seventh inch, when it amounted 

 to only 82 lbs., decreasing until the twelfth inch, when it was only 4 lbs. per acre. 



"For corn the greatest weight of roots was found at the depth of 4 in., being more 

 for this depth than for the 8 in. that succeeded it, and .just about equal to the amount 

 in the preceding 3 in. For the corn on the uncultivated area, we do not find any 

 A'iiriation in weight of roots that we can trace to the inliuence of tillage. . . . 



"The weight of the roots of potatoes [exclusive of tubers] is surprisingly small 

 and quite unlike that of any other croj). It seems that they increased in weight 

 variably until down to the depth of 7 in., when the decrease was comparatively slow, 

 the weight even at 12 in. deep being comparatively high, or more than in any other 

 inch up to the seventh inch in depth. . . . 



"Timothy gives ns a surjjrise second only to that for clover. The greatest weight 

 of roots was found in the first inch, and the decrease was constant to the depth of 12 

 in. We may infer from these figures that manure applied to timothy would not nec- 

 essarily have to be put in at groat depth. . . . 



"liarley gives its greatest weight of roots for the depth of 3 in., after Avhich the 

 decrease is constant to the twelfth inch. The weight of the roots of barley is very 

 much less than that of oats. 



"Wheat shows the greatest Aveight of roots iit the fourth inch, after which the 

 decrease is rapid. It hr.s usually been understood that wheat is a more deeply rooted 

 plant than either oats or barley. 



"Clover 2 years of age gave less than half the weight of roots that the lot 4 years 

 of age gave. This may be in part due to the plat upon which it is grown." 



Number of plants and stalks of farm crops per acre, J. W. San- 

 born ( Utah Sta. Bui. 32, pp. 7-9). — For each crop four counts were made, 



