FIELD CROPS. 33 



Six-rowed Cape barley proved more prolific than the two-rowed English 

 varieties bnt was unsnitable for malting i)urposes. 



T^nderdrainage increased the grain and straw yields of both barley and oats, 

 and applications of fertilizer prodneed greater effects on irrigated than on uuir- 

 rigated lands. 



Notes are given on corn rust {Puccinia sorghi, syn. maydis), wheat rust 

 (P. ffvaminis), oat rusts (P. graminis avenue, P. coronifera) , and others. 



Of 49 varieties of wheat only 7 produced harvestable ci'ops from all of six 

 sowings. Of these Bobs, Selina, and INIinnesota Blue Stem produced the highest 

 yields. Eieti and jNIe^leah proved the most rust-resistant at the government 

 experimental farm at Salisbury in Rhodesia. In 1904 and 190.5, the Texas, 

 Algerian, and Kansas varieties proved the most resistant to rust in a test of 

 92 samples of 42 different varieties. There was a marked tendency for va- 

 rieties to deteriorate in rust resistance, the average amount of rust in plants 

 from local seed being 22 per cent more than that in plants of the same varieties 

 from the original seed. Full data from variety, fertilizer, and other experi- 

 ments on wheat, rice, barley, oats, Kafir corn, millet, buckwheat, and teosinte 

 are given. 



A 3-year test of subsoiling for sorghum produced considerable losses espe- 

 cially during the last two years of the experiment. Advice and information 

 are given on the cultivation and marketing of farm products, including a dis- 

 cussion of farm machinery and methods of handling grain in the United 

 States. Paper making from cornstalks, and the malting qualities of South 

 African grains are also discussed. 



[Experiments with, field crops at Poena], T. F. Main, G. S. Henderson, 

 J. B. Knight, and W. Burns {Ann. Rpt. Dcpt. Agr. Bombaif, 190S-9, pp. 11- 

 Ji2). — Results of variety tests with American, Cambodia, indigenous, hybrid, 

 and tree cottons are given. Wheat selection was conducted with special refer- 

 ence to the number of spikelets per head, tillering capacity and rust resistance, 

 and new wheats of India and foreign origin were tested. 



The Gudghi sorghum produced more than twice as much grain and kadbi per 

 acre as any other variety and at slightly lower cost, resulting in a net profit 

 3i times as great as that of any other variety. It ripened a month earlier than 

 other varieties, indicating adai»tability to regions where rainfall is short. 



Analyses by the agricultural chemist indicate the oil and moisture content of 

 numerous varieties of sesame and castors. 



Open and shade grown Florida tobacco produced 1,200 and 680 lbs. of cured 

 leaf per acre respectively, while yields of Sumatra tobacco were 1,120 and 840 

 lbs. The shade-grown leaf became brittle and difficult to handle because of 

 difficulty in regulating humidity and temperatures. 



The Duke of Cornwall and Northern Star potatoes produced yields of 

 33,142 and 32.800 lbs. per acre, respectively. Notes are given on tapioca and 

 canaigre {Rumcx Iiijmenosepalus) and other crops, and of tillage, cultural, 

 manurial, rotation, irrigation, and miscellaneous experiments. Deeply plowed 

 land producetl 439 lbs. of wheat per acre, or 165 lbs. more than land plowed 

 with the native plow, while that planted in drills 18 in. apart produced 81 lbs. 

 more grain than did twice the seed in drills 9 in. apart. 



Brief sketch of the experiments of the Poltava experiment field for the 

 year 1908, S. T. Tretyakov and K. L. Verbetski (Kratkil Ochcrk Opuit. Pol- 

 tavHk. Opuitn. Polya, ]008, pp. 13-68, flgn. 11). — An account is given of experi- 

 ments with winter rye, wheat, and other crops. 



Meteorological conditions are rejjorted in full for various periods of plant 

 growth, especially the flowering period and the period fmni the beginning of 

 growth in spring to earing. The winter cereals of 1908 were well provided 



