FIELD CROPS. 629 



grasses was measured by graziiij; tests with cows, slieep, aud steers. Con- 

 clusions are given as follows : 



Irrigated grass pastures produce returns that warrant their use even on coni- 

 ]iaratively high-priced land. Of all the grasses tested, Kentucky blue gra.s.;, 

 smooth brome grass, orchard grass, timothy, and meadow fescue have i)roved 

 the best. 



" White, or alsike clover, is desirable in a very small proportion. IMore than 

 three or four lbs. jier acre may cjiuse bloat. Mixtures give better results than 

 any variety seeded alone. Different conditions require different mixtures. A 

 total of about 28 lbs. of seed per acre is necessary. 



" Seed should never be bought in mixtures. Thorough seed-bed preparation is 

 absolutely essential. Grasses can be seeded any time from early spring to the 

 middle of July. Fall seeding is not advisable. Broadcasting the different 

 varieties separately is the most satisfactory method of seeding. The seed should 

 be covered lightly with a spike-tooth harrow or good brush drag. Under 

 average conditions a nurse crop should not be used. 



" Irrigation water should be applied by the corrugation method during the 

 first season ; thereafter flooding between borders is recommended. The pasture 

 should have frequent irrigation and during the entire season should receive a 

 total of about 2.5 acre feet per acre. Early seeded pastures can be grazed 

 lightly late in the first season. The pasture should be divided into at least two 

 parts and should not be grazed too closely. Barnyard manure can be used on 

 the pasture with good results. Some shade should be provided for the animals. 



" Grazing tests at the station indicate that an acre of good mixed grass pas- 

 ture will maintain two good dairy cows or three medium-sized beef steers 

 during May, June, July, August, and part of September. The sheep grazing 

 tests have not been very conclusive but indicate that an acre will maintain 

 about 12 ewes and their lambs. The conclusions reached at the station are 

 being substantiated by the experience of irrigation farmers in different parts 

 of the State." 



Soil fertility investigations, A. T. Wiancko {Indiana Sta. Rpi. 191 Ji, pp. 

 SS-dO). — Brief notes are given stating the successful use of soy beans and 

 cowiieas in rotations to impi'ove the soil fertility at the imiversity farm and 

 on the outlying fields of the State. As results of phosphate and manure treat- 

 ments on the Scott County and Pike County fields it is noted that " the compari- 

 son of acid phosphate and raw rock phosphate used in conjunction with liberal 

 liming has thus far shown that an application of 24 lbs. of phosphoric acid in 

 acid phosphate once in three years is more profit;ible than a 2-ton ai)plication of 

 raw rock phosnihate put on at the rate of 1 ton per acre at the beginning of the 

 experiment in 1!»0G and a second ton in 1911. The total value of the increase in 

 eight corn croyis and nine wheat crops, including straw and stover, and two 

 clover hay crops which were removed from the land, has been $87.-11 for the 

 acid phosphate and $68.58 for the raw rock phosphate, yielding net profits of 

 $71.84 and $54.58. respectively. 



"Where ten tons per acre of manure were applied every three years on corn, 

 the value of the increase was $170.03 with a net profit of $10.03 after allow- 

 ing $2 for each ton of manure used. Where two tons per acre of raw rock 

 phosT»hate was added to the same manure treatment, the total value of the 

 increase was only $8.21 greater for the entire period and the net profit, after 

 allowing $2 per ton for the manure and $7 per ton for the rock phosphate, was 

 $5.70 less than where manure alone was used. On the Pike County field, which 

 w.is in a much better state of fertility to begin with, the addition of rock 

 phosphate to the manure treatment showed only $8.55 net returns for the 



