688 



EXPERIMENT STATION EECOBD. 



[Vol. 3& 



Mechanical tillag'e experiments at Grignon, France, in 1914 and 1915, 

 BRfiTiGNii:BE and Ringelmann {Prog. Agr. et Vit. (Ed. VEst-Centre), 36 (1915), 

 No. 23, pp. 532-536; abs. in Internat. Inst. Agr. [Rome], Mo. Bill. Agr. Intel, 

 and Plant Diseases, 6 (1915), No. 8, pp. 1093-1095) .—Experiments begun in 1913 

 with a Flemish plow drawn by oxen, a tractor and plow outfit, a motor plow, 

 two rotary cultivators, and two tractor and cable outfits are reported. The 

 soil was a shallow calcareous clay in the first set of experiments. After wheat, 

 a catch crop of white mustard was sown and plowed in by the various ma- 

 chines, one on each plat, while one plat was plowed by a Flemish double " turn- 

 wrist " plow drawn by oxen, after which Grey Houdan oats were sown on all 

 of them. In the second series the soil was fairly deep loam, with oats following 

 lucern. The yields are shown in the following table : 



Crop results after mechanical tillage. 



Kind of implement. 



First series. 



Straw. 



Grain 



Chaff, 

 etc. 



Total. 



Ratio of 



straw to 



grain. 



Second series. 



Straw. 



Grain. 



Chaff, 

 etc. 



Total. 



Ratio of 



straw to 



grain. 



Flemish plow drawn by 



oxen 



Tractor and plow 



Motor plow 



Windlass tractor 



Tractor hauling on cable. . . 



Rotary cultivator (1) 



Rotary cultivator ( 2) 



Lbs. 

 per 

 acre. 

 2,750 

 3,360 

 3,360 



Lbs. 

 per 

 acre. 

 2,170 

 1,948 

 2,409 



Lbs. 

 per 

 acre. 

 491 

 803 

 661 



Lbs. 

 per 

 acre. 

 5,411 

 6,111 

 6,430 



127 : 100 

 in : 100 

 130 : 100 



2,469 

 2,542 



1,753 

 1,725 



326 

 491 



4,548 

 4,758 



141 

 147; 



Lbs. 

 per 



acre. 

 3,613 

 3,379 

 2,989 

 3,569 

 3,212 

 3,345 



Lbs. 

 per 

 acre. 

 3, 256 

 3,155 

 2,632 

 3,279 

 2,766 

 3,055 



Lbs. 



per 



acre 

 580 

 625 

 635 

 578 

 647 

 647 



Lbs. 

 per 



acre. 

 7, 449 111 : 100 

 7,159107 :100 

 6,256115 :100 

 7, 426 109 : 100 

 6, f)25 116 : 100 

 7,047120:100 



In all the machine-tilled plats in the first series the ratio of straw to grain 

 was greater than in the one plowed by oxen. In the second series the plat plowed 

 by the windlass tractor yii^Ided a crop similar in quantity and ratio of straw 

 to grain to that obtained by the Flemish plow. 



In both fields the rotary digger gave lower yields than the Flemish plow, 

 while the results of the tractor and plow and motor plow differed in the two 

 fields. In the first field the crops were heavier than those obtained on the work 

 of the Flemish plow, while in the other field they were inferior. It was also 

 found that in the first field the ground was not too moist and it has been 

 plowed as well by the tractor as by the Flemish plow and decidedly better than 

 by the motor plow. In the tractor-plowed plat the white mustard had been 

 turned in better than by the Flemish plow. On the whole the plats plowed by 

 the tractor and the motor plow were better prepared than the plat worked by 

 oxen. " In the second field, on the other hand, the ground was wet ; the work 

 of the tractor left room for criticism while that of the motor plow was quite 

 unsatisfactory." 



Dust explosions and fires in grain separators in the Pacific Northwest, 

 D. J. Price and E. B. McCoemick (V. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 379 (1916), pp. 22, 

 pis. 11). — Field and laboratory experiments on the causes of dust explosions in 

 grain .separators conducted in cooperation with the University of Idaho and in 

 consultation with the Washington Experiment Station (E. S. R., 32, p. 3S6) are 

 reported, together with descriptions of preventive devices developed as a result 

 of the investigation. 



It was found that explosions were generally distributed among all types of 

 separators, both steel and wood, and that fires occurred also in the combination 



