19161 FIELD CEOPS. 737 



eight plats, each one-thirty-third of an acre in size. A comparison was 

 made of the use of 660 lbs. per acre of a home-mixed fertilizer consisting of 

 2 parts steamed bone, 2 parts dried blood, and 1 part potassium sulphate by 

 weight; of 10.56 tons of manure; and of 528 lbs. of steamed bone; on two 

 series of plats, on one of which the applications were made broadcast and 

 on the other under the ridge upon which the sweet potato plants were placed. 



The results indicated that each of the fertilizer treatments used increased 

 the percentage of table potatoes produced and that, with the possible excep- 

 tion of the home-mixed fertilizer, higher percentages were secured when the 

 fertilizer was appliefl under the ridge than when broadcasted. Each treat- 

 ment also increased the total yield, the higher yields being secured from the 

 fertilizer application made under the ridge. It was further indicated that 

 only manure or steamed bone applied under the ridge is likely to give a ma- 

 terial increase in the net value of the crop after deducting the cost of the 

 fertilizer. 



Studies of the timothy plant. — I, The influence of maturity upon th.e yield, 

 composition, digestibility, palatability, and feeding value of timothy hay, 

 H. J. Waters et al. {Missouri Sta. Research Bui. 19 (1915), pp. 2-6S, figs. 

 37). — The results of these studies, in progress for some years, ore reported. 

 The data secured are given in tables and are also presented graphically. 



In studying the effect of maturity on yield, the first cutting was made about 

 June 12 when the plants were just in full head, the second about June 20 when 

 the plants were in full bloom, the third about July 1 when the seeds were 

 beginning to form, the fourth about July 8 when the seed was in the dough, 

 and the fifth about July 16 when the seed was ripe but not shattered. The 

 average of all trials in which cuttings were made showed the largest yield 

 from the third cutting and, regarding the value of this cutting as 100, the rela- 

 tive value of the fourth cutting was 99.3, the second 93.8, the fifth S9.7, and 

 the first 89.4. The first and last cuttings produced an average of between 500 

 and 600 lbs. less hay per acre than was secured from the third and fourth 

 cuttings. 



The digestibility of the hay was found to decline steadily as the plant de- 

 veloped, beginning as early as when the plants are in full head. The second 

 cutting, when the plants were in full bloom, gave the largest yield of digestible 

 dry matter, protein, fat, crude fiber, and nitrogen-free extract. Tests on the 

 palatability of the hay showed that yearling steers subsisting entirely on hay 

 and milk cows receiving grain and other roughage besides the hay preferred 

 the first, second, and third cuttings, while sheep full fed on mixed grain ap- 

 parently ate one cutting with as much relish as another. 



It was further observed that early cutting tended to weaken the stand and 

 late cutting to conserve the strength of the plant and to prolong its life. Studies 

 relating to the permanence of stand indicated that " the thick, vigorous stand 

 following late cutting does not result from the new plants that have sprung 

 from seed left on the land at the time of harvest, but from the new plants which 

 have come from the perfectly developed and well-filled bulbs at the base of the 

 old timothy plants. It is from these bulbs that new plants for the next year's 

 stand come. The bulbs reach their full development only when the plants are 

 allowed to become mature before being harvested." 



While the earlier cuttings gave larger yields and hay of higher digestibility 

 and palatability, the later cuttings afforded greater convenience in harvesting, 

 the weather conditions being generally more favorable and less time being 

 required for curing. The late-cut as compared with the early-cut hay was 

 much less liable to injury from rains and dews, from sunburn and under or 

 over curing, and also tiirned water in the shock or stack much better. 



