32 EXPEEIMENT STATION EECORD. 



rotation and tillage experiments, including the average jields of corn, cotton, 

 Dwarf milo maize, oats, and sorghum for 1907 to 1911 and the yields for 1912. 

 Corn and Dwarf milo maize gave increased yields per acre of 3.9 and 19.5 bu. 

 respectively when treated continuously from 1910 to 1912 with barnyard ma- 

 nure, and cotton 98 lbs. additional of seed cotton. Three-year results with 

 summer fallow for corn, oats, and cotton indicate that this practice is not 

 advisable for the conditions at San Antonio. 



[Crop experiments at San Antonio experiment farm], S. H. PIastings 

 (U. 8. Dept. Agr., Bur. Plant Indus. Circ. 120, pp. 11-20, fig. i).— The crops in 

 these experiments include forage crops (E. S. R., 28, p. 735), cotton, grain 

 sorghum, and broom corn. In a cotton variety test Vergatus gave the highest 

 yield, but its short staple made it undesirable. Sudan durra gave 57 bu. of 

 grain per acre and Dwarf milo maize G3 bu., while the best strain of corn gave 

 only 40 bu. per acre. Of 3 varieties of broom corn tested, standard G. I. No. 

 446 gave the largest yield, 730 lbs. per acre. 



The work of the Huntley experiment farm in 1912, D. Hansen (C7. S. 

 Bept. Agr., Bur. Plant Indus. Circ. 121, pp. 19-28, figs. 6). — In an irrigation 

 experiment at Huntley, Mont., with field crops in rotation, the maximum yields 

 obtained in 1912 were as follows : Montana alfalfa. 1 ton ; Burbank potatoes, 

 413 bu. ; Kleinwanzleben sugar beets, 14.37 tons; Minnesota No. 13 corn, 42.8 

 bu. ; Pringle Champion wheat, 31.6 bu. ; Swedish Select oats, 66.8 bu. ; and 

 Minnesota No. 25 flax, 19.4 bu. Of 8 different grass mixtures at the experi- 

 ment farm, timothy and alfalfa gave the highest yield of 5.31 tons in 1912. 



Early planting of alfalfa resulted in somewhat higher yields than late plant- 

 ing. Results as to the influence of a nurse crop were inconclusive. 



In an experiment on distance of planting and thinning of sugar beets, 18 in. 

 rows, thinned to 12 in., gave the best results, 17.8 tons of beets per acre. In 

 an irrigation test with flax, very little difference in yield resulted owing to the 

 wet season, the average being 18.6 bu. per acre. In a corn test. Northwestern 

 Dent and Brown County Yellow proved best adapted and yielded 58.3 and 51.5 

 bu. per acre, respectively. 



In an experiment to reduce the salty condition of a portion of the tract, by 

 leveling the ground and making a border around the area on which was prac- 

 ticed a system of alternate light irrigation and cultivation the salt content was 

 reduced from 0.52 per cent in 1911 to 0.28 per cent in 1912. 



Experiments with field peas and soy beans, P. J. White {Washington Sta. 

 Popular Bui. 50, pp. 4). — This reports work, the progress of which has been 

 previously noted (E. S. R., 2*5, pp. 533, 639). 



The three best seed-producing field peas at Pullman, Bangalia, Amraoti, and 

 Kaiser produced in 1912, 49, 44, and 41 bu., respectively, of threshed peas per 

 acre. About 3 pk. of seed per acre gave the most satisfactory yields of hay, 

 and the rate of about 3 bu. the best yield of seed. May 13 proved to be the 

 most propitious time for seeding. 



A mixture of about 3 pk. of oats with 4 to 6 pk. of peas gave the best results 

 as a hay mixture. Soy beans were considered a failure for East Washington, 

 as they failed to mature and produced much less forage than field peas. 



Alfalfa, W. T. Clarke {California Sta. Circ. 87, pp. 6). — This circular gives 

 general information as to alfalfa culture in California covering soil, climatic. 

 and water requirements, preparation of the land, seeding, inoculation, irriga- 

 tion, and time of cutting. 



Nitrogen and mineral constituents of the alfalfa plant, J. W. Ames and 

 G. E. BoLTZ {Ohio Sta. Bui. 2//7, pp. 755-773).— " This bulletin presents data se- 

 cured from a study of the mineral elements of the alfalfa plant grown on soil 

 under conditions which hove produced marked variations in the yield and com- 



