634 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



The Effect of Alfalfa on Soil Moisture, by W. P. Snyder (pp. 65-71) ; Time and 

 Manner of Seeding Red Clover, by W. W. Lonergan (pp. 71. 72) ; Clover v. 

 Alfalfa in the Rotation, by C. Coupland (pp. 73-75) ; Soil Tillage, by W. AV. 

 Burr (pp. 78-86) ; A Review of the Seed Corn Situation, by B. A. Burnett 

 (pp. 86-89) ; Report of Committee on Tenant Farm Problems, by D. S. Dalby 

 (pp. 90-94) ; Report of Committee on Farm Labor, by S. A. Kinney (pp. 94-97). 



Cotton farming' in the Southwest, O. F. Cook (U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Plant 

 Indus. Circ. 132, pp. 9-18). — The author believes that "a new cotton Industi-y 

 is coming into existence in the Southwestern States. The dry climate affords 

 protection against the boll weevil and many other insect enemies and diseases 

 that often reduce or destroy the cotton crop in the Bast. The absence of wet 

 weather in the harvest season also allows the western cotton to be gathered 

 and sent to market in better condition. . . . 



" The presence of the temporary population, not adapted to agricultural work 

 or definitely interested in agricultural problems, makes it more difficult to 

 secure an effective community development of cotton culture or other specialized 

 industries. Cotton of high quality must be grown if the crop is to be profitable, 

 and this requires the presence of an intelligent, efficient agricultural population. 

 Another obstacle to tlie progress of cotton culture in the Southwest lies in the 

 fact that the present methods of living and work are not well adapted to the 

 climate. . . . The health and efficiency of the farming population are . . . 

 likely to depend to a considerable extent upon the introduction and use of new 

 plants able to gi'ow through the summer in spite of the extreme conditions that 

 are fatal to most of the food plants, fruits, and ornamentals raised in other 

 parts of the country." 



The improvement of cotton in India {Bui. Imp. Inst. [So. Kensington], 10 

 {1912), No. 3, pp. 351-312). — This paper gives descriptions of samples of seed 

 cotton grown in Madras, Central Provinces, United Provinces, Burma, Easteru 

 Bengal, and Assam. In Burma, it is noted, the yields of seed cotton ranged 

 from 150 to 750 lbs. per acre and the percentage of lint from 27 to 30. 



Cropping to flax on new lands of semiarid land areas, H. L. Bolley and 

 W. L. Wilson {North Dakota 8ta. Bui. 103, pp. 29-57, figs. 27; Montana Sta. 

 Circ. 22, pp. 35-65, figs. 27). — This discussion is issued jointly and simultane- 

 ously by these stations. It describes methods and gives directions for putting 

 in, harvesting, and caring for the flax crop on new lands, under the following 

 captions: Diseases, grading the seed, disinfecting the seed, preparing the seed 

 bed. types of tools, depths of plowing, how to determine whether to seed imme- 

 diately following the plowing in the spring or to summer work the land for 

 the crop the following year, time of seeding, rate of seeding, calibrating the 

 drill, planking, crop rotation, summer cultivation, volunteer flax, flax after 

 corn, and irrigation. Emphasis is placed on the importance of completely 

 turning the sod, packing immediately behind the plow, and preparing a fine 

 level seed bed to conserve the soil moisture, and on carefully selecting, grad- 

 ing, and treating seed, and conducting crop rotation. 



Flax breeding experiments in 1909-1911, L. Althausen {Zhur. Opytn. 

 Agron. {Russ. Jour. Expt. Landic.), 13 {1912), No. 2, pp. 184-191).— The author 

 gives the results of an examination of plants produced from a mixture of seeds, 

 from which it is concluded that there were 2 distinct varieties. This conclusion 

 was based upon the measurements of the height of the plant and the length 

 of stem, which characters reproduced themselves in the succeeding generation. 

 The stems of the long-stemmed varieties ranged from 43.6 to 49.7 cm. (from 17 

 to 19 in.), while the short stems averaged 33.1 cm. The total height of the long- 

 stemmed varieties ranged from 84.5 to S9.6, while the short stems averaged 

 70.4 cm. 



