FIELD CROPS. 331 



is noted that these results taken in conjunction with the lateness of the appli- 

 cation, the moderate price of sulphuric acid, and the ease of application, sug- 

 gest a promising field for further work. 



In a depth-of-plowing test, the yields with 6-in., 12-in., and 18-in. plowing 

 were respectively 4,370, 5,405, and 5,978 lbs. of market potatoes per acre. In 

 a depth-of-planting test plowing with deep planting (S in.) gave better 

 results than shallow planting (4 in.), but the results with deep plowing were 

 contradictory. In a comparison of local and important seed the yield from 

 Oregon seed was decidedly higher and the stand was better. 



Field experiments at the moor experiment station, Tacke {Protokoll Cent. 

 Moor Com., 6S {1912), pp. 61-69). — In a test of the value of calcium nitrite for 

 rye, the yield with 50 kg. of nitrogen in calcium nitrite per hectare was 1,330 

 kg. of grain, and 2,670 kg. straw per hectare, as compared with 2,120 kg. of 

 grain and 4,540 kg. of straw following 50 kg. of nitrogen in nitrate of soda, 

 1,910 kg. of grain and 3,930 kg. of straw following 25 kg. of nitrogen in nitrate 

 of soda, and 1,500 kg. of grain and 3,570 kg. of straw produced without nitrogen. 

 In a study of spacing drain lines in meadows, plats with drains placed 40 meters 

 apart gave a yield of 5,650 kg. per hectare of air-dried hay, as compared with 

 5.150 and 4,340 kg. with drains 20 and 30 meters apart. In a cultivation test 

 of meadows where 2,500, 3,500, and 5,500 kg. of lime was applied per hectare, 

 the best results were obtained with the medium application of lime plowed 

 shallow (10 to 12 cm.) and thoroughly incorporated with the soil, in comparison 

 with no plowing and deep plowing (20 cm,). 



[Field crops], W, Bersch (Ztschr. Moorkultur u. Tfyrfverwert., 11 {1913), No. 

 1, pp. 11-28, pi. 1). — Field experiments with potatoes, comfrey, Helianthus, 

 peppermint, cereals, beets, cabbage and other vegetables are described and 

 briefly discussed. 



In moor field experimnts at Admont it was found that newly broken ground 

 could be immediately seeded to meadows and permanent pastures with a profit 

 without first being cultivated with a hoed crop. An average yield of 6,780 kg. 

 per hectare (3 tons per acre) of hay was secured by this method during the 5 

 years from 1908-1912, inclusive. 



Catch crops, T. Wibbeelet {Dept. Agr. and Tech. Instr. Ireland Jour., 12 

 {1912), No. 4. PP- 732-7 Jf2). — This article is a discussion of practical ways of 

 using different catch crops, designed to aid farmers to adopt a more intensive 

 system of agriculture. Various systems of catch crop rotations are suggested. 



Cooperative tests of alfalfa from Siberia and European Russia, N. E. Han- 

 sen {South Dakota Sta. Bui. IJfl, pp. 36-157, pis. 21). — This bulletin reports in 

 detail cooperative tests of some of these alfalfas. 



A method of transplanting 1-year-old alfalfa plants into the field instead of 

 sowing seed is described, in which plants were set by machine at the rate of 

 100 per minute. Some of the advantages of this method over seeding are 

 pointed out as (1) a much smaller quantity of seed is necessary (apparently 

 less than 5 lbs. per acre) ; (2) there is an increased yield of seed, over 1,000 

 lbs. per acre being possible; (3) the field can be kept free from dodder; and 

 (4) as the plants may be set 2 ft. apart in rows that are 3 ft. 8 in, apart cul- 

 tivation is easy. As many as 500 shoots were found on a single plant set in 

 this way, A more favorable root development was also obtained by trans- 

 planting than by seeding in the field, as disking injures the crowns by splitting 

 them down and the crowding of plants by the seeding method injures the 

 yields, through crowding the roots as well as the tops. 



It was observed that seeds of Medicago falcata germinated very irregularly, 

 some remaining in the ground a long time due to the dry, hardened condition 

 of the seed coat. Experiments with a seed scratching machine, by means of 



