430 EXPEEIMENT STATION EECOKD. 



the last 4 years of this period yielded an average of 27.8 bu. Blackhull and 

 Red Kafir corn made an average yield of 20 bu. in the 6-year period, 1906 to 1911, 

 excluding 1907 in the case of Red Kafir. Varieties of durra and kaoliang also 

 made good yields. About 3 lbs. per acre is the proper rate of planting and the 

 best date in the vicinity of Ajuarillo is about May 20, varying, however, with 

 the season. 



"Dwarf broom corn is suited to the region, but requires judgment and experi- 

 ence to make production profitable. It should be grown only by farmers who 

 expect to continue growing it for a period of years and who can afford the 

 necessai-y equipment to handle it properly. 



" Smuts of cereals are fairly common, but all destructive smuts can be easily 

 controlled by proper treatment of the seed. 



" Grain sorghums such as milo maize, dwarf milo maize, and Blackhull Kafir 

 com have given profitable yields at Dalhart, though not so high as at Amarillo. 

 The small grains, both winter and spring varieties, have been so damaged by 

 winterkilling, spring blowing, drought, and hail, as to show no profitable yields 

 during the period covered by the experiments. 



" Experiments with small grains have been conducted cooperatively with the 

 Oflice of Forage Crop Investigations at Chillicothe, which is situated in Harde- 

 man County, somewhat east of the true Panhandle, at an elevation of only 

 1;500 ft. and with an average annual rainfall of 23 in. The i-esults are similar 

 to those obtained at Amarillo, the hard winter wheats giving the best yields 

 and proving the most profitable small-grain crop. The grain sorghums are 

 important and completely adapted crops, milo maize, dwarf milo maize, and 

 Blackhull Kafir corn being largely and profitably grown." 



The chemical composition of atavistic beets, J. Urban (Ztschr. Zuckerindus. 

 Bolimen, 37 (1912), No. 2, pp. 57-65).— This paper gives the results of an inves- 

 tigation of red beets of the stock beet form, red beets of the sugar beet form, 

 salad beets, and degenerated white sugar beets that were found in a field of 

 sugar beets. It was found that the red beets, which were the result of self- 

 fertilization among pure-bred sugar beets, held an intermediate place between 

 sugar beets and stock beets in sugar content, dry matter, and chemical com- 

 position. 



Cotton, W. H. ScHERFFius (Agr. Jour. Union So. Africa, 3 {1912), No. 5, 

 pp. 603-62//, figs. 9). — This article discusses cotton culture, including soils; 

 good seed, and cost of production. Tabulated results are given of variety 

 tests with American Upland, Sea Island, Egjqrtian, and Caravonica. A 5-year 

 rotation practiced consists of first year, cotton; second year, legumes; third 

 year, maize (and a winter crop of cereals) ; fourth year, tobacco; and fifth 

 year, cotton. 



Liming soil for cotton resulted in increased yields in nearly every case, the 

 best yield being 1,718 lbs. seed cotton per acre. 



Improved methods of handling and marketing cotton, C. J. Brand ( U. S. 

 Dcpt. Agr. Yearbook 1912, pp. 1/1/3-1/62, pis. ^). — This article discusses coopera- 

 tive organizations among cotton growers, their forms, and methods of opera- 

 tion. Provision for storing seed cotton on the farm is recommended as of 

 benefit in strengthening the fiber, improving its luster, and as an economic use 

 of labor. It is claimed that a higher yield of lint is secured after storing, 

 owing to cleaner ginning from the seed. The economy of holding cotton for 

 e months by the farmer; more careful ginning and cleaning; the inadvJ^ability 

 of selling cotton in the seed; irregularities in weighing; moisture in cotton; 

 and standards and grading are also discussed. The advantages of compressing, 

 as well as of some automatic means of sampling at the gin, are mentioned. 



