1920] FIELD CROPS. 735 



Varii'ty tests witli wiiitor and spring wlieat, oats, barloj', fit'ld peas, flax fur 

 setHl and fiber, winter and spring rye, vetch, corn for grain and silage, root 

 crops for seed and forage, clovers, alfalfa, and miscellaneous legumes and 

 grasses for hay were conducted at the stations; substations, and farms in the 

 Provinces of Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, 

 (iui'bec, JIanitobii. Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia. Rotations 

 and cultural, fertilizer, and rate-of-seeding tests, together with extensive 

 studit'S of the cost of production of various field croi»s' were carried on in 

 tlie same localities. Retting and .scutching tests with tlax, breaking tests with 

 prairie flax straw, and a study of llax pulling machines are noted in addition 

 to the use of a system of filler grading. 



Variety, cultural, and fertilizer tests with tobacco; a survey of tobacco 

 soils; and studies of seed production, liarvesting, curing, bed management, 

 and the control of mosaic disease and root rot, conducted in the Provinces of 

 Ontario and Quebec, are described as heretofore. Fall plowing at Harrow 

 (Ontario) proved distinctly better for tobacco than spring plowing, utilizing 

 lioth animal and man labor to better advantage and destroying ins(»ct pests. 

 Seed beds covered with glass and semihotbeds were deemed decidedly superior 

 to all other types. The practice of splitting stems at harvest time is said 

 to have made a gain of 15 days in the curing period and resulted in a brighter 

 colored product. 



The work with root crops included variety and fertilizer tests, selection work, 

 analyses, and seed production of mangels, turnips, and carrots, as well as 

 variety tests and sugar content studies of sugar beets. In the exix>riments in 

 mangel seed production, the greatest yields were obtained from plats receiving 

 200 lbs. of nitrate of soda and 500 lbs. of superphosphate per acre. A decrease 

 of 19 per cent in yield followed the reduction of the nitrate of soda to 100 lbs. 

 per acre, nitrogen having proved to be the limiting factor. The omission of 

 Ii(>tash failed to depress the yield. In tlie work at the Central Experiment 

 I-'arm at Ottawa, the application of 20 tons of manure per acre increased the 

 seed yield decidedly, whether applied alone or with chemical fertilizers; clo.se 

 planting tended to increase the seed yield, whether full-grown or small roots 

 were used as seed roots ; and the results in general indicated that the heaviest 

 yields of seed were secured from full-grown roots planted as early in the spring 

 as possible. 



Storage experiments with turnip stecklings indicated that they may be most 

 safely and economically stored on shelves 12 to 15 in. deep in a well-ventilated 

 cellar, where the temperature is held below 35° F. In tests of mangel seed at 

 the Cape Rouge (Quebec) Station, soaking seemed to be the only means of im- 

 proving the germination, and it liad but little influence. 



[Report of field crops work in Missouri, 1918-lJ)], W. C. Etiiermige, 

 C. A. Helm, K. M. McDox.\Ln. and L. J. Stadler (Missouri f^ta. Bui. 172 (1920), 

 pp. 26-31, fifj. 1). — Variety, cult\iral, and fertilizer trials with various field 

 crops conducted in continuation of similar work already reported (E. S. R., 41, 

 p. 636) are described. 



In tests of 31 varieties and selected strains of soy beans at Columbia, Taha, 

 lObony, and Sable w'ere highest in seed production, with acre yields of 21.9V. 

 19.69, and 18.97 bu., respectively. Taha, Chiquita, and Buster Brown, yielding 

 4.16, 3.87, and 3.49 tons per acre, respectively, were first in hay production. 

 .\t Warrensburg, Mikado with 6.82 bu. and Morse with .5.80 bu. per acre led in 

 seed yields, while Chiciuila with 3.42 tons, followed by Mikado with 2..55 tons, 

 produced the most hay. Virginia and Black Beauty with 4.46 and 4.10 bu. of 

 seed were first at Marysville, while Wilson with 4.02 bu. and Mor.se with 2.68 

 bu. led at Kirksville. Comparisons of different rates of seeding and different 



