632 EXPERIMENT STATION EECORD. 



bed to prevent the roots of the seedlings entering the soil. By keeping the bed 

 of straw at the proper moisture the dapog seedlings are ready to transplant in 

 from 10 to 14 days after the seed has been planted, which is an advantage in 

 hastening the maturity of the crop. The loose conditions afforded by the straw 

 allow of the easy separation of the seedlings for transplanting without injuring 

 their rootlets. 



Factors Influencing- the protein content of soy beans, J. G. LiPiiAN, A. W. 

 Blaib, H. C. McLean, and L. K. Wilkins {Xcic Jersey Stas. Bui. 282 (1914), 

 pp. 5-14). — The work reported in this bulletin has been noted in part from 

 another source (E. S. R., 34, p. 140). 



Brief descriptions regarding growth and ripening are also given of 13 

 varieties of soy beans tested in 1914, and the yield of dry matter and the nitro- 

 gen content of the beans of the different varieties are shown in a table. Ten 

 varieties yielded total dry matter at the rate of 2 tons or more per acre, but 

 only 4 varieties yielded at the rate of 15 bu. or more of shelled beans per acre. 

 In 1914 liming was followed by an average increase of 150 lbs., in the yield of 

 shelled beans for the varieties grown on limed and unlimed land. In 1913 in 

 similar tests the limed plats gave an average increase of total dry matter per 

 acre of 1,105 lbs. and an average increase of shelled beans of 203 lbs. as com- 

 pared with unlimetl plats. The variety Ebony ranke<l highest in nitrogen coa- 

 tent with 7.13 per cent, Meilium Yellow stood second with 7.06 per cent, and 

 Manhattan third with G.97 per cent. Where lime was used all but 3 varieties 

 showed more than 6.5 per cent of nitrogen. 



Thickness of planting did not seem to affect the percentage of nitrogen in 

 the dry matter, but for a given area much more nitrogen was recovered in the 

 crop where planting was thick than where it was thin. Certain varieties in- 

 cluding Ebony, Medium Yellow, Guelph, and Manhattan, were richer in nitro- 

 gen, both the forage and shelled beans, than the other varieties tested. Dif- 

 ferent fertilizing materials did not greatly Influence the percentage of nitrogen 

 in the dry matter but judicious liming increased the nitrogen content of both 

 vines and shelle<l beans. 



The effect of manganese sulphate on the yield of turnips at Wisley, F. J. 

 Chittenden (Jour. Roy. Hart, .s'or., ^1 (1915), Xo. 1, pp. VJf-96). — In tliis article 

 data show the effect of manganese sulphate and peat, manganese .sulphate alone, 

 and manganese sulphate and lime, as compared with a check plat receiving 

 no treatment. The plat receiving nothing gave a lower yield than that which 

 received manganese sulphate and peat. In two out of three cases the manga- 

 nese sulphate alone increased the yield, while the addition of lime to the 

 manganese sulphate depressed it. The average increase was only 6 per cent in 

 the case of the manganese alone. 21 per cent with manganese and peat, and only 

 4 per cent with manganese and lime. 



The influence of the time and method of preparing the seed bed upon the 

 yield of winter wheat, L. E. Call (Kansas Sta. Rpt. 1914, pp. 1,2-16, figs. 12). — 

 Studies of this problem made from 190S to 1913 are described in detail and 

 work along related lines at other stations is briefly reviewed. The results 

 secured from year to year, as the mechanical analysis of the soil, the soil 

 moisture content, the nitrate content and its distribution, the costs of preparing 

 the land, the effect of fertilizers on the crop, and other similar data are given 

 in tables. 



In 1908 and 1909 the experiments were conducted on soil lacking in uni- 

 formity and the results secured were regarded as reliable only to the extent 

 tliat they showed a marked increase in yield where the gi'ound was worked 

 early in the season. In 1910 the work was transferred to a field with more 

 satisfactory soil conditions, although it had been plowed shallow in the past 



