140 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. [Vol. 41 



In a comparison of live stock and crop fai-ming au application of manure and 

 phosphorus produced a slight increase in the yield of corn, oats, and barley, 

 while clover lias failed to respond either to manure or fertilizer. Increased 

 yields due to the use of mineral fertilizers have not yet been sufficient to cover 

 their cost. 



Medium red clover gave satisfactory results when sown at the rate of 5 lbs. 

 per acre with northern-grown seed. Melilotus alba appeared to be unable to 

 withstand wet conditions and flooding, being almost entirely killed where red 

 clover survived. Cutting the first crop of sweet clover at different heights 

 resulted in almost no second growth with a stubble of 4 in., a •")0 per cent stand 

 with the stubble left at 12 in., and a full stand with the stubble cut to 16 in. 

 Observations on the preparation of silage from sweet clover and alfalfa are said 

 to have led to encouraging results, an excellent grade of silage having been 

 obtained under varying conditions, such as difCerences in maturity, length of 

 curing, the addition of water, and admixture with other crops. Spoilage 

 almost invariably occurred when the dry matter was less than 25 per cent. 

 Good results were secured even with very dry material providing it was well 

 cut and tightly packed. 



A total of 5,933 samples of seeds were analyzed by the seed laboratory during 

 the fiscal year, of which 2,776 were wheat. It was concluded that seed wheat 

 more than a year old should be tested for viability unless it had been kept free 

 from moisture effects during storage. Observations on wilt and canker-resistant 

 strains of flax and on the influence of the imperfect fungi upon the seed and 

 seedling of different crops are mentioned. 



Fertilizing" the corn crop, C. E. Thorne {Mo. Bui. Ohio Sta., 4 (1919), No. 

 Jf, pp. 99, 100, fig. 1). — Briefly reviewing soil fertility work conducted at Woos- 

 ter and on outlying experiment fields, it is advised that from 150 to 200 lbs. 

 per acre of acid phosphate or steamed bone meal be applied to corn, "with the 

 expectation that while the first year's increase may be small, the systematic 

 repetition of the treatment will be profitable." It is recommended, further, that 

 the fertilizer be applied broadcast, and not only in the hill or drill, in order 

 that succeeding crops may benefit more fully from the unexhausted fertilizer 

 residues. 



Cultural experiments with cotton, 1918, W. E. Ayres {Arkansas Sta. Bui. 

 161 {1919), pp. S-lIi, pi. 1, figs. If). — This describes the continuation of work 

 similar to that previously noted (E. S. R., 89, p. 739). 



Planting cotton in check rows 3, 3.5, and 4 ft. apart, with the hills 36 in. apart 

 in the row and with from 1 to 5 plants per hill, resulted in an average yield for 

 3 varieties of 1,182.8 lbs. of seed cotton per acre. The highest average yield, 

 1,232.1 lbs., was secured with 2 plants per hill. The 4-ft. rows gave better re- 

 sults than narrower rows, thought to be due to droughty conditions. A compari- 

 son of check-row spacing with ordinary spacing resulted in a total average yield 

 of 1,089 lbs. from an average of 10,361 plants per acre for the former method of 

 planting and 1,052.2 lbs. from 12,514 plants for the latter method. 



Cotton seeded in drills in the usual manner and imthinned, seeded in hills 12 

 in. apart and thinned to 1 plant per hill, and seeded in hills 12 in. apart and 

 left imthinned, produced at the rate of 1,036.2, 1,070.9, and 1,184.3 lbs. of seed 

 cotton per acre, respectively. These results are held to indicate that profitable 

 crops may be produced on the more fertile soils without thinning. 



Seeding cotton in hills about 15 in. apart with one plant per hill resulted in a 

 total average yield amounting to 1,115.9 lbs. of seed cotton per acre, as com- 

 pared with 1,112.4 lbs. from a planting rate of 2 plants per hill with the hills 

 about 30 in. apart. Varying the number of plants per hill in hills spaced 18 in. 

 apart resulted in average yields I'anging from 1,096.4 lbs, per acre for 1 plant 



