332 



EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



season." The Scotcti experiments were conducted at Balmakewan, Kincardine- 

 shire, where the electrified portions of the tests include 23 acres in approxi- 

 mately 4i-acre plats, each in one stage of a 5-year rotation. 



The author presents a table of British results, secured with the use of high 

 tension electricity from a coil and valves, except that the larger portion of the 

 experiments at Bitton were with electricity from an influence machine. At 

 Bitton, the yield of beans was decreased 15 per cent but their earliness was 

 increased 5 days and that of cabbages 10 days. The yield and the earliness 

 of cucumbers were increased. One-year old strawberry plants had their fruit 

 production increased 80 ])er cent and sent out more runners. Five-year plants 

 yielded 36 per cent increase. At Gloucester, beets showed a 33 per cent increase 

 and carrots a 50 per cent increase in 1905. At Evesham, strawberries showed 

 a 25 per cent increase in yield in 1907, a 9 per cent decrease in 1908, a 2 per 

 cent decrease in 1909, and less than 1 per cent difference in 1910. The electri- 

 fied plats of tomatoes produced more pounds of fruit per plant than the non- 

 electrified plat, while Red Fife and White Queen wheat were increased 39 and 

 29 per cent respectively in 1906 and lied Fife 29 per cent in 1907. In 1908 the 

 increase of square head wheat at this point was 24.3 per cent, in 1909 that of 

 Red Fife 23 per cent, and in 1906 there was a 5 per cent increase in barley 

 yield but the crop was very irregular, probably because of irregularity in manur- 

 ing. At Balmakewan, mangels showed an increase of IS per cent, potatoes an 

 increase in leafage but none in tubers, oats an increase of 6* per cent in grain 

 and 8 per cent in straw, and turnips only a small increase. 



At Dumfries, Miss E. C. Dudgeon finds that onions show a marked difference, 

 beets and carrots less. Potatoes show more leafage. This experiment is to be 

 increased from 0.1 acre to a 6-acre field. 



At Falkenrede, Germany, the results indicated in the following table have 

 been obtained : 



Relative yields in 1910 at Falkenrede, 



The plats in this experiment ran north and south. Plats 1 and 2 were each 

 75 yds. wide and electrified, and the control plats 3 and 4 were each 37* yds. 

 wide, but " plat 3 is believed to have been more or less electrified." 



At Halle no advantage was obtained from electrification although the equip- 

 ment worked well. The plats are said to have been arranged in a chessboard 

 pattern. 



J. E. Newman is quoted as saying that " in a German experiment, chalk was 

 scattered on the ground and it was found that the chalk under the wires con- 

 tained more nitrogen than the chalk outside the wires. The discharge from our 

 wires must add some nitrogen to the soil. Various analyses seem to show that 

 the amount is not inconsiderable." 



Report of the cooperative forage crop work by the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture and the Texas Experiment Station at Chillicothe, Tex., 

 1909, A. B. Connor {Texas Sta. Bui. 132, pp. 7-35, figs. i9).— Among 7 sor- 

 ghums tested S. P. I. No. 19744 proved an excellent strain of pink Kafir corn 



