FIELD CEOPS. 

 Effect of various treatments on yield — Continued. 



725 



During the period 1906-1910 listed corn excelled surface-planted corn in 

 yield by from 6 to 8.5 bu. per acre except in 1909 when tbe poor stand of listed 

 corn made its yield 9.1 bu. per acre lower than the surface-planted crop. 

 Sorghum sown broadcast with the press drill averaged 4.77 tons of forage per 

 acre during 1905-1910. 



Alfalfa seeded in 1902 gave an annual yield in 1908, 1909, and 1910 of about 



2.5 tons per acre each year. A field which had never been pastured yielded 

 2.79 tons per acre in 1910, that pastured by hogs yielded 2.59 tons, and that 

 pastured by horses 2.63 tons. In a test of alfalfa seed grown in 19 different 

 environments in various countries, Nebraska-grown seed produced the largest 

 yield. 



A table states the water content in the 6 successive ft. of soil beneath the 

 surface at seeding and harvest time on plats of summer-tilled oats, corn, and 

 wheat in 1908, 1909, and 1910. At each seeding time the soil contained ap- 

 proximately all the water it would retain. At harvest time the oat field had 

 lost the moisture from the first 4 ft. and that in the lower 2 ft. had not been 

 much reduced. The same effect was noted in corn fields but less clearly, while 

 in the winter wheat field " the moisture content of the first 6 ft. was reduced 

 to the point where plants could not take much more." 



A map, charts, and tables present meteorological data. 



[Alfalfa, clover, small grain, potato, and rotation tests in North Dakota], 

 L. R. Waldeon (North Dakota 8ta., E/pt. DicUnson Sadsta. 1910, pv. S--}2, 

 45-60, 16-18, figs. 12, charts 3).— A progress report is given of tests of different 

 rates of sowing alfalfa in drills for seed production. A continuation of work 

 on the hardiness of alfalfa already summarized (E. S. R., 23, p. 727) indicates 

 that during the severe winter of 1908-9 the average killing of the surviving 

 strains was 72.7 per cent. During 1909-10 the killing of the same strains 

 amounted to 39.4 per cent, and that of 2 strains of Grimm alfalfa to 3.1 and 



1.6 per cent respectively. 



Progress reports are given of a test of the effect of continued self-pollination 

 of alfalfa, of crosses between Medicago falcata and M. sativa, and of unsuc- 

 cessful attempts to cross M. ruthenica and sweet clover with ordinary alfalfa. 

 Sickle lucern (M. falcata) tested in rows yielded 1,862 lbs. of hay per acre 

 and produced roots 8 ft. or more long, which the author regards as indicative 

 of drought resistance. A nearby Grimm plat on better soil yielded 2,855 lbs. 

 of hay at the first cutting. The author finds that sickle lucern (M. falcata) 

 produces but one hay crop per season, and that the seed shatters badly and 

 contains a large percentage of hard seed which must be scratched by special 

 machines to produce germination. He regards il. ruthenica as devoid of 

 promise under conditions at the station. Clover seeded in 1909 produced during 



