FIELD CROPS. 13tS 



About n acres are dovotod io jiiasses iutrodnr-ed from tlio Stato«!. With tlio 

 oxcejition of smooth brome .ui'ass {lironius iucriniti) and wheat ixvass (Ai/ropuroii 

 tenerum) all have winterkilled l)adly and have run out. Wheat .j;rass is the 

 most promising of all the introduced grasses at the station. Timothy is not a 

 success in that latitude. Seeds of 46 species of native grasses have been 

 collected for thorough testing under farm conditions. 



[Field crops at Rampart Station in 1907], F. E. Radeh {Alaska Stas. Rpt. 

 1907, PI'. 'i-S-.'il. pi. /). — Wheat, barley, rye, and oats were sown as winter 

 grains en August 25, 1906, but the date of this seeding was too late for the 

 latitude. For the first time in the history of the station winter rye failed to 

 live through the winter and Kharkov wheat was the only winter grain to sur- 

 vive. Finnish Black oats, seeded May 24, was cut Sei)teniber i). It reached 

 an average height of 60 in., but the ground was too rich and the crop grew too 

 tall and lodged badly. The growing season for Romanow wheat, seeded May 

 24, was aliout 10 days too short to bring it to maturity. A number of barleys 

 from Abyssinia were grown this year for the first time and seem very promis- 

 ing. Of these, barley No. r>62, seeded May 25, was ripe and was cut Septem- 

 ber 3, its average height being ;}(! in. A beardless barley. No. 12709, ripened 

 its grain by Se]itemlier :!. but had a very brittle straw, so that when blown to 

 the ground by a storm on August 1 it never straightened up again. Lapland 

 barley this year ripened somewhat unevenly. Heretofore this variety has 

 never failed to mature. Manshury barley has given the best results and has 

 always ripened. This season it grew about 40 in. high and produced very 

 plump heads of good length. Ennner and einkorn failed to mature. 



Selected seed was grown (»f I>ai)land and Manshury barley and of Burt Extra 

 Early and Finnish Black oats. Lapland barley reached a height of 60 in. and 

 ])i"0dnced heads extra large and plumi). The selected Manshury seed grew to a 

 uniform height of 42 in. and the lunids were fine and large. Both plats were 

 harvested August 31. Burt Extra Early oats was harvested September 5. 

 This variety has always ripened unevenly, but it is hoped that it may be 

 improved by selection. Finnish Black oats grew to a uniform height of 48 in. 

 and stood up perfectly. This variety is considered the best of those tested at 

 the station. 



Among the gi-asses luider test, meadow foxtail (Alopccurus prafcn.'iis) has 

 ]iroved the earliest in maturity. This season it was ready to cut for hay .July 

 1. when it had reached a height of 36 in. The seed was ripe .July 20 and it 

 was harvested for seed August 8. Orchard grass (Dacti/lis glomerata) did 

 not head at all, and timothy ( Phleum pratoinr) was also unsuccessful. Smooth 

 brome grass {Bronms inermis) promises to be a good grass for hay in that 

 region. 



Early Rose potatoes yielded about ninefold and Burbank about eightfold. In 

 yield and size the potatoes this year were inferor to last year's crop. The 

 tubers keep perfectly in the winter. 



Report of the Upper Peninsula Substation for the years 1905 and 1906, 

 li. M. Geismar (Michignn Sta. ^pcc. Bill. '/l. pp. S-.'/O). — Meteorological data 

 for the 2 years are given in tables and the yields of different crops tested at 

 the station are reported and discussed in detail. 



The yields per acre of the most productive varieties in 1905 were as follows : 

 Early Champion oats 47.5 bu., Mansheurl 6-rowed barley 35 bu., Dawson or 

 (iiolden Chaff winter wheat 35.67 bu., French .Tune field peas 41 bu.. Northwest 

 ern corn 27.12 bu., Swedish Brown field beans 51.08 bu.. Improved pea 29.04 

 bu.. Earliest Navy bean 27.83 bu.. Rye buckwheat 44 l)u., brooni corn or hog 

 millet 4s bu.. Noi'thern Be;nity jiotatoes .3.58.46 bu., Meyer Friederichswerth 

 Elite sugar beet 37,600 lbs. 



