536 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



ainouutod to 10.5!) tons per ucre on plat 2. IMat 3 showed no increase over 

 plat 1. 



Ten years' trials with different varieties of rye, M. L. Mortensen and K. 

 Hansen (Tidsskr. JjUikIJ)!: I'ldiitcarl, l.'i (1D07). pp. 45-150). — This report 

 covers trials condncted at 4 different stations in Denmark dnrins 1^04 to 1!)05. 

 The highest yields of grain were obtained from Brattingsborg, Petkus, Heine 

 Improved Zeeland, Heinrich, and Probstei in the order given. Walkenhaus 

 and Brattingsborg ranked first in straw i)rodnction, while Schlanstedt, Petkus, 

 and Heinrich in the order mentioned produced the stiffest straw. The average 

 content of nitrogen in the water-free Ivcrnels ranged from 1.51 ijer cent in 

 Petkus to 1.66 per cent in Hoffmansgave, and the content of ci'ude fat from 

 1.72 per cent in I'robstei to 1.S6 per cent in Hoffmansgave. A discussion of the 

 history and characteristics of the various varieties is given. 



The fertilizing value of hairy vetch for Connecticut tobacco fields, T. R. 

 Robinson (U. &'. Dept. Agr., Bar. Plant Indus. Circ. 15, pp. 5). — In connection 

 with a discussion of this subject the importance of inoculating hairy vetch is 

 pointed out. Results or field and pot experiments secured along this line are 

 rei)orted. 



Sample cuttings of hairy vetch in 19U7 at Hockanum, Conn., indicated yields 

 of 7 tons 400 lbs. per acre of green material for the inoculated vetch and 2 tons 

 240 lbs. for uuinoculated vetch. Rye on this land made a vigorous growth, 

 yielding at the rate of 7 tons 720 lbs. per acre. Determinations of total nitro- 

 gen in samples of this soil, made bj' the Bureau of Chemistry of this Depart- 

 ment, showed that the soil where vetch was grown without inoculation con- 

 tained 0.19 per cent of total nitrogen, while the soil from the rye plats con- 

 tained only 0.17 per cent and that from the uuinoculated vetch plats 0.14 

 per cent. 



Results of greenhouse tests with 20 plants each showed that uuinoculated 

 hairy vetch produced 25 gm. of dry weight with 0.82 gm. of nitrogen, inoculated 

 plants 44 gm. of dry weight with 1.33 gm. of total nitrogen, and rye 16 gm. of 

 dry weight with 0.27 gm. of total nitrogen. Assuming that one-fifth of the 

 green weight represents the dry weight of vetch, the author calculates that on 

 the cover-crop plats at Hockanum inoculated vetch furnished a crop of 2,880 

 lbs. dry weight per acre with 100.51 lbs. of nitrogen, uuinoculated vetch 848 

 lbs, of crop with 28.91 lbs. of nitrogen, and rye a crop of 2,944 lbs. dry weight 

 with 49.75 lbs. of nitrogen per acre. 



In pot experiments with tobacco, sodium nitrate was applied at the rate of 

 200 and 500 lbs. per acre. This was applied in pots in which hairy vetch and 

 rye had been grown and turned under or removed. It appeared that the turn- 

 ing under of inoculated hairj^ vetch was slightly superior to the application of 

 200 lbs. of sodium nitrate per acre, while the turning under of rye was inferior 

 to the application of the fertilizer. When cover crops were turned under and 

 fertilizer added the hairy vetch showed greater fertilizing power than rye. In 

 pots that had borne no cover crop the application of nitrate of soda at the rate 

 of 500 lbs. per acre was no more effective than the use of 200 lbs. 



r Comparative and chemical studies of "wheat varieties], W. H. Scherffixts 

 and H. Woosley (Kcntucl-i/ Sta. Bui. 135, pp. 327-S'iO, pis. 11).— The 12 best 

 yielding varieties for the years 1905, 1906, and 1907 ranged in yield from 27.41 

 to 31.16 bu. per acre. The leading sorts given in decreasing order of their 

 yields were Jersey Fultz, Kansas Mortgage Lifter, Fulcaster, B 377, and Beech- 

 wood Hybrid, all producing 29.23 bu. per acre or over. 



In determining the number of pounds of straw required for each \ariety to 

 produce 1 bu. of grain it was found that no regular relation between the yield 

 of straw and grain was apparent, The high yields of straw, however, were 



