142 EXPERIMENT STATION KKCORD. 



Of iT varieties: ul' potatoes uii<lcr ti'st lliiral New Yorker No. I, llaiiiirr, llainiuond 

 Wonderful, ^Nlaule Coiiiiuercial, -May Ni'tte<l (Jem, and Taylor Best showed little or 

 no seal), and Karly Ohio, All the Year Around, Earliest Six Wieks, (^uiek Crop, and 

 Maily Minnesota ripened earliest. Ivnly Harvest, Quiek ('roj), ]\Iay Netted Gem, 

 and Carman No. 1, mentioned in the order of their produetion, j.;avi' the greatest 

 yields in U»()2. 



The yields foi- l!K)l and IDOL' of different root crops, including:' carrots, ruta-bagas, 

 juan^x'is, and suir;ir l)eets are shown in tables. ()\vin<r to its texture the station soil 

 does not j)roduce very large rot)ts. 



Eigbt varieties of beans were grown. White Wonderlield gave the largest total 

 yield, Brown or Swedish the largest yield of marketable l)eans, and Dewey Navy 

 was the earliest. 



The growth of 44 varieties of corn (hu'ing the season is shown in a ta])le. The 

 earliest varieties were French Scpiaw No. 32, Y^ellow and White Fodiler No. 122, 

 Gehu No. 123, Northwestern Dent No. 124, North Dakota No. US, and Early Ripe 

 Fodder No. 152. All of these varieties usually mature fully at the station. Mercer, 

 Triumph, Longfellow, and King Philip, which ordinarily mature suffici(»ntly to pro- 

 duce good c( )rn, di<l not jiroduce seed this season. The yield of corn planted on differ- 

 ent dates in drills (i and 42 in. apart was, for each date of planting, in favor of 

 the 0-in. drills. The time of planting ranged from May 30 to June'23. The largest 

 yield of fodder was produced by the earliest planting. In another experiment 

 12-in. drills gave the best yield of fodder, followed by planting in hills in rows 22 

 in. apart. Former results v/itli planting in <lrills have indicated that for the pro- 

 duction of ears the drills should be oH or 42 in. distant. Experiments on the 

 thickness of planting in drill rows with 1 kernel every 6 in. in the drill has given 

 the best yield of fodder in 1902 and also the largest average yield for 3 seasons. Five 

 stalks in a hill gave the largest yiel<l of fodder for this season and 6 stalks in a hill 

 the largest average yield for 3 trials. Cultivating corn deep and early, and shallow 

 the last time proved best in 1902. Shallow cultivation throughout the season gave the 

 second largest yield, and this method has also given the best average results for 3 

 years. 



A soil moisture study was conducted during the winter and variations in the 

 percentage of soil moisture during the season are given. During the 3 winter 

 months fall plowed wheat stubble gained 2.68 in. of water in the first 3 ft. of soil, 

 but lost 1.6 in. in the second 3 ft. Fall plowed wheat stubble harrowed imme- 

 diately after plowing lost water in every foot of soil, but contained considerable 

 more water than the soil in the jireceding test at the beginning of the observations. 

 "Wheat stubble not plowed gained water in. every foot, the total gain in 6 ft. amount- 

 ing to 6.12 in., an<l brome grass sod lost water except in the first foot, the total 

 loss amounting to 1.53 in. from the 6 ft. of soil. 



The work with field and forage crops at the PMgeley Substation during the year is 

 reported in brief notes. Brome grass made a very good growth and gavt' a yield of 

 400 lbs. of seed per acre. 



Report of the work at th.e McNeill Branch Station for 1902, K. B. Fkrkis 

 {Mississippi Stct. Bill. 79, }>}>. 3~>,fujs. l.l). — This bulletin contains a description of the 

 station buildings and grounds, gives an account of how the land was cleared and 

 improved, and reports the results of various fertilizer and culture experiments 

 carried on during the year. • 



Wardweli Kidney Wax and lm})rovi'd Valentine beans were grown on new soil 

 which received a complete fertilizer application. The general financial results were 

 in favor of an application of 27 lbs. cotton-seed meal, 13.05 lbs. dried blood, 60 lbs. 

 acid i)hosphate, and 25 lbs. kainit per acre. The Improved \'alentine variety 

 yielded an average of 20 bu. more i)er acre than the AVar<lwell Kidney Wax bean, 

 but was about a wei'k later in ripening. 



