238 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



The Edgeley Subexperiment Station, 0. A. Thompson and J. H. Shepperd 

 {North Dakota Sta. Rpt. 1904, pt. I, pp. 158-168). — A general report on the work at 

 the station in 1904. The plant-breeding nursery this season contained 19,500 indi- 

 vidual plants, including barley, wheat, flax, buckwheat, millet, and oats. 



The best yield of wheat, 35.2 bu. per acre, was obtained from Velvet Don, a durum 

 variety. The best yield among the life and blue-stem wheats was 13.9 bu., produced 

 by Selected Powers and Selected 66 fife, and American blue stem. North Dakota 

 emmer produced 67.9 bu. per acre, as compared with 65.3 bu. for Washington emmer 

 and 60.1 bu. for Success, the best yielding variety of barley. Nine varieties of oats 

 varied in yield from 27.5 to 85.7 bu. The best yielding varieties, in the order men- 

 tioned, were Silver Mine, Swedish Select, and Abundance, the last 2 producing each 

 79.2 bu. 



In seed production Siberian and Selected Russian flax outranked Russian and 

 Selected Riga, which produced the largest yields of straw. The best yields of corn 

 fodder were secured from the following varieties: Minnesota Dent No. 13 3,630, 

 Triumph 3,542, and Pride of the North 3,281 lbs. per acre. Of 15 varieties of pota- 

 toes Hammond Wonderful and Banner led in yield. Ten varieties of millet were 

 tested, including Pencilaria and Japanese, both of which failed. The best yield was 

 obtained from Red Orenburg, which produced 4,660 lbs. of hay per acre. An out- 

 line is given of a crop-rotation experiment carried on by the station, and work 

 with brome grass and alfalfa is briefly noted. 



Field experiments in Staffordshire and Shropshire and at the Harper- 

 Adams Agricultural Colleg-e ( Harper- Adams Agr._ Col. Joint Rpt., 1904, pp. 1-10, 15- 

 40). — At the college fertilizer tests on 10 plats of meadow land showed that super- 

 phosphate was very active, and when given with sulphate of potash proved the most 

 economical of the different applications in increasing and improving the herbage. 

 Barnyard manure produced a coarse and rank growth of grass, and nitrate of soda 

 gave no increase in yield. Among 12 varieties of oats Thousand Dollar ranked first 

 in quality and Waverly in yield; and of 6 varieties of wheat Standard Red and Red 

 Stand Up proved best in yield of grain and in quality of grain and straw. 



Different fertilizer applications increased the yield of mangels, but produced a 

 marked reduction in the sugar content. The largest yield was obtained with the use 

 of barnyard manure, together with a complete dressing of commercial fertilizers. 

 Yellow Globe, Yellow Intermediate, Golden Globe, Mammoth Long Red, Golden 

 Tankard, and Sugar Mangel, given in the decreasing order of yield, stood first among 

 15 varieties, while in quality the order was approximately reversed. The dry matter 

 in the different varieties varied from 10.35 to 13.33 per cent, and the sugar in the 

 juice from 7.04 to 9.60 per cent. Sutton Sugar Beet grown in the test contained 20.17 

 per cent of dry matter and 13.86 per cent of sugar in the juice. 



In studying the effect of premature seed production, or running to seed the first 

 year of growth, it was found that normal roots contained 8.7 per cent of sugar, and 

 roots which had run to seed 5.64 per cent. The age of the seed or injury to young 

 plants did not seem to influence premature seed production. It was also noticed 

 that the number of plants going to seed during the first year differed within the same 

 variety. The character of the season was the only factor recognized with certainty, 

 as it was observed that in dry and warm seasons the plants ripened quickly and 

 showed a greater tendency to produce seed than in cold and wet seasons. In trials 

 with swedes, Sutton Magnum Bonum and Garton Model ranked first in yield with 

 over 23 tons per acre. A home-mixed complete fertilizer for this crop was much 

 more economical than a ready-mixed fertilizer. 



Cooperative experiments were carried out in Shropshire with potatoes and mangels. 

 For potatoes a complete application of commercial fertilizers, either alone or with 

 barnyard manure, proved most econominal. In a potato variety test Scottish 

 Triumph, Royal Kidney, and Factor produced the highest- yields. Scotch seed 



