658 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



and this rate increased with the thickness of planting and reached 27 per cent in the 

 corn with 5 stalks per hill. 



The tillering was influenced by the thickness of planting and the fertility of the soil. 

 The number of tillers ranged from 8 per 100 plants where 4 stalks were grown in 

 a hill, to 198 per 100 plants where only 1 stalk was grown, and on a very fertile plat 

 134 tillers were produced per 100 stalks, while under identical conditions on a plat of 

 poor soil only 61 tillers per 100 were produced. In addition to these factors, there 

 is an inherited tendency to tiller which was shown by the difference in the number 

 of tillers produced under similar conditions by seed from different ears. When the 

 tillers were removed from plants 20 to 25 in. high no more developed. It was also 

 found that under favorable conditions for growth the removal of tillers reduced the 

 yield. 



Work on increasing the yields of corn by selection of plants brought out the 

 marked differences which exist between different ears. In 1903 the yield of 82 rows 

 planted with different ears varied from 70 to 108 bu. per acre. The 17 rows selected 

 from this field each yielded more than 90 bu. per acre, and 6 selected ears from each 

 one of them were planted in 1904. The season was not as good a corn year as 1903, 

 neither was the soil as good as that used the year before, but the average yield 

 obtained was 68.6 bu., while corn of the same variety in the same field from seed 

 selected in the ordinary way yielded only 62 bu. per acre. 



In work on the adaptation of corn to a locality, it was found that the weight of 

 both stalk and ear was heavier in corn grown from seed secured from Iowa, but that 

 the proportion of ear to stalk was higher in acclimated corn. The leaf area in the 

 acclimated Nebraska corn was almost 200 sq. in. less than in the Iowa corn, but the 

 yield of grain was greater. 



Seed corn stored in a dry seed room germinated 90 per cent, as compared w T ith 70 

 per cent for corn taken from the crib. Experiments on the depth of planting 

 indicated that this should not be greater than is necessary to secure moisture for the 

 seed. 



The influence of the size of the grain and the germ of corn upon the plant, 

 E. P. Walls {Maryland Sta. Bui. 106, pp. 56). — Experiments were conducted to 

 determine the effect of the size of the kernel as shown by its weight, and of the size 

 of the germ on the vigor of the plant. 



Kernels of different weight w T ere grown in sand containing practically no plant food 

 in order that a difference in their growing pow*er might be apparent. The results 

 indicate that the heaviest grains do not necessarily have the best germinating quali- 

 ties nor do they revive most quickly after moisture has been supplied succeeding a 

 drought. When supplied with moisture, plants from the heaviest grains attained 

 the greatest height, while plants from the highest bred seed held their vigor best 

 under drought conditions. 



It was further shown that the germinating qualities of kernels containing germs of 

 different sizes may be equal, but that the kernels with large germs produced plants 

 most resistant to dry weather, and that in general as the plants grow older they are 

 likely to be larger, hardier, and more vigorous than those from smaller germed seed. 

 It is advised to bear in mind in the selection of seed corn that there is a great dif- 

 ference in the individuality of plants coming from kernels from different ears, and 

 also from kernels of the same ear; that high breeding is of more importance than 

 weight or size of grain, and that none but large-germed kernels should be used for 

 seed. 



American cotton supply and its distribution for the year ending August 

 31, 1905, S. N. D. North et al. {Bureau of the Census [U. &] Bui 25, pp. 15, 

 dgms. 2).— A summary is given showing that for the year ending August 31, 1905, 

 the total supply of cotton was 14,455,994 bales, of which 13,318,458 bales represented 

 the crop of 1904; 660,881 bales, the stocks on hand September 1, 1904, at ports, in 



