40 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



FIELD CROPS. 



The influence of the right amount and right distribution of v^ater 

 in crop production, F. II. KiN(f ( ]f7.sYv>/^s//? Sta. Rpt. 1899, pp. 206- 

 21-i.ji(js. .J). — This is a continuation of woi'k alroad\" reported (E. S. R., 

 11, p. 537). — An introductory statement is made of the rainfall at the 

 station durinij; the growing- season of 1899. The season was not as 

 favorable for crop production as the preceding- one as regards distri- 

 bution of rainfall, although in general excellent results were o])tained. 



The clover of the experimental plats having l)een winterkilled, 

 reseeding became necessar}-. Oats were used as the first crop and 

 clover as the second. The total yield per acre for the 2 crops is 

 tabulated, and the results obtained are compared with those of the 3 

 preceding years. 



Corn w^as thickly planted for the sixth successive 3^ear on the same 

 plat with irrigation, but without application of fertilizers, the aim 

 being to exhaust the soil h\ cropping as rapidly as possible. The 

 yields for the 3^ears 1891-1899, inclusive, are tabulated. 



"The yield on the unirrigated ground is the smallest of any hut the very dry year 

 of 189.5, and that on tiie irrigated ground is on the average the smallest of any year 

 and only barely ecjual to that not watered. The corn was very yellow compared 

 with that on other plats and evidently starved, although in the spring the soil 

 showed more nitric acid than was found [in the plat referred to in the next para- 

 graph], and the physical condition of the soil is if anything better than it was in 

 1894. It appears (;lear that the feeding capacity of the soil has very much decreased, 

 and yet by standard methods of chemic il analysis of soil for available plant food we 

 started in 1894 with enough for heavy crops for more than half a century." 



Dent corn was grown in alternate plats, irrigated and unirrigated. 

 The irrigated plats were watered twice. They yielded 10,990 lbs. of 

 dry matter per acre, while the unirrigated plats yielded but 7,985 lbs., 

 showing a difi'erence of 3,005 lbs. or 37 per cent in favor of irrigation. 



In the woi-k with potatoes, 1 methods of culture were used: liidge 

 culture with irrigation, ridge culture without irrigation, ridge culture 

 with straw nuilch l)ctwccn the rows, and level culture without ii-riga- 

 tion. With Salzer Harvest King, irrigation produced 111.3 bu. per 

 acre, nuilcliiiig without irrigation produced 313.3 bu., and ordinary 

 ridge culture, 316.7 bu. 



"Watering the potatoes twit-e increased the yield per acre (il. 1 bu. of merchanlable 

 tubers over the not watered and 59.4 bu. over those mulched with straw. In this 

 ca.se it is clear that the potatoes needed more water than the rainfall of the season, 

 but that the straw nnik^h did not materially increase the yield over that of the 

 unirrigated subplats. ' ' 



Determinations of the amount of moisture in {\n\ soil of each i)lat 

 made before the first irrigation showed little dift'erence between the 

 plats in this respect. Similar determinations made 3 days after the 

 last irrimition oave results as follows: 



