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should 1)0 furnished, so that ordinary Cc.ld-culture in every respect should be observed 

 iu testing its value; and this can be done satisfactorily onlij by a perfectly similar treat- 

 ment of some comnuin sort under perfectly similar conditions, side by side, such as, 

 iirst, amount of seed i^er acre; second, quality and situation of land;" third, manner 

 and time of sowing; fourth, d(;pth and manner of cultivation; iifth, former treatment 

 of land, &c. The testing of any lield-crop requires verj- faithful maiiageiueut and 

 patient wailing, for not less than throe years ayIU be essential to acclimate and give 

 an average of seasons. The most valuable result ^Yoald bo reached by a, maximum 

 yield from the use of a minimum amount of fertiliz',!rs and labor. Tlicro is no practical 

 value attaching to tho use of an unlimited amount of manure .and InJjor, simply to get 

 the largest percentage of yield, ior the crop may cost more than it is ^vortli. But the 

 first point should bo to ascertain the best manner of sowing; secondly, to ascertain 

 the jiropor amount of seed per acre; thirdly, to ascertain the best method of cultiva- 

 tion for Ji certain variety of grain and a certain character of soil : and, fourthly, to 

 .ipply tho manure in the manner to get tho bestteffect. 



ExPERi:\rENTS WITH SEEDS. — The committee appointed at tbe con- 

 vention held in Chicago, on the 24tii and Sath days of August last, to 

 report a plan of experiments to l)e tried in common at the different 

 agricultural colleges of the country, submit the following : 



Experiment No. 1, to tcfit the variation of mils on adjacent plat«, — \\c recommend that 20 

 plats of one-twentieth of an aero each, 2 by 4 rod:^, with strips of 4 fo'.* between each, 

 be selected on a soil as uniform as possiJdc, which has not been manured, at least for a 

 • number of years. It should lie well drained, (tile-trained is best.) Tho aspect of the 

 •whole should be the same, and tho slope, if any, as uniform as possible. Where not 

 uniform the facts should l>o noted. They should be plowed ar.d othcrwiso cultivated 

 uniformly at the same time oven in tlie day, and under the same conditions as nearly 

 as possible. These plats should bo i>laiited to corn in drills at a uniform distance 

 between rows, one kernel in a place, at uniform distances in tho row.s, s^ that each 

 plat sh,ill contain the same number of stalks. CJood cultivation should be given, but no 

 manure applied, and the experiment should bo repeated in 187,'') and 1874. Tho stalks 

 and eare on each plat should be counted. The corn should be out up at a proper stage 

 of ripeness, weighed green, each plat separately, and cured in tho same stooks ; and 

 when thoroughly dried should be weighed again, stalks and* all. The cars should then 

 be husked and weighed separately, both when iirst husked aiid again v.'hen thccobsseem 

 thoroughly dried. Tlie pounds each of soft and sound corn should bo noted. The 

 dates and amount of time occupied in going through each process of planting, culture, 

 iiarvesting, &c., should bo .accurately iioted and performed in the dry part of tho same 

 day. This experiment is intended to ascert.ain the differences in the natural produc- 

 tiveness of adjacent or nearly adjacent plats, Avith fhc view of getting tho exact con- 

 ditions before applying manures. The corn used should be the variety most suceessfnl 

 in the neighborhood, and the strips between plats should be kept cultivated. 



Experiment No, 2. to test the uniform (tpplieation of manure on alternate iiJais. — As an im- 

 mediate experiment, under somewhat uncertain conditions, we rcoonmiend this : The 

 same care iu securing uniform soil, .aspect, slope, &c., should \>e had. We recommend, 

 as in tho other case, UO plats, each 2 by 4 rods, but separate<l each trom the other by 

 strips of 4 feet each, in order that the inflnence of the manure on manured pLats may 

 not be felt on unm.anured plats. These strips should be kept clean and the surface 

 stirred. The same weight of manure, of uniform finality, should be applied to alter- 

 u.ate plats, leaving tho other half unmauui'cd. The plats shouhl be planted with corn, 

 and be (jultivated and harvoste/1 as prescribed in ex])eriment No. 1. 



Exjycriment ]S\). 3, io ief!l the comparaiice procluGtircness in hills and drilhi. — Two acres, 

 as nearly uniforin and identical in soil, aspect, .and slope as possible, should be planted, 

 after staking olT the ground, as in experiment No. 1, one in hill-s, the other in drills, 

 the rows being the same distance .apart, and the number of stalks to the squ.are rod 

 the same. The different fields should receive the same amount of cultivation, tho 

 crops be liai'vcstcd and weighed, and the sound and soft corn compared as in cxperi- 

 mcnt No. 1. 



Experiment Ko. 4, to test the comparative effeet of common and continuous cuUivaiiQn. — We 

 recommend that another acre bo taken, 10 by 1(1 rods, and divided into one-twentieth 

 of .au acre plots, and pl.ante<l with corn in drills, as ia cxperimeut No. 1, making the 

 rows run Iho long w.ay of tho .acre, four rows to the rod, or forty rows, each 10 rods 

 long. Commencing on one side, give the first four rows commou culture; the next 

 four continuous stirring of the surface during tho whole time of cultivation, and so on, 

 alternating through ea^ch acre, giving five strips common and five strips continuous 

 cultivation. In linrTCSting, Ave take account only of tho two middle rows of each 

 strip or tier of plats. These should be cut u]"), weighed, dried, husked, «&c., as In 

 experiment No. 1. 



