125 
MAIZE. 
Similar experiments on maize showed a similar acceleration of the 
date of ripening, as given in the following table, which also shows 
in the last column what proportion of the maize was unripe in the 
sparsely planted plats when that which was closely planted was 
already fully ripe. 
MAIZE (WOLLNY, 1875). 
Number 
Number) : ; 
cE plants GN Ongor Percent 
to the | ee oO ) 
square mre ripening.| U27ipe 
meter. plant. 
25 400 Ate Buy 
16 625 2 0.0 
9 | 1,109 Bilis 4.26.7 
6 1,600 ye 34.8 
4 2,500 5 56.2 
FLAX. 
A striking illustration of the effect of scant water supply is given 
in the case of four plats of flax, which were sown at the rate of 
50, 100, 150, and 200 grams of seed per 4 square meters of ground. 
During the drought of 1875 the plants sown most closely all died 
early in July, whereas those sown most sparsely withstood the drought 
very well; of the plants sown with intermediate densities the number 
that died was proportional to the density.. In general, if all other 
conditions are the same, plants ripen sooner and have a shorter dura- 
tion of vegetation in proportion as the soil is drier, or in proportion 
as there are more plants to the unit area. 
Evidently the plants whose roots extend the farthest in search of 
water will outlast the species or varieties whose roots are of smaller 
dimensions. 
RAINFALL AND SUGAR BEETS. 
Briem (1887) has investigated the effect of rainfall on the harvest 
of sugar beets. His observations were made at the experiment station 
“ Grobers.” <A long drought during August and September was fol- 
lowed by a rainy period of many weeks. During the latter the beets 
increased in weight on an average for each beet from 388 to 450 
grams; the presence of sugar was shown by the ordinary polariza- 
tion test, both before and during the rainy period. The following 
table gives the results of the analyses, each figure being the average 
of 16 readings on samples taken from 100 beets. These samples show 
that immediately after the first rainfall, on September 21, the per- 
centage of sugar per beet diminished somewhat, but that toward the 
