BIOLOGY OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION 105 



Special problems. Keep the record of a cow and figure profit or loss 

 on basis of cost of feed and care. Trap-nest a flock of hens and study 

 variation in egg production, making results the basis for future breeding 

 and improvement of flock. 



Try different chemicals or fertilizers in strips across the rows in 

 the garden, to discover special needs of soil or crop. 



FIG. 51. Growth and oppor- 

 tunity 



One of the 8 carrots, thinned 

 to 4 to the foot, which weighed 

 11 pounds, and the smallest 

 of 50 carrots, unthinned and 

 standing 25 to the foot, which 

 weighed 1.7 pounds 



FIG. 52. Parsnips show- 

 ing result of a hard spot 

 in the row 



Experiment with different consistency of soil : trench a strip two or 

 three feet deep, dynamite a strip, or even leave a hard strip across the 

 garden, in order to study differences in production due to tillage (Fig. 52), 

 and thin plants to different distances (Fig. 51). 



Test. seeds of all kinds before planting in garden or field. By blow- 

 ing off the light, small seeds and planting the 5 or 10 per cent of the 

 heaviest and strongest seeds, crops of remarkable vigor and evenness are 



