574 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 260 



this group the growth made from the first and second largest seed was 

 similar and did not show any advantage for the second largest seed, as 

 was the case in the seed from the four plants. The consistency of this 

 vigor in the second largest seed between the four plants seems to be sig- 

 nificant and will be investigated further. 



The results indicate the fallacy in comparing the effect of size of seed 

 on plant growth by using field run seed. The variation in size of seed 

 between plants makes it imperative that studies of this nature be conduct- 

 ed with seed from the same plant. 



Field run seed was divided into large, medium, and small and planted 

 three inches apart by hand in rows. The average stand (4 rows of each 

 lot) was 61 per cent for the large seed, 70 per cent for the medium seed, 

 and 64 per cent for the small seed. The consistency in stand in the indi- 

 vidual rows of each lot makes the dift^erence significant. The average 

 number of stalks per plant for the three lots was not significantly different 

 nor was there any difference in root growth. 



Depth of Planting. — Two hundred selected one-year roots were planted 

 2, 4^ 6, and 8 inches deep in 1928. The preliminary results are summarized 

 in the following table: 



Depth of Skips Number of plants 



planting 



Inches % Vigorou.s Medium Weak 



2 2 165 28 3 



4 9 144 30 8 



6 17 120 33 13 



8 30 65 38 37 



These results were obtained on a medium silt loam with a gravelly sub- 

 soil. Four to six inches seems to be the best depth of planting to give a 

 good growth and have the roots deep enough so that the surface can be 

 cultivated in the spring. 



Relation of Depth of Planting Seedlings to the Angle of Crown Growth. 

 Seedlings starting their first storage roots were transplanted to the ex- 

 perimental plot. After a season's growth the roots were dug and the 

 angle of inclination for the crown growth measured. 



Depth of Medium sand 



planting Sand and loam Loam 

 Inches 



1 — 14.0° — 11.6° —16.6° 



2 —10.0° —5.8° —1.9° 



3 -1-6.0° -1-7.1° +1.6° 



4 +11.0° +17.0° +6.4° 



The results show that the optimum depth for planting seed was be- 

 tween 2 and 3 inches for the three types of soil. At that depth the new 

 buds on the crown developed horizontally. Shallower than 2 inches, the 

 buds tended to develop below the horizontal plane, whereas at greater 

 Hepths the buds developed above the horizontal plane. 



Fertilizer Studies. — In the spring of 1929 fertilizer experiments on as- 

 paragus were started in Waltham, Concord, and Eastham. Five acres 

 are devoted to the plots. A comparison of fertilizer ingredients, time of 

 application of fertilizers, amounts of fertilizers to apply, relation of high 

 phosphoric acid to maturity, and relation of fertilizer to earliness, are 



