244 REPORT OF jOFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



OATS. 



Burt Extra Early . — One of the town lots was seeded to this variety 

 May 9. The ground had been cultivated for years. It was up on 

 May 18. On June 15 it was 3 inches high and the stand was excellent. 

 July 1 it was 18 inches high and very promising. July 18 it was 30 

 inches high and almost entirely headed. August 1 it was 34 inches 

 high and just past blooding. August 15 it was 3 feet high, the grain in 

 the dough, and some of it beginning to ripen. It was ripe on August 

 26 and harvested on August 30. This is one of the most promising 

 varieties of oats that we have tried. It has never failed to mature, 

 and it can be recommended for all sections of Alaska, wherever grain 

 can be grown. It is not a vigorous grower, nor does it yield as heavily 

 as many of the later sorts. Its earliness is its chief recommendation. 



North Finnish Black. — The station was supplied with about 2 bushels 

 of seed of this variety. It was imported from Finland b} r the United 

 States Department of Agriculture. Its origin would lead one to con- 

 clude that it would prove to be a very early variety. This, however, 

 was not the case. It was seeded on new ground May 22. On June 7 

 it was up; on June 15, about 3 inches high, and the stand was excel- 

 lent. July 1 it was 8 inches high, and the growth was spotted, good 

 in places, poor in others, owing to the character of the new ground. 

 July 18 it was about one-fourth headed and the best 2 feet high. 

 August 1 it was 3 feet high and beginning to bloom; August 15, still in 

 bloom, and the best of it had lodged. It does not seem to stand up 

 well. Some of it was forming seed. Many of the plants continue to 

 send out new shoots from the roots, so that it is in all stages of growth, 

 some sprouts a few inches high, some of it heading, while the earliest 

 is forming grain. September 10 there were many mature heads in the 

 plat, but it was so uneven it could not be harvested. September 24 

 some of the ripest was cut, but the greater portion was still green. It 

 should be noted that the ground is not well suited to variety tests. 

 It was new and of uneven quality, but as far as results of this experi- 

 ment would indicate, this variet} 7 has nothing to recommend it for 

 Alaska above many uther sorts of medium early oats. 



FERTILIZER EXPERIMENTS WITH OATS. 



With a view of testing the effectiveness of certain available ferti- 

 lizers on new ground, six plats were laid out, each one-twentieth of an 

 acre in extent, 1 rod wide by 8 rods long. The plats were treated as 

 follows: Number one was fertilized with seaweed at the rate of 30 

 tons to the acre plowed under. Number two was fertilized with stable 

 manure at the rate of 30 tons per acre. Number three was fertilized 

 with fish guano from the Killisnoo factory at the rate of 500 pounds 

 per acre. Number four was fertilized with 30 tons of seaweed plowed 



