46 



MISSOURI AGR. EXP. STA. RESEARCH BULLETIN 49 



borders discarded would have given in this case somewhat more va- 

 riable results than 5-row blocks with borders discarded. The same 5- 

 row blocks harvested entire (with borders retained) gave slightly less 

 variable yields than when the borders were discarded. 



The same comparison may be made in the check plots of the 

 oats variety test of 1919. The check variety was Red Rustproof, 

 drilled at the rate of 10 pecks per acre in every ninth plot. The re- 

 sults are shown in Table 20. 



TABLE 20. YIELD AND VARIABILITY OF CHECK PLOTS. 

 Single-row, Three-row, and Five-row Oats Variety Test 1919. 



The results .in this case are practically identical with those of the 

 barley variety test. Protected single rows were 10 per cent more va- 

 riable than protected 3-row blocks, while the latter were only 6 per 

 cent more variable than unprotected 5-row blocks. 



In the test of strains of Red Rustproof oats, conducted on the 

 same field in 1919, adjoining the oats variety test, the same variety 

 was used as check, and the crop was seeded on the same day with the 

 same machine, but the check plots were in every sixth instead of every 

 ninth plot. The corresponding data for these check plots are given in 

 Table 21. 



Although the variability of these plots is lower, the relative va- 

 riability of plots of different sizes is similar to that of the variety test. 

 The single interior rows are on the average 24 per cent more variable 

 than the 3-row block. The 3-row plot is only very slightly more va- 

 riable than the 5-row plot. 



