Water Used by Plants 



37 



was 4.168 tons, equal to 4.9 tons of hay containing 15 per cent 

 of water. The water used, expressed in inches, was 21.43. 



In the trials of clover on the virgin soil in the plant-house, 

 14 cylinders of the smaller size were used, and these were seeded 

 Dec. 12, 1896, and cut July 8, 1897. The yield of dry matter in 

 these cases per unit area was much heavier than on the black 

 soil, the amounts standing as below: 



The total amount of water- free dry matter produced on all 

 the cylinders was 3,724.2 gms., or 8.215 pounds., using 4,496 

 pounds of water, or at the rate of 547.3 pounds for one pound 

 of dry matter. The average yield of water -free dry matter per 

 acre was 7.23 tons, equal to 8.51 tons of hay containing 15 per 

 cent of water. The water used during the 207 days from seed- 

 time to cutting of the first crop was 34.93 inches. 



Side by side with the cases now cited, six other cylinders 

 were planted to Rural New-Yorker potatoes on the same date. 

 These were dug July 2, and the photo -engraving, Fig. 4, shows 

 the crop produced. Although the potatoes were planted Dec. 12, 

 they did not come up until into February, apparently for no other 

 reason than that the tubers needed a certain period in which to 

 develop the conditions for growth, which at the time of planting 

 they had not had. When the plants did come up they grew very 

 rapidly. Below are given the results of these trials: 



No. of cylinders 65 66 67 68 69 70 



Weight of tubers gms 1,288.7 808.1 1,376 1,313.4 1,275.4 1,204.8 



Bushels per acre 1,168 732 1,249 1,189 1,155 1,091.5 



Total dry matter gms 342.6 263.6 332.5 334 312.2 328.8 



Water per Ib. of dry matter 275.4 347.6 281.7 272.3 307.3 306.3 



Water used by crop Ibs 208 202 206.5 200.5 211.5 222 



Inches of water 22.63 21.98 22.47 21.81 23.01 24.15 



