54 



INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENT ON SWEET CORN. 



The Crosby corn was planted on what was presumed to be a plat 

 well suited to the growing of this crop, but an unusually poor stand 

 was secured and in some rows not a single ear could be found. The 

 average percentage of sugars for 1908 was low, being 16.58, yet some 

 ears with very high percentage were obtained, the maximum being 

 34.94. The detailed analytical data were as follows: 



Analysis of individual ears of Stowell Evergreen corn grown in Orange, Conn., 1908. 



The Stowell Evergreen made a very good stand, having been 

 planted on the same plat of ground as the 1906 crop. For 1908 the 

 average percentage of sugars, however, was only 10.12, with the 

 maximum 17.48 and the minimum 2.78 per cent; while in 1905 the 

 average was 21.70 per cent; in 1906, 15.10 per cent; and hi 1907, 17.11 

 per cent. 



The decided drop in the sugar content in this year is of interest in 

 connection with the fact that there was a heavy rainfall in August, 

 the month when sugar should have been stored, while the total pre- 

 cipitation was the lowest recorded in the four years for this station. 



MAINE. 



At the Maine station in 1908 the Crosby corn was planted in soil of 

 the clay type intermixed with shaly rock which had produced a crop 

 of mangel-wurzels the season before. Preparation of the ground 

 consisted of fall plowing and harrowing with a disk harrow twice, 

 with a spike-tooth harrow twice, and with a smoothing harrow once. 

 The fertilizer employed was a commercial mixture containing 3 per 

 cent of nitrogen, 7 per cent of phosphoric acid, and 4 per cent of potas- 

 sium oxid applied at the rate of 600 pounds per acre. The seed 

 was planted Juno S and the young plants appeared one week later. 



