12 BTILLiETI]!? 1094, U. S, DEPAETMEXT OF AGRICULTURE. 



initial advantage of the fallow, and heavy rainfall in the growing 

 period may put it at an actual disadvantage. 



The relation of the moisture in the soil at seeding time to the yield 

 of winter wheat has been discussed in detail in a previous publica- 

 tion/ which presents the data of both yield and soil moisture from 

 these plats for the years 1907 to 1913, inclusive. 



The evidence of these plats discloses nothing new. The value in 

 this section of early preparation of wheat stubble when it is to be 

 resown to wheat has been demonstrated often and is well known. 

 But the length of the record and the relation of the yields to the 

 average yield of the county makes an impressive object lesson. The 

 low average for the county indicates that by far too large a propor- 

 tion of the acreage is late and poorly prepared. The average is of 

 course lowered by many other things besides failure to prepare the 

 land early, but the importance of timely work and its necessity on a 

 larger proportion of the acreage if the general average is to be in- 

 creased can not be over emphasized. 



Bulletin 178 of the Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station'' 

 reporting results from the North Platte substation shows a much 

 smaller increase from early-fall plowing than has been obtained at 

 the Fort Hays branch station. 



A simultaneously prepared manuscript on winter wheat in western 

 Nebraska by L. L, Zook, published as Bulletin 179 of the Nebraska 

 Agricultural Experiment Station, reports results with winter wheat 

 following winter wheat, com, fallow, and green manure at the North 

 Platte (Nebr.), Scottsblufl (Nebr.), Akron (Colo.), and Ardmore 

 (S. Dak.) stations. While all of these stations show relatively small 

 increases from early preparation where the crop follows winter wheat 

 or other small grain, they also show marked increases in yield where 

 it follows corn, green manure, or fallow. The relations between 

 yields from continuous cropping to winter wheat and from other 

 methods at these stations are similar to those obtaining between late 

 plowing of continuousl}'^ cropped ground and other methods at the 

 Fort Hays branch station. 



These stations are farther north, at higher altitudes, and have less 

 precipitation than Fort Hays. Harvest is later and frost and seeding 

 are earher. The growing period after harvest being shorter and drier 

 than at Fort Hays, there is less opportunity for conducting an effec- 

 tive fallow between harvest and seeding. On the other hand, the 

 lower precipitation at these stations contributes to a greater response 

 from the full fallow period. 



' Call, L. E., and HaUsted, A. L. The relation of moisture to yield of winter wheat in western Kansas. 

 Kans.Agr.Exp. Sta.Bul.206,34p.,12pl.(intext). 1915. 

 'ZookjL. L. Winter wheat seed-bed preparation. Kebr. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. 178, 16p., 2figs. 1921. 



