28 



BULLETIN" 270, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUKE. 



Table XIV.- 



-Annual and average yields in a rate-of-seeding test of Swedish Select oats 

 at the Williston substation. 1911 to 1914, inclusive. 



Rate of seeding. 



Yield per acre (bushels). 



1911 



1912 



Average. 



2 pecks. 



4 peeks. 

 6 pecks . 



5 pecks . 

 10 pecks 



3.5 

 6.0 

 6.4 

 7.3 

 10.8 



76.9 

 70.0 

 53.7 

 60.0 

 64.4 



38.8 

 73.8 

 78.1 

 75.6 

 73.0 



82.2 

 97.3 

 108.2 

 111.4 



50.4 

 61.8 

 61.6 

 63.6 



The highest average yield, 63.6 bushels, as shown in Table XIV, 

 has been obtained from the 8-peck rate. This yield, however, is only 

 slightly higher than was obtained from the 4-peck and 6-peck rates, 

 and when the extra bushel of seed required is taken into account it 

 exceeds the 4-peck rate by only 0.8 bushel. 



Attention is called to the fact that three of the four years during 

 which the test has been conducted have been favorable ones for crop 

 production and that one of them (1914) was particularly favorable 

 for oats. Experiments elsewhere in the Great Plains have shown 

 that the higher rates of seeding for the various cereals usually give 

 best returns in favorable years, but that in ordinary or unfavorable 

 years the lower rates are better. If the particularly favorable year 

 (1914) is disregarded, the average yield from the 4-peck rate at Willis- 

 ton for the preceding three years is about 3 bushels higher than from 

 either of the higher rates. At present, therefore, it appears to be 

 advisable to recommend sowing from 4 to 6 pecks of oats to the acre 

 in the Williston district. This test will be continued and the results 

 reported at a later date. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH BARLEY. 



Practically all the varieties of barley which have been grown at 

 Williston have been of the ordinary hulled (common) class, though 

 two naked (hull-less) varieties have been included in the tests. All 

 the varieties, with the exception of Nepal, are bearded. About two- 

 thirds of the hulled varieties are 6-rowed and one-third 2-rowed. 

 The annual and average yields of the 26 varieties and races of barley 

 which have been grown at Williston for the seven years from 1908 to 

 1914 are given in Table XV. Of these 26 varieties only 14 were 

 tested in 1914, the others having been discarded previously. 



LEADING VARIETIES. 



As shown in Table XV, the yields of only six varieties of barley are 

 available for the full period of seven years. Of these, four are 6-rowed 

 and two are 2-rowed barleys. All are bearded 'and all are hulled (com- 

 mon) varieties. The few naked and hooded varieties which have 

 been grown at Williston have produced very low yields. 



