CEREAL EXPERIMENTS AT THE WILLISTON SUBSTATION. 35 



The average annual precipitation at Willis ton for the 36 years from 

 1879 to 1914, inclusive, was 14.9 inches. The average seasonal rain- 

 fall (April to July, inclusive) for these years was 8.86 inches. The 

 heaviest rainfall at Williston occurs during the growing season. 



The average evaporation from a free water surface at the Williston 

 substation during the growing season for the years 1909 to 1914, in- 

 clusive, was 24.03 inches. The average precipitation for the same 

 period was 8.43 inches. 



The average wind velocity per hour during the months from April 

 to July, inclusive, for the years 1909 to 1914, inclusive, was 6.6 miles. 



The average length of the frost-free period for the 33 years has 

 been 119 days. The average date of the last killing frost in the 

 spring has been May 18 and of the first killing frost in the fall, Sep- 

 tember 14. 



The soil at the Williston substation on which the cereal varieties 

 have been tested consists of a fine sandy loam. 



The varietal tests on plats have included 36 varieties and strains 

 of spring wheat, 40 of oats, 27 of barley, and a few each of flax, 

 emmer, spelt, rye, proso, and winter wheat. 



Spring wheats have given better results than winter wheats. 



Except in the dry years, 1910 and 1911, the durum wheats have 

 produced higher yields than the common spring wheats. 



Kubanka durum wheat (C. I. No. 1440) gave the highest average 

 yield of all of the spring wheats tested from 1908 to 1914, inclusive, 

 29.9 bushels per acre. Power fife wheat (C. I. No. 3697) stood second 

 for the same period, producing 28.6 bushels per acre. 



The bluest em group has not yielded as well as the durums and 

 fifes, and the average weight per bushel has also been lower. 



R;iic-of-seeding tests with bluestem spring wheat have indicated 

 that the highest yields are obtained from sowing 4 pecks to the acre. 



The average yields from winter wheat are lower than those from 

 the spring wheats, for winter wheat frequently winterkills. Sowing 

 winter wheal in grain stubble or standing corn gives protection to 

 the plants and reduces the loss from winterkilling. 



The best three varieties of oats for the seven years, 1908 to 1914, 

 arc Abundance, with an average yield of 66.4 bushels per acre; 

 Lincoln, 65.9 bushels; and Siberian, 64.5 bushels. These are all 

 midseason varieties. The late-maturing varieties, such as White 

 Russian, and the very early varieties, Sixty-Day and Kherson, have 

 yielded much less than the midseason varieties. 



Rate-of-seeding tests with Swedish Select oats indicate that the 

 besl yields .-ire obtained by sowing from 4 to 6 pecks per acre 



The 6-rowed group of barley has yielded better than the 2-rowed 

 group. The highesl average yield for the seven years C loos 1<> 1014), 



