BEOOil-COEX EXPERIMENTS AT WOODWARD, OKLAHOMA. 11 



or upper leaf sheath and firmly attached to the upper node, which 

 makes necessary the use of a knife in harvesting the brush. The 

 fiber is coarse, but usually round and pliable. 



Dwarf broom corns range in height from 3.5 to 6 feet, with short 

 intemodes. The leaves are narrow, dark green, and from 10 to 13 

 in number. The heads range in length from 15 to 22 or more inches 

 under quite favorable growing conditions, but remain from one- 

 half to one-third inclosed in the upper sheath. They are not as 

 firmly attached to the upper node, which makes harvesting possible 

 without the aid of a knife by pulling or jerking the heads from the 

 standing stalks. 



EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS. 



In order to gain a better understanding of the experimental re- 

 sults obtained from the varieties included in the different experi- 

 ments, it is necessary to know the methods of obtaining the data re- 

 corded and the conditions prevailing each season. 



Methods Employed. 



The methods employed in regard to the size and arrangement of 

 the plats, the crop rotation practiced on the experimental area, the 

 date on which the varietal experiment was sown each year, and the 

 method of collecting certain agronomic data are explained in the 

 following paragraphs. 



SIZE AXD AEEAXGEMENT OF PLATS. 



The land used in these experiments is divided into series which 

 are 8 rods wide, extending the whole length of the field from north 

 to south. These series are separated by roads 20 feet wide. The 

 rows of broom corn extend across the series from east to west and are 

 spaced 3.5 feet apart. Thus, each row occupies a space 8 rods long 

 and 3.5 feet wide and represents approximately one-hundredth of 

 an acre. Seeding is begun at either end of the series and con- 

 tinued until the entire series is finished. Xo alleys are left between 

 the varieties, so there is no border effect except at the ends of the 

 rows, where they border on the roads. Each variety usually occu- 

 pied 10 rows, or a tenth of an acre. In sowing the varieties the rows 

 were made longer than 132 feet, extending several feet into the road- 

 way at both ends. When the plants had attained a height of 12 to 15 

 inches the ends of the rows were trimmed to the proper limits. 



CROP BOTATIOX PRACTICED. 



It has not been practicable to follow a definite system of crop rota- 

 tion in these experiments, because the land available for this work 

 was all in sod the first year (1911). and only enough could be pre- 



