BULLETIN OF THE 



NO. 219 



Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry, Wm. A. Taylor, Chief, 

 June 2, 1915. 



CORN IN THE GREAT PLAINS AREA: RELATION OF CULTURAL 

 METHODS TO PRODUCTION. 



By E. C. Chilcott, Agriculturist in Charge, and J. S. Cole and W. W. Burr, Assistants, 

 Office of Dry- Land Agriculture. 1 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction 1 



Area covered by these studies 3 



Climatic conditions 4 



General plan of the investigations 6 



Comparison of cultural methods 10 



R esults at individual stations 13 



General discussion of results 26 



Conclusions 31 



INTRODUCTION. 



In planning the experimental work of the Office of Dry-Land Ag- 

 riculture to study methods of crop production under dry-land con- 

 ditions in the Great Plains, corn was given rather a prominent place. 

 Experience had shown that in the production of fodder it was at 

 least as safe a crop, and perhaps as productive, as any that could be 

 grown in a large part of the area. Experience had also shown that 



i All of the members of the scientific staff of the Office of Dry-Land Agriculture have contributed 

 more or less to this paper by having charge of field investigations and by assisting in the preparation 

 of data for records or for publication. The scientific staff as at present constituted consists of the fol- 

 lowing members, named in the order of length of service: W. W. Burr, Denver, Colo.; E. F. Chilcott, 

 Woodward, Okla.; O. J. Grace, Akron, Colo.; J. S. Cole, Denver, Colo.; J. M. Stephens, Moccasin, Mont.; 

 A. L. Hallsted, Hays, Kans.; O. R. Mathews, Belle Fourche, S. Dak.; J. C. Thysell, Dickinson, N. Dak.; 

 M. Pfaender, Mandan, N. Dak.; H. C. McKinstry, Hettinger, N. Dak.; W. M. Osborn, North Platte, Nebr.; 

 W. D. Griggs, Dalhart, Tex.; C. A. Burmeister, Amarillo, Tex.; J. E. Mundell, Big Springs, Tex.; F. L. 

 Kelso, Ardmore, S. Dak.; W. A. Peterson, Mandan, N. Dak.; J. T. Sarvis, Ardmore, S. Dak.; G. W. Mor- 

 gan, Huntley, Mont.; J. H. Jacobson, Mitchell, Nebr.; H. G. Smith, Tucumcari, N. Mex.; L. N. Jensen, 

 Woodward, Okla.; J. G. Lill, Garden City, Kans.; R. S. Towle, Edgeley, N. Dak.; A. J. Ogaard, Williston, 

 N. Dak.; C. B. Brown, Dalhart, Tex.; L. D. Willey, Archer, Wyo.; J. B. Kuska, Colby, Kans.; and A. E. 

 Seamans, Akron, Colo. 



The following-named men have held positions on the scientific staff of the Office of Dry-Land Agricul- 

 ture during the past nine years, but have resigned or have been transferred to other offices of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture: Sylvester Balz, F. L. Kennard, J. E. Payne, L. E. Hazen, C. A. Jensen, H. R. 

 Reed, W. O. Whitcomb, C. H. Plath, F. Knorr, and R. W. Edwards. 



The data here reported from the stations in Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Montana have been 

 obtained in cooperation with the agricultural experiment stations of their respective States. In South 

 Dakota, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico the stations are operated by the United States 

 Department of Agriculture. 



Field, office, and laboratory facilities, teams, and implements have been provided by the Office of West- 

 ern Irrigation Agriculture at Huntley, Mont., Belle Fourche, S. Dak., and Mitchell, Nebr., and by the 

 Office of Cereal Investigations at Amarillo, Tex., and Archer, Wyo. The Biophysical Laboratory has 

 cooperated in obtaining the meteorological data reported. 



Note. — This bulletin is intended for all who are interested in the agricultural possibilities of the Great 

 Plains area. 



87563°— Bull. 219—15 1 



