UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



ji^*^^7<- 



m BULLETIN No. 398 f 



Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 

 WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief 



Washington, D. C. 



October 12, 1916 



CEREAL EXPERIMENTS AT THE JUDITH 

 SUBSTATION, MOCCASIN, MONT. 



BASIN 



By N. C. Donaldson, 

 Scientific Assistant, Office of Cereal Investigations. 

 (In cooperation with the Montana Agiicultural Experiment Station.) 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction 1 



Description of the Judixh Basin 2 



The Judith Basin substation 9 



Experiments with wheat 14 



Experiments with oats 26 



Experiments with barley .' 31 



Experiments with flax 34 



Comparison of the leadmg varieties of cereals . 39 



Experiments with minor cereals 39 



Summary 40 



INTRODUCTION. 



Experiments with, cereals have been conducted cooperatively since 

 1908 at the Judith Basin substation/ Moccasin, Mont., by the Office 

 of Cereal Investigations of the Bureau of Plant Industry and the 

 Montana Agricultural Experiment Station. The memorandum of 

 understanding between the two parties specifies that — 



The objects of these cooperative investigations shall be (1) to improve the cereals 

 of the northern Plains region by introducing better varieties than those now grown, 

 especially with regard to drought resistance, yield, quality, -earliness, etc., and (2) to 

 conduct such other experiments as may seem advisable for the accomplishment of 

 the greatest possible good to the dry -land interests of the State. 



This bulletin presents briefly the results of these investigations, 

 together with such conclusions as they seem to warrant. All experi- 

 ments here reported have been conducted under dry-land conditions. 



i The Judith Basin substation was established in 1908 by the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station 

 in cooperation with the Bureau of Plant Industry. Prof. F. B. Linfleld has been director of the State sta- 

 tion since the substation was started. Prof. Alfred Atkinson, head of the agronomy department at the 

 State station, has had direct charge of the substation for the State. Mr. J. M. Stephens has been superin- 

 tendent of the substation since its establishment. Mr. E . L. .'Vdams was in charge of the experiments with 

 cereals from 1909 to 1912. On his transfer to another station in May of the latter year, the writer of this 

 bulletin was appointed agent of the Office of Cereal Investigations to take charge of the cooperative cereal 

 work and on October 1, 1912, was appointed scientific assistant. 

 48601°— Bull. 398—16 1 



