76 BULLETIN 698, U. S, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Table XXXI shows that the duration of the growing period has 

 varied from 90 days, in 1915, to 121 days, in 1912. Their earliness, 

 therefore, is comparable to that of the milo group and indicates some 

 promise of usefulness in this particular line. 



The stand obtained has varied considerably in the different years. 

 In 1910, when the spring was extremely dry, the stand was better 

 than that of any of the kafirs or milos. The poorest stand was 

 obtained in the wet spring of 1915, when each plant had 42 inches 

 of space and the sucker production of 31.3 per cent reduced the stalk 

 space to only 29 inches. Sucker production in 1910 averaged 44 per 

 cent of the total number of stalks, while the percentage in 1915 was 

 the next highest. 



The yield of Mukden (C. I. No. 190) is only 11.3 bushels per acre in 

 the eight years for which the record exists, there being no record in 1908. 

 The average acre yields of the two varieties in the five years from 1909 

 to 1913, inclusive, in which both were, grown, were only 11.7 and 

 12.5 bushels, respectively. These yields are too small to be very 

 encouraging. The yield of No. 190 in 1915, the year of bumper yields, 

 was only 13.8 bushels per acre, due partly to the very thin stand, no 

 doubt, but not indicating high productiveness under favorable con- 

 ditions. The annual and 9-year average yields of White kaoliang 

 are compared with those of other kaoliangs in Table XXXVI. 



THE BLACKHULL KAOLIANG SUBGROUP. 



This subgroup of kaoliangs is distinguished by black glumes and 

 white kernels. Three different introductions have been under ex- 

 periment in varying numbers of years in the 9-year period from 1908 

 to 1916, inclusive. The results are given in Tables XXXII and 

 XXXIII. Only one of these varieties has proved at all promising. 

 BriU (C. I. No. 120) was too tall to be satisfactory and too late to 

 make good yields and was discarded at the end of six years. Korean 

 (C. I. No. 412) also was tall and late and frequently gave only thin 

 stands. It was placed in the experiment in 1910, continued for five 

 years, and discarded at the end of 1914. Only Barchet (C I. No. 310) 

 has been carried throughout the 9-year period. 



The stands obtained from the Barchet variety have been unusually 

 uniform. The 9-year average plant space has been only 8.4 inches. 

 The closest spacing was 3 inches in 1914, and the widest spacing 

 14.2 inches in 1916. In the dry spring of 1910 and the wet spring of 

 1915 the plant spacings were 13.8 and 10.7 inches, respectively, 

 much closer than in most of the milos and kafirs. The average stalk 

 space has been only 5.5 inches. The closest spacing was 2.7 inches, 

 in 1914, when the plant space was only 3 inches. The widest spacing 

 was 8.2 inches, in 1909, when the plant space was 8.9 inches and only 

 7 per cent of suckers were produced. Tillering has been in direct 

 proportion to stand except in the year 1909. The average production 



