CEREALS ON THE BELLE FOURCHE EXPERIMENT FARM. 



31 



Many varieties also were grown in nursery rows. Of these, an 

 unnamed variety, designated as C. I. No. 357, outyielded all other 

 varieties and strains during a period of several years. This variety 

 was being increased for plat experiments in 1918, but was never 

 grown in plats at Newell. 



RATE-OF-SEEDING EXPERIMENTS. 



A rate-of-seeding experiment with oats was conducted on dry land 

 during six seasons. Good yields were obtained in all years except 

 1910 and 1912. These rates of seeding varied by 2-peck intervals 

 from 2 to 12 pecks per acre, but only four different rates were sown 

 during all of the years. The varieties used in the experiment were 

 Kherson, C. I. No. 459, in 1909 and 1910 ; Sixty -Day, C. I. No. 165, 

 in 1912 and 1913 ; and Sixty-Day selection, No. 165-566, in 1915 and 

 1916. As these varieties are of very similar character, the data are 

 practically as uniform as if the same variety had been grown through- 

 out the entire experiment. The yields are shown in Table XX. 



The highest average yields were obtained from sowing the oats at 

 the rate of 6 pecks per acre, with a gradual decrease if sown at 

 higher or lower rates of seeding. The results were so strikingly in 

 favor of the 6-peck rate that the experiment was discontinued in 

 1916. 



Table XX. — Yields obtained in r^ate-of -seeding experiments icith oat tyarieties "' 

 on dry land on the Belle Fourche Experiment Farm. 1909 to 1916, inclusive. 



Rate of seeding per acre. 



2 pecks . . 

 4 pecks . . 

 6 pecks . . 

 8 pecks . . 

 10 pecks . 

 12 pecks . 



Yields per acre (bushels). 



1909 1910 1912 1913 



25.9 

 30.2 

 32.8 

 35.3 

 35.9 



11.9 

 12.5 

 10.3 

 4.1 

 3.4 



8.9 

 10.3 

 9.2 

 9.7 

 9.1 



28.2 

 27.3 

 27.3 



28.1 

 28.2 



1915 1916 



120.0 

 118.2 

 104.8 

 109.6 



40.0 

 42.5 

 40.6 

 36.1 



39.8 

 40.6 

 37.9 

 37.2 



a ISierson, C. I. No. 459, grown in 1909 and 1910; Sixty-Day, C. I. No. 165, in 1912 and 1913; and Sixty- 

 Day selection, 165-566, in 1915 and 1916. 



Table XXI shows the average number of days from emergence 

 to maturity, the height, weight per bushel, stand of plants per acre, 

 and yields in pounds per acre of grain and straw of the oats in the 

 rate-of-seeding experiments. The data are shown for only four 

 rates of seeding, viz, 4, 6, 8, and 10 pecks per acre. The period of 

 maturity and the height of the plants decrease with the increase in 

 the rate of seeding. The weights per bushel are slightly higher 

 from the heavier rates of seeding. The number of plants per acre 

 is not quite proportional to the rate of seeding. This is due largely 

 to the error in counting the plants in the thicker seedings where the 



