62 BULLETIN 1039, V. S. DEPAETME]^T OF AGEICULTURE. 



The Red Russian variety gave an average yield of 21.8 bushels per 

 acre, while the next highest variety. Black Voronezh, yielded 18.8 

 bushels per acre. The Hansen variety gave the lowest yields during 

 both seasons. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH GRAIN MIXTURES. 



WHEAT, OATS, AND BARLEY MIXTURES. 



Mixtures of grains, chiefly of barley and oats, have occasionally 

 been grown by farmers. The mixtures are often referred to as 

 " succotash." An experiment to determine the value of this practice 

 of growing mixed grains on irrigated land was begun at Xewell in 

 1915 and continued for three years, after which further experiments 

 seemed to be unnecessary. 



The varieties selected were the Chevalier II barley, Swedish Se- 

 lect oats, and Kubanka wheat. From past observations these varieties 

 were known to mature at practically the same time if sown on the 

 same date. This proved to be the case in these experiments. These 

 A^arieties were well adapted to growing under irrigation, were not 

 easily shattered at maturity, and were not subject to severe rust 

 injury. 



In the plats sown to the single grains the barley was sown at the 

 rate of 6 pecks, the oats at 10 pecks, and the wheat at 5 pecks per 

 acre. The grains were sown with a disk drill which, when set to sow 

 the above quantities, was found from calibration tests to sow the 

 proper measured quantity regardless of bushel weight. In prepar- 

 ing the mixtures the weights per bushel of the grain were first de- 

 termined. The mixtures of two grains contained seed of each to 

 sow half of the quantity of seed used for each grain when sown alone. 

 The mixture of barley, oats, and wheat contained one-third of the 

 quantity of seed used for each grain sown alone. The drill was cali- 

 brated for each mixture so as to sow the proper quantities of mixed 

 grain. The proportions of each grain in the thrashed crop were not 

 determined. 



The yields of the mixed grains, the grains grown alone, and the 

 average 3delds of the two or three grains grown alone are shown in 

 Table XLVI. 



Good yields of all grains were obtained in 1915 and 1917. but the 

 yields in 1916 were reduced somewhat by soil blowing and rust. In 

 1915 about 10 per cent of the grain from the grains and mixtures was 

 shattered by hail while standing in the shock. The barley had been 

 thrashed before the hail, however, so the yield shown for 1915 has 

 been reduced 10 per cent to make it comparable with the other grains. 



