THE SUNFLOWEE AS A SILAGE CROP. 11 



obtained when the rows were 24 to 30 inches apart. For such seed- 

 ings 6 to 8 pounds of seed per acre are required. 



At the Michigan station {15^ p. 50) sunflowers were seeded in rows 

 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, and 42 inches apart. The best yields were ob- 

 tained from the 30-inch rows. At Huntley, Mont. (7, p. 12-14), 

 sunflowers drilled in rows 20 inches apart produced 37.6 tons silage 

 per acre ; in rows 30 inches apart, 32.9 tons ; and in rows 40 inches 

 apart, 31.0 tons per acre. At Bozeman, Mont. (^, p. 6, 7), sun- 

 flowers were seeded in rows 8, 20, 24, 30, 36, and 42 inches apart, 

 the quantity of seed varying from 30 to 4 pounds per acre, according 

 to the width of row. The average yield of silage for the two years 

 1917 and 1918 was highest in the 36-inch rows, 44.1 tons per acre. 

 The 8-inch rows were second, with a yield of 39.8 tons per acre, and 

 the 30-inch rows ranked third, with 33.6 tons of silage per acre. 



Other experiments designed to determine the comparative value 

 of planting in hills were carried out at Huntley and Bozeman, Mont. 

 Sunflowers were planted in hills 6 and 12 inches apart in all the 

 different row widths at Huntley and in hills 4, 8, and 12 inches apart 

 in each of the row widths, 24, 30, and 36 inches, at Bozeman. At 

 Huntley the average silage yield of the drilled plats in the three 

 different row widths was 33.8 tons per acre ; for the 6-inch hills, 30.6 

 tons; and for the 12-inch hills, 30.2 tons per acre. At Bozeman 

 (4^, p. 7, 8), although the highest single yield reported, 44.1 tons 

 per acre, was from drilled rows 36 inches apart and the lowest, 18.2 

 tons per acre, from hills 42 inches apart each way, the averages 

 showed larger yields for the plats planted in hills than for those 

 drilled. The actual difference in yield, however, was small. The 

 average for the three row widths in drilled seedings was 34.8 tons 

 of silage per acre ; for the rows planted in hills 4 inches apart, 36.2 

 tons ; in hills 8 inches apart, 35.3 tons ; and in hills 12 inches apart, 

 35.7 tons per acre. 



The results at the two stations are contradictory, and further work 

 will be necessary to clear up the value of these two methods. It is 

 somewhat easier to drill the seed in the row than to plant in hills 

 at the distances obtaining in these experiments. It is evident from 

 the experiments already completed that where the hills are separated 

 by a considerable distance, as they are in checkrowed corn, the yields 

 are appreciably smaller than in drilled rows. 



CULTIVATION AND IRRIGATION. 



If a crust forms on the soil before the plants come through or 

 immediately afterwa^rds, a light harrowing will help to obtain a 

 good stand. After the plants are 4 to 8 inches tall the ordinary 

 corn cultivator may be used, just as with corn. In some cases, like 



