76 The Philippine Journal of Science ' i9i8 



were 50 centimeters apart, and the distance between the hills 

 was 40 centimeters. Two or three seeds were planted in a hill, 

 and when the young plants were well established, they were 

 thinned out so as to leave only one plant in a hill. When the 

 plants were about 5 centimeters high, the plat was covered with 

 a heavy mulch of grass. The mulch was well tamped down 

 with the feet, and special care was taken to see that the grass 

 fitted snugly around the bases of the plants. The mulch was 

 not removed during the entire life of the plants, and naturally 

 the plat was not cultivated after the mulch was put on. 



Plat B. — This plat differed from A in that no mulch was used 

 and that the plants received a good cultivation once each week 

 by the hoe. The plants were not irrigated. 



Some very interesting facts were broug"ht out in project 3, 

 as the tables will show. Most of the varieties gave a far greater 

 yield in the plat that was mulched than in the unmulched plat. 

 However, it will be noted that a few varieties did not respond 

 with a satisfactory yield in either case. The Limas were se- 

 verely attacked by the blight and did not mature any pods, 

 although they blossomed profusely. 



Perhaps the most noticeable feature connected with project 

 3 was the great difference between the fruiting seasons of the 

 plants in the two plats. Most of the mulched plants were green 

 and fresh for some time after the plants in the other plat had 

 dried up. Light showers frequently occurred after the plants 

 were fruiting, and these revived those in the unmulched plat, so 

 that they gave a fair, late yield. 



There was almost no difference in the sizes of the pods pro- 

 duced in the two plats, and after the weighing of a definite 

 number of pods taken at random, it was necessary to conclude 

 that the mulch increased the number of pods rather than the size. 



Neither the bean maggot nor the leaf hopper gave much 

 trouble in project 3, which was radically different from what 

 happened to project 2, which was planted at about the same 

 time. It is believed that this was due rather to the rapidity 

 with which the plants grew than to the absence of the insects. 

 The soil was rich in nitrogen, which soon forced the plants 

 beyond the danger of the pests. 



