tillage, planting, and cultivation 391 



Station, on red soil, with Iowa Silver-mine. This breed was CHAP, 

 used, as it was already being grown for other purposes which IX ' 

 would not interfere with the distance tests. 



The plot was 56 yards long, and ten rows were grown at 

 each distance. The distances chosen were based on the results 

 obtained in the previous experiment. 



From Table LIV it is obvious that the heaviest ears 

 were obtained, in all cases except one, from the plants having 

 the largest amount of free soil space per plant ; in the one ex- 

 ception the difference is so slight that it does not affect the 

 results. But in an experiment with sunflowers conducted at 

 the Botanical Experiment Station a few years previously, it 

 was clearly proved that the plants which produced the smaller 

 heads gave a better crop than those which bore very large 

 heads, because there were more of them. 



We must therefore find out whether the reduced weight of 

 ear, in cases of less soil space per plant, may not be compen- 

 sated by the larger number of plants per acre. Table LIV 

 shows that in the above experiment this was not the case. 

 In Illinois, however, the smaller ears gave the heaviest total 

 yield (II 350). 



One of the factors which affects the maize yield is sunshine, 

 and on this account distance between the rows may be of greater 

 importance than distance in the rows. But this again is some- 

 times affected by the direction of the rows, especially in a 

 cloudy, wet season ; in such a season wide rows, running 

 north and south, have an advantage over narrow rows running 

 east and west. 



At Vereeniging Mr. McLaren has tried various distances, 

 and now usually plants 3 feet 4 inches between the rows, the 

 grain being dropped on the average at about 1 foot 6 inches 

 in the row, giving 5 square feet to each plant, or 8,712 plants 

 per acre. 



On some of the Transvaal soils it seems likely that 3 feet 

 x 1 foot 6 inches, or 9,680 plants per acre, will give better 

 results, but this requires further investigation. 



349. Distance Tests in Natal. — At the Government Experi- 

 ment Farm, Cedara, Natal, the following returns of yield of 

 grain per acre were obtained : — : 



1 111 igOi). 



