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BULLETIN 1126, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



was dry. This period was followed by two weeks of optimum soil- 

 moisture conditions. The effect of the borax in retarding the ger- 

 mination of the beans and stunting the growth of the young plants 

 was probably more pronounced than if there had been heavy rainfall 

 for this period. 



Table 5. — Record of daily rainfall at Arlington, Va., for the five-month periodfrom May 



to September, inclusive, in 1920. 



[Data in inches.] 



Date. 



May. 



June. 



July. 



Aug. 



Sept. 



Date. 



May. 



June. 



July. 



Aug. 



Sept. 



l 



0.3S 



















17 







0.21 



0.07 



0.18 







2 















.44 







18 







.21 



.08 



.16 







3 











1.96 











19 















.17 







4 



















o 



20 











.89 



.80 







5 







1.19 















21 







1.25 







1.00 







6 







.83 







.26 







22 







.15 















7 















.01 



. 22 



23 











.22 



.11 







8 



.41 







.62 











24 







.04 















9 























25 







.24 



.80 







.03 



10 















.04 



1.09 



26 























11 















.38 



.70 



27 























12 







.25 















28 















.18 



.07 



13 



.76 











.71 



.01 ; 



29 



















.02 



14 







.05 















30 















.11 



1.34 



15 



.05 







.31 











31 



















16 







.09 



.02 



.36 



















The weather conditions at the time of planting the potatoes on 

 July 1 were somewhat different. For 10 days preceding the in- 

 auguration of the experiment about 1 inch of rain had fallen, and 

 the soil was sufficiently moist to cause germination and to support 

 normal growth. On July 3, two days after the fertilizer was applied 

 and the seed planted in sections 2 and 3, there was a rainfall of 1.96 

 inches. While this depth of rainfall would not be likely to cause 

 any considerable quantity of borax to be leached, it probably would 

 be sufficient to dissolve the borax. By the natural movement of 

 the soil moisture the borax would be well diffused in the soil. The 

 borax in section 1, where the delayed planting was made, was probably 

 well distributed before planting was done. Occasional rains during 

 July kept the soil well supplied with moisture except in the last of the 

 month, when a period of about a week without rainfall occurred. The 

 rainfall in August was favorable, so that the potatoes germinated 

 and grew under rather favorable moisture conditions, and only 

 slight borax injury was experienced. It required relatively large 

 quantities to produce a pronounced injury. 



The corn which was planted early in May started its growth under 

 somewhat different weather conditions than did the beans and 

 potatoes. When planted on May 3 the soil was in a good moist con- 

 dition and during the folio-wing 12 days there was a well-distributed 

 rainfall of 1.22 inches, which was during the germination stage. The 

 rainfall was sufficient to keep the surface soil in a moist condition, 

 and at no time during the 12-day germinating period did the surface 

 become dry. The following 3 weeks, which was the period when the 

 young plants were beginning their growth, were without rainfall, As 

 was pointed out earlier, there was considerable injury to the young 

 corn by small quantities of borax, except possibly in the 3 plats of 

 section 1 winch received 1, 2, and 3 pounds of borax per acre. 



