CIRCULAR No. 421 JANUARY 1937 



UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 



RESULTS OF FIELD CROP, SHELTERBELT, AND OR- 

 CHARD INVESTIGATIONS AT THE UNITED 

 STATES DRY LAND FIELD STATION, 

 ARDMORE, S. DAK., 1911-32 



By Oscar R. Mathews, senior agronomist, and Vernee I. Clark, former 

 scientific aide, Division of Dry Land Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry 



Introduction 



Agricultural history of the section . 



CONTENTS 



Page Page 

 1 Shelterbelt investigations— Continued. 



Type of agriculture practiced . . . . 



2 



lack of cultivation _ ... 41 





3 



Species blocks 41 





3 



Hog-house shelterbelt _.. 42 





4 







4 

 21 



Farm orchard investigations- 43 



Field trials . 



Apple varieties 44 





27 







38 

 40 



Fruit production 4.5 





Summary 45 









INTRODUCTION 



The United States Dry Land Field Station at Ardmore, S. Dak., 

 was established for the purpose of studying the possibilities and the 

 limitations of crop production in the area that it represented. This 

 area includes southwestern South Dakota, northwestern Nebraska, 

 and east-central Wyoming. Ardmore is one of a group of 24 sta- 

 tions at which the Division of Dry Land Agriculture of the Bureau 

 of Plant Industry has studied crop production in the Great Plains. 



Work started at the station in 1911 with the breaking of prairie 

 sod. Crop-rotation work was continuous from 1912 to 1932, inclusive. 

 Work with dairy cattle, beef cattle, and hogs was inaugurated in 1917 

 for the purpose of determining the best methods of utilizing home- 

 grown feeds. Shelterbelt investigations for the purpose of determin- 

 ing the species of trees and methods of planting and care suitable for 

 the section were started in 1917. Fruit trees were planted at different 

 times from 1917 on, to determine varieties that were suited to the 

 conditions they must endure. Cooperative work with other divisions 

 of the Bureau of Plant Industry was carried on for the purpose of 

 determining the varieties of grains and forage crops best adapted to 

 the section. 



The results of all the work at the station to and including the year 

 1925 appear in an earlier publication. 1 



iCoLE, J. S., Kelso, F. L., Russell, E. Z., Shepherd, J. B.. Stuart, D., and Graves, 



R. R. WORK OF THE UNITED STATES DRT-LAND FIELD STATION, ARDMORE, S. DAK., 1912 TO 



1925. U. S. Dept. Agr. Tech. Bull. 17. 68 p., illus. 1927. For sale by Superintendent 

 of Documents, Washington, D. C, price 15 cents. 



103768°— 36 1 ! 



