1904.] 



Experiments with Swedes. 



219 



The effect of the harvest weather in Aberdeenshire seems to 

 be indicated also by the fact that seed of the " Thousand 

 Dollar" variety taken from the same bulk was sown in 1903 

 both in Aberdeenshire and Cambridgeshire, and seed from 

 the Aberdeenshire crop germinated 63 to 73 per cent., while 

 that from the Cambridgeshire crop germinated 91 to 92 per 

 cent 



An account is given in Leaflet No. 46 of the Stem Eelworm 

 {Tylenchus devastatrix), which recently has been reported as 

 affecting oats in Scotland. In addition to 



StB (Tji^JuI m ' the remedies thei ' ein suggested, the Board 

 Devastatrix^) are advised that the use of the following 

 dressings have been found to be successful in 

 combating this pest : — (1) Sulphate of potash at the rate of 1 cwt 

 per acre. This stopped tulip rcot, and was followed by a good 

 crop. (2) Sulphate of ammonia 4 parts, sulphate of potash 

 1 part, steamed bones 2 parts, applied at the rate of \\ cwt. per 

 acre, and followed by a dressing of 2 cwt. per acre of sulphate 

 of ammonia. (3) At Rothamsted, a good result was got with 

 sulphate of potash 3 cwt. per acre, sulphate of ammonia 1 cwt 

 per acre. A number of other plants are attacked by this worm, 

 including wheat and clover, but not barley. 



A series of experiments upon similar lines were undertaken 

 by the Agricultural Department of the Reading College upon 

 thirty farms in Berks, Bucks, Dorset, and 

 WU^Sw^J&f Oxfordshire. The scheme was devised as a 

 preliminary step towards a more complete 

 examination of the manurial and other requirements of swedes, 

 which it is hoped will be undertaken in subsequent years. One 

 of the chief objects of the work is to determine the leading 

 requirements in regard to the fertilising constituents needed by 

 swedes upon the particular soil on which the trial is made. 

 Ultimately it is hoped to obtain general rules applicable to the 



