49Q Summary of Agricultural Experiments, [sept. 



ployed produced a growth sufficiently rank in the wheat to affect the 

 "seeds" detrimentally. It appeared that the phosphatic and potassic 

 manures beneficially affected the clovers, and the nitrate of soda 

 encouraged the growth of the grasses. 



On medium soils where wheat follows a root crop which has re- 

 ceived only a moderate application of farmyard manure, the following 

 dressing is recommended : — Nitrate of soda, i cwt. ; superphosphate, 

 2 cwt.; muriate of potash, § cwt.— costing about 215. gd. 



On medium soils where the root crop has been well manured, it 

 may be inadvisable to use artificial manures on the wheat. If, how- 

 ever, the plant in spring is backward and lacks colour, and the soil 

 has plenty of "body," and is not too black, a dressing of | to 1 cwt. 

 nitrate of soda, costing about 11s. 6d., may be given per acre. 



In the case of (a) soils in " good heart," and (b) rich black land, no 

 general recommendations are made. In moist seasons on such soils 

 the corn following roots is extremely liable to " lodge " or "go down," 

 and applications of active nitrogenous manures like nitrate of soda 

 will simply enhance that tendency. Each case must, therefore, be 

 considered and treated on its own particular merits. 



Manuring of Rye (Lanes. C.C., Agric. Dept. Bull. No. 12). — An 

 experiment on this subject was conducted at two centres on similar lines 

 to the experiment referred to above, and the conclusions arrived at 

 were very similar. 



The dressing recommended for rye is nitrate of soda 1 cwt., and 

 superphosphate 2 cwt., costing about 175. The inclusion of kainit is 

 not recommended, inasmuch as the increase due to this manure was 

 found in the experiment to be only just sufficient to meet its initial 

 cost. Each farmer, therefore, must satisfy himself on his own land as 

 to the desirability, or otherwise, of using kainit in addition to nitrate 

 of soda and superphosphate on the rye crop. 



Experiments with Oats and Barley (Aberdeen Coll. of Agric. 

 Bull. No. 11). — The experiments recorded in this bulletin form part of 

 a series which have been in progress for several years, but the weather 

 of 1907 was so unfavourable that the results cannot be regarded as 

 giving more than a general indication of the comparative merits of 

 the different varieties. 



The average yield of dressed grain in bushels of 42 lb. was as 

 follows -.—Thousand Dollar, 72^ ; Banner, 69 ; Abundance, 66 ; Potato, 

 6i§; and Universal, 56I. Thousand Dollar on the whole showed a 

 smaller proportion of light grain, while Banner and Potato gave the 

 most. 



A test was made to compare the effect of using small as compared 

 with large oat seed, and it was found that the small seed produced 

 considerably more grain, both heavy and light, than the large seed, 

 but 3 cwt. less straw. 



The milling properties of oats received a good deal of attention, 

 and it is stated that the grounds for believing in the exceptional 

 superiority of Potato oats for this purpose are few, and that there 

 is .much evidence to show that several of the new varieties are quite 

 as productive of meal per quarter and far more productive of meal 

 per acre. 



