igio.] Summary of Agricultural Experiments. 309 



well. In addition, seed of the following species has been 

 bought and sown : — Larch (native and Tyrolese), Scots Pine, 

 Spruce, Sitka Spruce, Douglas Fir, Silver Fir, Tsuga Mer- 

 tensiana (Albertiana), Abies grandis, Thuja gigantea, Sequoia 

 gigantea, and Cupressus macro carp a. The germination, 

 with the exception of the native Larch, is fair. 



At the request of the West of Scotland Agricultural Col- 

 lege, four experimental plots, each divided into six sections 

 containing different species, have been set apart and treated 

 with different artificial manures. The object is to test the 

 effect of these upon the growth of the plants. 



SUMMARY OF AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENTS * 

 Experiments with Root Crops— continued. 



Varieties of Swedes (Midland Agric. and Dairy Coll., Bull. 8, 1909- 

 10). — This report gives the results of the trials of swedes in 1909, the 

 third year of the experiment. Ten varieties, mostly Bronze Tops, were 

 grown at six farms, the cultivation and manuring being in each case 

 that adopted by the. farmer for the rest of his crop. The weather was 

 sunless, and the crops made slow growth. Finger-and-toe caused a 

 partial failure at some of the centres, and the results from three centres 

 only are used in finding the average yields of the varieties. In this 

 year no one variety showed special merit, but most of them gave 

 satisfactory results. Taking the average of the three centres, eight 

 varieties gave about 20 tons per acre, viz. : — Carboy, X.L. All, Magnum 

 Bonum, Model, New Empire, Nailstone, Invicta, and Golden Melon. 

 The yield of Improved Purple Top and Darlington was rather less. 

 The percentage of dry matter in the roots was ascertained, and in this 

 also the varieties were fairly equal. Nine had about 8^ per cent., and 

 •one, Improved Purple Top, slightly over 9 per cent. 



At two of the centres the roots were stored in "clamps." The 

 results showed that harm may be done by covering the roots too thickly 

 in the clamp, thus causing a lack of aeration and considerable heating 

 and rotting. At one centre, where the roots were covered with straw only, 

 there were very few bad roots, whereas at the other, where they had a 

 thick covering of soil in addition to straw, there was a large per- 

 centage of rotten roots. At both experimental centres the variety with 

 the highest percentage of bad roots was Golden Melon, which has the 

 reputation, in parts of Lincolnshire, of being an excellent keeper. 

 This is probably true only when the roots are left growing in the 



* The summaries of agricultural experiments which have appeared in the present 

 volume have been as follows : — Cereals, April ; Cereals and Root Crops, May ; 

 Root Crops, June. The Board would be glad to receive for inclusion copies of 

 reports on inquiries, whether carried out by agricultural colleges, societies, or 

 private persons. 



