576 Summary of Agricultural Experiments, [oct. 



show an increase of 2*3 per cent, over last year's production; 

 while Broomhall and Dornbusch estimate a decrease of about 

 4'4 per cent. 



There are various reasons for this disagreement, but the 

 fact that it exists points to the need for an estimate which 

 will be accepted as reliable by both farmers and dealers. 



SUMMARY OF AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENTS* 



Miscellaneous Experiments. 

 Manuring of Swedes on Hill Farms (Somerset C.C. Agric. Inslruc. 

 Com., Rept. for period ending March 315^ 1910). — An experiment with 

 artificial manures was carried out on seven farms. The season was 

 not a good one for swedes in the hill country, and the results were 

 not considered sufficiently reliable for publication, but it is noted that 

 except at one farm no crop at all was obtained without manure, and 

 that there appears to be a lack of potash in the soil of these hill 

 farms. 



Experiments with Mangolds, Swedes, and Sugar Beet {Coll. of 

 Agric, Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, Year Book, 1909). — Variety trials 

 were carried out with mangolds and swedes in 1909. If the average 

 yield of the whole crop is calculated as 100, the percentage yields 

 given by the best varieties of mangolds were : — Defiance Yellow Globe, 

 132; New Lion Intermediate, 113; Rentpayer, 112; Large Yellow Globe, 

 104. The best yields among the swedes, calculated in the same way, 

 were: — Elephant, 112; Eclipse Purple Top, 11 1; Invicta, 109. A 

 diagram gives a comparison of the average yields of varieties grown 

 during the last five years. During this time the best varieties of 

 mangolds have been Defiance Yellow Globe, New Lion Intermediate, 

 Rentpayer, and Windsor Yellow Globe. Among the swedes Elephant 

 has given the best results, but there has been little difference between 

 the other varieties. 



Sugar beet was grown in 1909. Sown at the same time and 

 treated in the same manner as the mangolds it yielded about half the 

 weight of the average mangold crop. The roots were found rather 

 difficult to raise when pulling, the labour and consequent expense of 

 pulling being about two-thirds more than on a similar breadth of 

 mangolds. 



The effect of setting out at different distances apart has been 

 tested during "the past three years. The plants were set out at dis- 

 tances of 15 in., 12 in., and 9 in., when hoeing. With mangolds 15 in. 

 gave the heaviest individual roots, but 12 in. gave the greatest total 

 yield, with an intermediate size of roots. In the case of swedes, there 

 was practically no difference in the total crop with the three distances. 



Varieties of Potatoes (Cumberland and Westmorland Farm School, 



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

 volume have been as follows: — Cereals, April; Cereals and Root Crops, M3y; 

 Root Crop^, June; Root Crops and Potatoes, July; Grass and Clover, August; 

 Cereals, and Experiments in Ireland, September. The Board would be glad to 

 receive for inclusion copies of reports on inquiries, whether carried out by agri- 

 cultural colleges, societies, or private persons. 



