12 
BULLETIN 1045, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
that reported by the West Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, 
the growth is so rapid that only one cultivation is necessary, after 
which the plants shade the ground so thoroughly that weeds can not 
grow. Ordinarily, however, two or three cultivations are necessary. 
At the Huntley, Mont., experiment farm three irrigations were 
given sunflowers seeded May 21, 1918, water being applied uniformly 
to the field on July 9, August 2, and August 18 (7, p. 12-14). In 
1917 five irrigations were given. The frequency and character of 
cultivations and irrigations will necessarily have to be determined to 
a large degree by the grower. The large growth produced and the 
consequent high rate of water loss in dry regions means a correspond- 
ingly high water requirement. 
Fig. o. — Harvesting sunflowers for silage with a row binder equipped with an elevator to 
carry the bundles directly into a header barge. 
HARVESTING METHODS. 
The most efficient method of harvesting sunflowers for silage where 
the crop has not lodged badly and the stalks are not too large in 
diameter is with the ordinary corn or row binder. This machine 
ties the stalks in bundles, making*it easier to load and transport them 
to the silage cutter. Everything possible should be done to reduce 
to a minimum the handwork required. Farm laborers dislike to 
handle sunflowers on account of the resinous exudation on the stems, 
especially where they are cut or bruised, and also because of the 
rough surfaces of the stems and leaves. 
At the Dubois (Idaho) sheep station an elevator was devised to 
carry the bundles directly from the row binder into a header barge. 
(Fig. 3.) Sunflower plants 8 to 9 feet tall were handled by the 
