CEREAL EXPERIMENTS AT THE AKRON FIELD STATION. ali 
in depth, below which the soil is light in color, due to lack of organic 
matter. Very little coarse gravel is present to interfere with root 
penetration. There is no impervious layer near enough to the surface 
to affect root development or water movements. 
Plowing and other tillage operations are easily performed when the 
soil is moist but become very difficult when the moisture content is 
low. The fine soil particles are readily blown by the wind when 
surface conditions are favorable. 
There is considerable variation in the soil that has been used in plat 
tests. Yields of the same variety on plats differently located but 
uniformly treated have varied from 3 to 5 bushels per acre. The 
experimental error that results from these variations 1s somewhat 
reduced by the shifting of plat locations from year to year. Repli- 
cated plats were used in 1915. For varieties used as checks in 
previous years the average yield of all plats is recorded in this bulletin. 
SCOPE OF THE EXPERIMENTS. 
More than 11,000 tests have been conducted during the eight 
years covered by this report. Of this total, 10 per cent was in field 
plats and 90 per cent in nursery rows. Varietal tests have been 
made each year. ‘Tests of rates and dates of seeding were begun in 
1911. 
The number of tests has varied from year to year. In 1908 there 
were 315 nursery rows and 80 field plats. The number of field plats 
gradually increased to 185 in 1915. The number of nursery rows 
was increased to 2,200 in 1910 and since that time has averaged 
1,187. The field-plat tests have included varietal tests of winter 
wheat, emmer, and rye, and of spring wheat, oats, barley, flax, proso, 
and grain sorghums. There have also been rate-of-seeding tests 
with winter wheat, spring wheat, and spring oats, and date-of- 
seeding tests with winter wheat. 
EXPERIMENTAL METHODS. 
The experiments with cereals at the Akron Field Station have been 
conducted in field plats and in nursery rows. Varietal tests, rate-of- 
seeding tests, and date-of-seeding tests have been conducted on 
field plats. 
SIZE OF PLATS, 
Most of the experiments have been conducted on tenth-acre plats. 
These plats are 2 rods wide by 8 rods long. They are laid out side 
by side in series, the plats being separated by alleys 4.62 feet wide. 
The different series are separated by roads 19.67 feet wide. Vege- 
tation in the roads is controlled by frequent clipping with a mowing 
machine or by the use of a road grader which kills all weeds. 
