UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE | 
Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 
WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief 
Washington, D.C. | v October 28, 1915 
CEREAL INVESTIGATIONS ON THE BELLE 
FOURCHE EXPERIMENT FARM.' 
By Creciz SALMon, 
Formerly Plant Physiologist, Office of Cereal Investigations. 
CONTENTS. 
: Page. Page 
ra tROGWe bl OMEe res ee ree ao eee ee bole xperiments with Oats 2.2.2) -22s-- Jes 29 
Description of the field station...........-.-- Zl PEExperiments wath barl Cyasea55 sess ese 34 
Hxpenunental methods.) -a.2 2s. ee 10 | Experiments with minor cereals...........-- 38 
Interpretation of experimental results.....-- Se |tEEXperim ents wath Hears sess a see se 39 
Experiments with wheat.............-.--.-- HAD PP OUMUM AT) ce cemcccinc estes sec cee a ee 40 
INTRODUCTION. 
The experiments with cereals at the Belle Fourche Experiment 
Farm, near Newell, S. Dak., have been conducted for the following 
purposes: (1) To determine the best crops, varieties, and races for 
that section; (2) to improve the better varieties by selective breeding; 
(3) to determine the best methods of cereal production; and (4) to 
correlate differences in production with climatic and soil conditions 
in order to determine the principles upon which the best practices 
are based. The results of these investigations have been reported 
in part in two previous publications.? The present bulletin is 
intended to bring the work up to date and to include results that for 
various reasons have not heretofore been given. 
1 The experiments here reported were conducted on the dry-farmed portion of the Belle Fourche 
Experiment Farm, near Newell, S. Dak. This farm, which is located on the Belle Fourche Reclamation 
Project, is operated by the Office of Western Irrigation Agriculture of the Bureau of Plant Industry. The 
experiments were conducted by the Office of Cereal Investigations in cooperation with the Office of Western 
Irrigation Agriculture. On April 1, 1912, the cooperative agreement between the Office of Cereal Investi- 
gations and the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station was expanded to include the work at 
Newell. The writer was in charge of the cereal work on the farm from its beginning (1907) until Septem- 
ber 30, 1913, when he resigned to accept another position. He therefore has personal knowledge of 
all the experiments here reported. 
2 Salmon, Cecil. Dry-land grains for western North and South Dakota. U.S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Plant 
Indus. Cire. 59, 24 p., 1 fig., 1910. 
Winter wheat in western South Dakota, U.S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Plant Indus. Cire. 79, 10 p.,1911. 
4506°—Bull. 297—15——1 
