CEREAL INVESTIGATIONS ON THE BELLE FOURCHE FARM. 29 
FaBLE XV.—Annual and average yields of the best varieties of winter and of durum and 
common spring wheats on the Belle Fourche Experiment Farm, 1908 to 1913, inclusive. 
Yield per acre (bushels). 
Group and variety. C.I. 
No. A 
1908"), 1909) P1010) tore loi hertotas eee 
ge. 
Winter: 
Reh arkorer aye ese sae. oe 1442 25.4 40.3 220% 0 0 38.6 22 
Spring durum: 
Reuibamlca a ae see Ee es cts 1516 23.8 22.6 5.3 0 0 19.1 11.8 
Spring common: 
WE MOMDIAB Soccso05 Sacoueecuacsue 2492 16.2 16.0 12.8 0 4.5 17.1 eal 
HOW CLA eee ee eee 3025 18.5 17.3 10 6 0 0 16.6 10.5 
TEVA WAM CS Se eee res eu feecu Nees ek < 3020 18.3 13.8 9.0 0 0 14.1 9.2 
To summarize: In three of the six years covered by the experi- 
ments the winter varieties have produced about double the yield 
obtained from the spring varieties. In one year the yield was only 
slightly larger and in two years practically all varieties of both 
spring and winter wheats were total failures. The average yield of 
the best winter variety for the six years was 21.2 bushels, while the 
average yield of the best durum variety was 11.8 bushels. Winter 
wheat is to be preferred to spring wheat, because the growing of a 
fall-sown grain allows a better distribution of labor throughout the 
year. Winter wheat also matures earlier and so is more likely to escape 
hailstorms, hot winds, and other unfavorable climatic conditions. 
On the other hand, sufficient moisture for germination is less likely 
to be available in the fall than in the spring, and there is also danger of 
damage to the crop from the blowing of the soil during the winter. 
Winterkilling has not been a factor of much importance in the experi- 
ments at Newell, nor is it likely to be if varieties of the Turkey group 
are grown. If a crop of winter wheat is lost because of the blowing 
of the soil, winterkilling, or other factors, there is still opportunity to 
sow the land to some spring crop. For these reasons the growing 
of winter rather than spring wheat is strongly recommended. 
EXPERIMENTS WITH OATS. 
The yields of oats which have been obtained at Newell have for 
the most part been unsatisfactory. In 1908, 1909, and 1913 fairly 
good yields were obtained, but in 1910 and 1912 the returns were 
less than the cost of production, while in 1911 a total failure was 
recorded. 
The average yield of the best variety for the six years from 1908 
to 1913 was only 19.4 bushels, which is less than the average yield 
of winter wheat for the same period. The yield of the best spring 
wheat for the six years was slightly less than 12 bushels to the acre, 
but the production in pounds is greater than that of oats and the 
value of the crop is also higher. For this reason the oat crop can not 
