SMALL GRAINS ON ARLINGTON EXPERIMENT FARM 
EXPERIMENTAL METHODS 
PREPARATION OF THE LAND 
The land on which the cereals are grown is prepared immediately 
after harvest, usually about July 1, and sown to cowpeas. The cow- 
peas are plowed under in the fall and the land sown to rye, which in 
turn is plowed under for green manure in the following spring. Pre- 
vious to 1919 the rye was followed by cowpeas, which were plowed under 
in September, and the land was then prepared for sowing to the cereals. 
In 1919 and succeeding years this crop of cowpeas was replaced by a 
crop of soybeans, which was harvested for seed. The land was 
plowed each year before seeding the cereals, except that it was disked 
for oats in 1921 and for wheat in 1922. Two tracts of land are used 
in rotation for the cereal experiments, the cereals and soybeans in 
alternation, with intervening green-manure crops of cowpeas and rye. 
After plowing the land is disked and harrowed as may be necessary 
to make a good seed bed for the fall-sown cereals. Acid phosphate 
at the rate of 200 pounds to the acre is applied to all plats in the 
varietal experiments at seeding time. Stable manure at the rate of 
10 tons to the acre has been applied occasionally to sections lacking in 
humus. The seed is sown with a grain drill. 
PLAT EXPERIMENTS 
The yields recorded for 1910 to 1914, inclusive, are based on data 
obtained from single or duplicate twentieth-acre plats, each 16.5 feet 
by 132 feet. In 1915 and succeeding years wheat was grown in 
fortieth-acre plats, each 8.25 by 132 feet, with usually three replica- 
tions. Beginning in 1916 the varietal experiments with barley were 
conducted in duplicate on fortieth-acre plats. Oats continued to be 
grown in duplicate twentieth-acre plats until 1919, since which time 
fortieth-acre plats have been used. Rye has been grown in single 
twentieth-acre plats in the wheat series. The alleys between the 
plats are 18 inches wide, and the roadways between the series are 
19.8 feet wide. A general view of the wheat and rye plats in 1922 is 
shown in Plate II. 
Since the fortieth-acre plat has been used, the practice has been 
to have three replications of wheat and oat varieties and two of barley. 
Every fifth plat is a check of a standard variety. The yields reported, 
however, are all actual, no corrections having been made for soil 
variation as indicated by yields of check plats. 
Table 5. — Rates and dates of seeding for winter cereals grown at the Arlington 
Experiment Farm in the 14-year period, 1910-1923, inclusive 
Crop 
Rate of 
seeding 
per acre 
(pecks) 
Approxi- 
mate 
date of 
seeding 
Wheat 
6 
8 
12 
8 
6 
10 to 12 
Oct. 6 
Oats: 
Culberson, Winter Turf . .. ... . 
Sept. 29 
Fulghum, Red Rustproof 
Do. 
Oct. 1 
Rye 
Oct. 6 
Spelt and emmer . . ... .......... 
Do. 
