404 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. XI, No. 9 
strains of wheat, oats, and barley and the decrease in variability due to 
replications. 
The data obtained in 1916 is from two sources, namely, from rod row 
variety tests made by the Farm Crops Section and from rod row tests 
made in the Plant Breeding Nursery. The fields used for the work are 
at a considerable distance apart and have been handled in a different 
manner. In the presentation of results the tests will be spoken of as 
“Farm Crops test” and “Plant Breeding test,” respectively. 
In a considerable measure the uniformity of any particular field may 
be due to methods of handling. In the Farm Crops variety-test work the 
following rotations are used: 
1. Oats, clover, com. 
2. Barley, hay, wheat, com. 
In the three-year rotation for the oats variety work there are two 
intervening crops. For the barley and wheat tests there is only one 
bulk crop intervening between the varietal tests. 
In the Plant Breeding Nursery the following 7-year rotation is used: 
Rye, 10 pounds of clover in spring, clover hay, small-grain nursery, 
ear-to-row com, field peas for seed, soybean variety test, and small- 
grain nursery. 
In the 1916 test, plots of three rows, each replicated three times, were 
used in the Plant Breeding Nursery if sufficient seed was available and 
replicated five times for each variety reported in the Farm Crops test. 
Check plots of a standard variety were used every third to fourth plot. 
No attempt was made to correct for yield by the use of check plots. 
They were used, however, in a determination of the variability of the 
land and the value of replications. 
It is realized that a single season's test does not furnish sufficient data 
upon which to draw a final conclusion as to a standard practice. The 
close relation between the development of reliable methods and the value 
of field tests, however, would seem to warrant the publication of results 
now available. 1 
COMPETITION BETWEEN ADJACENT ROWS 
As each strain or variety tested was grown in at least one plot con¬ 
sisting of three rows of 16 feet in length, we may consider that each 
plot consists of one central row and two border rows which will be con¬ 
sidered, respectively, as the right and left border rows. Each border 
row therefore grows near the same variety, the central row, on the 
one hand, and also beside some other variety or strain. In our work 
we have compared the yields of the border rows with each other, in 
relation to the height and yield of adjacent rows. 
1 Assistance in the computations was given by R. W. Garber and O. A. Haenert, student assistants. 
