266 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. XXXI, No. 3 
sown seedlings matured their buds earlier, although this season the # 
buds of all of the seedlings matured. The first killing frost came in 
November, while usually the first frosts occur in early October. In 
an average fall the buds of most of the spring-sown seedlings would 
have been immature and subject to injury by frost. There was no 
tendency to develop second growth in any of the stock. 
Table II .—Effect of time of sowing on development of seedlings 
Time of sowing 
1 
Weight 
of 
entire 
root 
system 
Weight 
of root 
system 
pruned 
to 5-inch 
length 
Second¬ 
ary roots 
Length 
of root 
Weight 
of top 
Length 
of top 
Nov. 16,1917.. 
Ounces 
0.56 
Ounces 
0.52 
Number 
11 
Inches 
6.3 
Ounces 
0.60 
Inches 
1.4 
Mar. 26,1918.... 
.28 
.28 
2 
3.8 
.48 
1.0 
Apr. 4,1918... 
.36 
.36 
4 
5.6 
.44 
1.0 
Apr. 13,1918. 
.28 
.28 
2 
4.1 
.48 
1.1 
Apr. 26,1918. 
.24 
.24 
2 
4.8 
.48 
1.3 
May 4, 1918__... 
.24 
.24 
1 
3.9 
.40 
1.0 
May 20, 1918._ 
.20 
.20 
1 
4.2 
.36 
1.0 
May 31,1918_....... 
.16 
.16 
1 
2.3 
.28 
1.0 
. ... . .... / 
The fall sowing produced by far the best developed plants, as 
shown in Table II. The plants were larger, more sturdy, and had 
a well-developed, branching root system. The plants of the spring 
sowings showed only normal variations, except the late sowings of 
May 20 and May 31. The uniform development of all of the other 
sowings was no doubt due to the delayed germination of the earlier 
sowings and the optimum germination of all of these sowings at 
approximately*the same time. 
SUMMARY 
The results of this experiment show that the best developed and 
hardiest plants result from fall sowing. Simply on the oasis of 
plant development fall sowing would be recommended, but the 
danger of damping off complicates the question. There is always 
the possibility of loss by damping off. Spring sowing should oe 
done not earlier than the last week of April and not later than the 
second week in May, in an average season. 
