BULLETIN OF THE BUSSEY INSTITUTION. 85 
roots was readily removed after it had become dry, so that the amount 
of it weighed with the “ total crop” was insignificant. 
The beans (“ medium” white bush-beans, from the seed-store of 
J. Breck & Son) were sown early in May, in little drills or furrows one 
half-metre apart. Each bean was dropped eight centimetres from its 
neighbors, and covered with an inch of earth. The total weight of 
beans planted on each square was about 375 grammes. The beans 
were hoed frequently during the summer. The plants were finally 
pulled up by the roots after the beans had been picked. 
The ruta-bagas were sown late in May, at a time of severe drought 
which lasted through several subsequent weeks. It was consequently 
a long time before the young plants appeared above the surface of the 
ground, and few of them ever overcame the hardships encountered in 
their youth. Doubtless some of the fertilizers employed did more 
harm than good under the circumstances. 
Character of the Season. — A cold rain-storm of several days’ dura- 
tion, at the end of April, checked the growth of much of the barley. 
A severe drought in May and June ruined the ruta-bagas and hurt 
the barley somewhat ; the beans, however, did well. 
The stone building of the Bussey Institution not being completed in 
season to receive the barley, that crop had to be stored in a barn-cellar, 
where it suffered somewhat from the depredations of rats during the in- | 
terval between harvesting and weighing. Since it was impossible to tell 
how much the several sheaves had suffered in this way, suspicion is ne- 
cessarily cast upon the entire barley-crop of 1871. It is to be observed, 
therefore, that none of the figures under the headings “ grain” and 
_ “total product ” in the table for barley can be regarded as strictly accu- 
rate, though, doubtless, many of them are so. Only the column which 
gives the yield of “ straw and chaff” is correct, or very nearly correct 
in each particular. With this exception, the precise weight of each 
of the crops obtained from the several fertilizers will appear from the 
following tables. The weights of fertilizers used and of crops obtained 
are stated either in terms of kilogrammes or grammes.* 
* One gramme equals 15.4346 grains English, 1000 grammes equal 1 kilo- 
gramme or 2.2 lbs. avoirdupois, very nearly. 
