Rocky Ford enterprise., 1896-06-04

trials are summar-
v" 1. Golden Beauty |
gave the highest average yield. 67.4
bushels per acre. OF the varieties tested
three years. followed by Leaning with
an average yield OF 56.s bushels. Both
Of these varieties are medium maturing
yellow dents. Pisa King. Saint Charles
White and Chester County Mammoth
all requiring 1870 days or more for ma
turity, were the best Of the white va
rieties tested.
.. An increase Of nineteen bushels
per acre. or GIT per cent. was secured
in 1891 from an application OF ten tons
Of fresh barnyard manure to the acre
on he average Of eight manured ana
unmanured plots. This amount OF
manure applied twice in three years
produced an average increase In yieid
of 36.6 per cent. Little difference was
shown In the productiveness OF Ter
mnnted and unfermented manures
wien applied to corn. Ten tons ot
combined solid and liquid manure gave
q larger total yield each year than did
tea tons of solid manure. although In
1891 more corn was grown on the plot
to which the solid manure was applied.
Horse manure proved more productive
esch year than did an equal weight OF
csttle manure. the average difference
for the three years amounting 10 ~
PER cent. In 1891 the increased yieio
Of corn was Sc bushels per acre. or II
PIT cent. Decidedly larger yields were
obtained from plowing cattle manure
under for corn than from either spread
ing It on freshly plowed land and har-
rowing 1t in or applying 1t to the sur
face after the land was ready to DC
plSnted.
.. Breaking the ground to . depth
Of four and one-half inches gave uni
formly better results than were ob-
ts!ned from plowing nine inches deep.
T!le-drained land plowed to a depth OF
eight inches and subsoiled seven inches
deeper, stirring the soil to the depth OF
fifteen inches, produced slightly smaller
yields of rutabagas. corn and sugar
bsets than did similar soil not sub
sotled.
1. Averaging the three years work,
when corn was planted in hills three
feet nine inches apart each way, the
Weld increased as the number OF stalks
in the hill increased. Two stalks per
hill gave fifty-four bushels per acre.
while three stalks produced under
otherwise similar circumstances, 67.7
bushels. Where four stalks were
left the yield was fifty-eight bush
els. The large proportion OF un
msrchantable ears or "nubbins" pro-
dyced, and the increased cost OF husk-
I'M, from four stalks per hill, however,
more than counterbalanced the increase
in yield obtained. Barring excessively
dry seasons these experiments indicate
that on strong land this thick planting
would be profitable when the fodder is
to be fed without husking. On poor
laud the larger yield, thirty-six bushels
per acre, was obtained by thinning to
| two stalks per hill, three feet nine
| inches each way. On this land foul
stalks per hill gave sc bushels per acre
less, and more than half the crop was
too small to be marketable. One
stalk produced within one bushel OF a.
/ much as two stalks on the poor lane
and almost every ear was marketable
A single seasons trial showed tina
when IS per cent of perfect stand hat
been obtained, it was more profitable
to leave it undisturbed than to eithe
replant the missing hills or replant tn
entire field. Ninety-four per cent OF
stand, however, gave 2.2 bushels NOR
per acre than was obtained from s
per cent of stand.
s. Shallow level culture gave tn
largest yield each year. The gain fror
this method over deep tillage range
from 81 to 143 bushels per acre, o
from 4 to 80 per cent. In 1890 nearl
one-third more corn was produced o.
the shallow titled plots than on thos
receiving the ordinary deep tfllage
An average of the results for the thre
years shows gain of 9.6 bushels pc
acre or 17.9 per cent.
| 6. Tile-drainage has not thus IA
| given sufficient increase in the yield
corn, mangels and sugar beets to war
rant the expense of tiling. Weekl'
/ moisture determinations indicate tina
the drained soil is slightly dryer thai
the undrained soil when an abundanc
of moisture is present, and that the re
verse is true during drouth, tn
drained soil containing the most moist
ure. The difference does not appear t
he great enough. however, to materiall
affect crop growth. For further in
formation concerning these trials, ad
dress the Director of the Station TO
Bulletin so, which may be had free
charge. II. ). Walsrs,
Columbia, Mo. Dlrector.