The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-06-01
WEEKLY DIGEST
Of z Experiment Station Bulletins.
No. II.
Field CROPS.

FIELD CROPS.
Bulletin 80, OF Minnesota Station,
gives results of tests of various field
crops during 1896 and several proceed,
ing years.
Of 1S varieties Of white beans tested,
Choice Navy gave the best yield,
Choice Medium stood second, SaIzsr's
White Wonder third and Improved
Tree fourth.
Barley was tested as TO yield, ability
of the straw to stand up on rich land,
weight per bushel of grain, and feed
ing and mailing qualities. In yield,
French Chevalier was first, Champion
of Vermont second, Manshury third
In strength Of straw, Chevalier and
Duckbill stood first, Manshury and
Success second, Bernard's third. In
weight of grain per bushel, Black HUI
less stood first, Odessa and Success
second, Chevalier third. Seventeen
varieties were tested.
OF 12O varieties of corn tested, Cos
grove and Smut Nose stood first, Pills
bury second, Lamont and White Cap
third. (Where two varieties are men
toned together they gave the same
yield). Six methods were tested for
producing fodder, the best results be
ing obtained from rows A inches apart
and stalks 24 inches apart in the row.
OF oats 203 varieties have been tested
during several years. In yield, White
Wonder stands first, Archangel sec
ond, White Russian third, Black Rus
sian fourth. On very rich land pro-
ducing a heavy, rank growth, Giant
Side Oats is recommended, because
while it yields well it has stout straw
that stands up well. It is late oats.
Since 1883 more than 300 varieties of
wheat have been tested under usual
field conditions, and the best s varier
ties of these we're grown side by side in
1896 Bottoms Blue Stem gave best
yield, White Russian second, Powers
and Glyndon I'll third. These are the re-
suits of selection Of seed each year since
1888, by going through the field and
picking out the best heads at harvest
time. 1t was thought best to try to
breed up these varieties known to have
good milling qualities rather than to
seek new kinds that might give q
heavy yield of poor quality. However,
new varieties of cross bred wheat from
the Ottawa (Canade) Station are being
tested, and they outyield any of the
others. IL milling and baking tests,
yet to be made, prove satisfactory,
seed OF these varieties will be sent out
to the farmers of Minnesota by the
Station. Indeed, the object of all these
tests of grains and other crops is. to
breed up the best varieties by careful
selection of seed each year, and then to
send them out in small quantities to
the farmers of the State. In this con.
ne ction an interesting experiment at
the North Dakota Station is mentioned.
For number of years, several hun
dred each of the smallest, largest, and
hardest wheat kernels were picked out
of the same lot of seed, planted in
checks foot each way, one kernel in
place and cultivated. The result
every time was that the hardest grains
gave the best yield, the smallest next,
and the large ones last. These hard
grains were so finty as to have clear,
glossy, almost transparent appearance
or field peas, White Canada, small,
smooth, round variety. stood first,
Alpha second, Crown third. The peas
were planted with a drill, inches
deep, at the rate Of Q bushels per Gre
for small seed and bushels for large
ones.
OF root crops, the best Mangels
yielded 90 tons per acre, best sugar
beets 214 tons, best rutabagas IL tons,
best turnips IL tons, best carrots -
tons. The total cost Of producing
sugar beets was $32 ~ per acre, or
81 19 per ton.
For three years experiments have
been made to test the most advantag-
eous rotation, Field peas, mangels,
potatoes, fax, corn, and wheat we're
grown in plats side by side running
north and south. The next year the
same crops were grown on the same
lands, the pIats running east and west,
so that in the squares where the last
plat crossed the first years plats,
each crop followed each other crop and
results were easily compared. It was
found that of these crops tested, pota-
toes gave the best preparation for the
next crop, Mangels next, corn and peas
--hon& -n-A n-S a. lnnk I&