The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1922-08-17
Fort Hays Experiment Station

and distributed to the farmers of the
state The increased yield of the
Kharkov over the ordinary Turkey in
the wheat belt of Kansas, has many
times paid the cost of operating the
Fort Hays Experiment Station since
it was founded.
The Pink Kafir, a selection of Kafir
developed in 1910 at the Fort Hays
Experiment Station, has now become
a standard variety for Western Kan
sas and has even reached out into
territory of surrounding states.
Kanred wheat has been grown at
the Station since 1914 and the merit
of this variety has been thoroughly
demonstrated. The variety has con-
sistentfy yielded from p to five
bushels per acre more than the next
highest variety. Kanred is the best
wheat yet developed for this part of
Kansas and the Fort Hays Station
will grow no other variety in its COM
mercial fields. This fall 600 acres of
Kanred viii be planted.
Pure seed of Dawn Kafir, Feterita,
and Freed's Sorgo have been develop
ed at the Cereal Project and seed of
these varieties is now available for
distribution to the farmers of the
state.
One of the most important lines of
investigation now under way is the
plant breeding work with sorghums.
Red Amber cane has been hybridized
with Feterita in order to develop a
variety with the good qualities of
each parent. Over $4,000 plants have
been studied in one year with the one
idea in view OF finding the kind of
plant desired. Hope springs eternal
in the plant breeders breast. Per
sistence coupled with the law of
chance may yet reward him the prize
which he is seeking.
Many requests for pure seed are
received annually from many states
of the Union, from Canada and even
foreign countries. Seed grown last
year on the cereal project is this year
being grown in Japan, Spain, South
Africa and in Australia. On the
other hand importations of sorghums
from South Africa, India, and China
are being grown for the first time in
this country, on the Fort Hays Ex-
pertinent Station.
The Dry Land Project is conduct
ed by the Office of Dry Land Agri-
culture, U. S. Department of Agri-
culture in cooperation with the Fort
Hays Experiment Station. This pro-
ject was established in 1906 and at
that time required but thirteen acres
of land. The experimental work in
this line of investigation has increased
steadily as new problems came up un-
til at the present time seventy acres
of land are in use and additional land
will soon be supplied to meet new de-
mands for Investigations already
planned. Every experiment begun in
1906 is still being conducted so that
the results from these experiments
with sixteen years of seasonal varia-
ton should give some reliable in
formation as to what can be expected
to happen when farming is done a
certain way.
The major purpose of the expert
mental work on this project to as
sist the farmers in determining the
methods of handling the land which
will produce the largest average
yield of the principal crops and at the
same time maintain the fertility of
each of the following: winter wheat,
are the most prominent varieties of
the soil. The crops used in this work
spring wheat, barley, oats, corn, kafir,
milo, cane, rye, peas, alfalfa, and
bronze grass.
One of the most important expert
ments conducted on this project has
to do with the continuous cropping of
wheat on land handled in different
ways For instance in a fifteen year
trial the average yield for a field
which has been late fall plowed is
100 bushels per acre A field direct
ly adjoining this has been early fall
plowed and the average yield is 15.4
bushels per acre. A field adjoining
this has been early fall listed and the
average yield for the fifteen year
period is 17.9 bushels per acre, in
dicating very strikingly that it pays
handsomely to work the ground early.
Another instructive experiment has
to do with the handling of fallow.
How often should the land be fallow-
ed and which crop should precede or
follow fallow to give best results? In
addition to this it is necessary to
know which is the most practical