ft United Suites Department of Agriculture, HUKKAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY, Western Irrigation Agriculture, WASHINGTON, D. C. THE WORK OF THE BELLE FOURCHE RECLAMATION PROJECT EXPERIMENT FARM IN 1913. Bj Bktsr Vi m . Far Undent, |\ l BOD! I l l<»\. The work "f the Belle Fourche Experiment Farm consists of a number of field-crop experiments, 1><>i1i with and without irrigation Prom 1907 t<> 1*H I nil the experiments were conducted on dry land. Irrigation water was Erst broughl to the farm in 1912, when experi- ments under irrigation were commenced. 1 The work of the farm includes field teste with grains, forage crops, vegetables, orchard and Bhade trees, and a number of rotation and tillage experiments. The arrangement <>f the fields and the location of the experiments in 1913 are shown in figure l . COOPERATION. Much of the experimental work is done in cooperation with other offices of the Bureau of Plant Industry and with the Forest Service. The nature and extent of this work is here indicated. ' Laboratory. The Biophysical Laboratory cooperates in nil climatological and physical observations. This work includes 'The Belle K.mn-he BxpablMUt Kir . ;i„ F, H ir. lie (S. Dak.) w,,i ' '" ' ' ■ Itbdl iun from entry l>y the lVnirtimMU of the Invn.ir riment farrti. Tl ■ index , ' ,ll,r ' . if Plant 2nd nf the l"nr ,':it of Agrfcolton tnd b in i rul'ure. \ » V report of the work ofthii firm in I"! J m la puUMied in Bureau of 1'lin' " m MOOUntol the progress made in fit in .■ \ [>.Tiiri.-:.r , * n), I land cxpwtDMBta at ti. . c,») time anil m- i) the use of flax as a 1 >nof Iff) Uiwrhliaits In fan a different • . v|>enment supervise the experiments Corn Investigations and Sugar Plant Investigations. The Offices of Corn [nvestigations and Sugar-Plant Investigations cooperate in the work with corn and sugar beets, respectively, each office using about 2 acres of land. The tests with these crops include variety testing and tillage experiments. Forest Service. The I oited States Forest Service cooperates in the testing of trees for wood l"t and windbreak purposes. A.bou< 9 acres of land arc used for tliis purpose. CONDITIONS ON THE PROJECT. CUM vile CONDITIONS The season of 1913 was rather le^-, favorable to small-grain crops than the average season. This was due in pari to the late spring, no field work being done until after April 15. While at that time there was sufficient moisture in the soil to bring up the grain, the later seedings came up \>t\ unevenlj and some* failed to germinate until after the rain-, which came the latter part of Ma\. so that in many instances poor stands were obtained. The conditions were somewhat more favorable to alfalfa and corn, both of uh'nh produced higher yields than in 1912. On June _'_' a hailstorm on the northern part of the project, damaged all the crops to some extent, but no serious damage was done at the experiment farm. The rainfall up to •Inly I was vers nearly normal, while that in July, August, and the ftrsl half >A' September was verj much le>s than the normal. The total for the year was 12.53 inches, which was slightlj below the average for the pasl aix years. The climatologies! observations made during the sis years from L908 to 1913, inclusive, -.iy>' sum- marized in Table I . Tabu 1 Summary of dimatola Belle Fourth •,,,/ Fan Mily. Dei - I90B 1910. 17 10 l 86 l 16 M 17 1 M 1. 17 II 1.43 1 W 1.07 1 v. -ii 11 ,04 pi 1 28 1 I 16 17 73 1911 1013. in i .34 .25 .76 1.58 1.19 1.88 .97 .36 .53 Table I. -Summary of cli radiological observations at the Belle Fourche Experiment Form, 1908 to 1913, inclusive— (Umiinued. Evaporation i i.\< hi Year, etc. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. j Total. 1908 5.53 3.65 5.41 4.05 i. 85 4.71 5.92 ('.. 42 5.31 6.82 ,v si; 8.98 8.08 7.70 10.42 10.71 7. s7 8.25 7.30 8 68 6.60 8.14 6.75 5.00 4.31 6.11 3.71 4.71 40 97 1909 36 88 1910 41.73 40.09 37 74 1911 s. 30 10.21 1912 6. 42 8. 18 7. 92 4.30 1 7.05 ] 8.24 1913 4.80 6.11 7.85 8.85 7.47 5.10 40.19 Daily Wind Velocity (Miles per Hour). Mean: 1908 8.3 10.1 8.2 11.6 11.1 5.9 19.6 21.7 22.0 19.4 25.3 12.4 2.1 2.6 1.6 3.9 2.9 1.2 „ 6.2 9.3 9.1 7.1, 6.8 12.1 12.9 19.4 20.7 17.5 18.9 1.7 2.9 3.1 4.5 2.8 2. 1 5.0 6.0 7.7 7.9 6.0 5.8 12.9 11.6 17.6 19.4 10.0 14.4 1.7 2.5 3.0 2.8 3.0 1.7 0.8 5.6 6.6 7.2 6.9 5.1 9.0 11.8 17.6 15.2 12.4 9.0 2.5 2.5 2.9 2.6 2.1 1.9 6.5 5.7 6.2 7.7 7.6 4.5 13.8 9.8 12.1 15.9 26.3 13.8 2.9 2.5 2.2 2..-. 1.5 .9 1909 9.1 9.2 9.2 9.5 6.2 (i. 3 7.1 5.5 6.5 10.0 1910 6.3 9.6 6.6 9.2 7.6 1911 1912 7.5 6.9 5.8 7.3 Maximum: 1909 26.8 23.8 18.6 24.9 16.5 13.8 18.3 15.0 ](,. 7 21.7 1910 18.9 19.6 18.8 28.0 15.0 1911 1912 18.8 17.5 11.4 16. 7 Minimum: loos 1909 2. 5 3.1 3.3 3.0 1.3 2.1 2.5 .9 2.5 1.3 1910 1.7 2.4 1.8 1.8 2.1 1911 1.2 .8 .s 2.1 1912 1913 Monthly Temperature (°F.). Mean: 1908... 1909... 1910... 1911... 1912... 1913... Maximum: 1908... 1909... 1910... 1911... 1912... 1913... Minimum: 1908... 1909... 1910... 1911... 1912... 1913... — 19 —26 — 7 —12 —14 7^ 52 63 52 66 52 68 ,-,s 73 55 66 53 66 79 90 st 95 si 108 90 101 84 101 95 98 29 39 22 45 27 30 23 43 32 39 J'. 4.5 73 70 76 71 70 70 100 100 109 105 94 101 43 11 44 41 40 42 68 75 68 65 68 74 101 105 101 100 95 104 39 45 32 32 47 45 64 61 59 59 52 59 105 96 97 94 94 97 22 31 30 35 24 29 37 21 31 25 38 37 75 73 67 58 70 64 — 7 s — 8 11 14 22 10 2.5 20 28 23 49 49 52 51 57 51 -12 —23 —13 —25 2 — 1 Killing Frosts. Season. I.asl spring frost First fall frost Frost-free period days May 21 Sept. 22 128 1909 1910 1911 1912 May 1^ Mav 21 Sept. 24 Sept. 26 UN 127 1913 Mav 12 | May 4 Mav o Oct. 4 Sept. 25 Sept. 24 lti, 141 141 6-year average. 136 ( nor i ONDI i ions The urea of land devoted to Geld crops on t he Belle Fourche project in L913 was larger l>\ aboul 8,000 acres than in 1912, an increase <>f aboul 32 per cent. The total irrigated area of th< farms on i he project in L913 was 32,851 aire--. Of this an area of 313 acre- was devoted to young alfalfa and miscellaneous crops nol harvested, bo thai the area from which crops were harvested eon tained 32,568 acre--. The area devoted to alfalfa in 1913 amounted to aim ui 9,000 acres, which is 2] times as large as the area from which alfalfa was harvested in l'.MJ. In 1913 corn ami small grains were grown on a ho nt 21,000 acres, or about 64 percent of the total cropped area of the project. The acreage, yields, and farm values of the crops produced on the project in 1913 are -tated in Table II. the figures being obtained from the United States Reclamation Service. Tabi ^ II Acreage, yields, and farm values of crops on tht Belle Fourche project ii* 1913. I'llll of yield. Yield. r ■rm \ tine. Crop Tol..l. Per Per unit ol yield. Per mum. Alt- m ad- mum. Alt ill i ti n 711 i.7 8 1,859 m 177 M 71 I'on Bushel. . .. do lull Bushel In. 101 117 17 -■ i l i t. 7 IS i 1 1 7 19.0 .. 1.! 80 2 00 Ml VII 1,540 64,708 1.990 1".. I-'-' 161 9 .'1 1 1 VI 1 11 21 M B M 13. 11 51 7'. • !■! 8.94 ■32 80 AH.iif i Med . . . . .... Com.. Corn tedder 16 <•! Garden 101,768 - .'7 71 5 i 00 " 29 mi • 10 s 11 '1 35.0 13 00 21 00 L*w duplii II Total - EXPERIMENTS WITH IRRIGATED CROPS. CROP Koi u ion>. In the spring of 1912 a series of 32 rotation experiment'- under irrigation was commenced. Field A. which i- used for these experi- ments, contains ss > quarter-acre plats. A portion of this field is Bhown in figure 2. The following crops arc grown in various sequence-: Alfalfa, sugar beets, clover, flax, oats, wheat, barley, corn, and potatoes. Bach of these crops is also grown continuously on the same plat each year for the purpose of comparing continuous cropping with crop rotation. Tlu> rotation experiments include eleven 2-yeai rotations, four 4-year rotations, three 3-year rotations, and six 6-year rotations. Table III gives the number of plats devoted to each crop in these experiments and the minimum, maximum, and average yields obtained in 1913. Table III. — Yields per acre of crops grown in the irrigation rotation experiments at tht Belle Fourche Experiment Farm in 1918. Yield per aero Number Crop. ol plats. Minimum. Maximum. Average. 15 Sus?ar beets 4.7 10.7 7.S 1* Oats 24.1 54.5 39.0 2 Barley do.... 14 14.8 14.4 6 Wheat do.. . 13.7 31.3 19.9 13 do.... 74 176 112.5 6 Corn do.... 21.6 43 34 3 Flax do.... fi. 1 18.6 13.4 12 Alfalfa . 75 5.3 2.6 Fig. 2.- -A view in field A, where the irrigated crop-rotation experiments are in progress. Thirty- two different cropping systems are being tested. The seed used in the first planting of beets, made on May 1, failed to make a satisfactory stand, and the plats were all replanted on June 17. A good stand was secured from the second planting, but the lateness of this planting probably reduced the yield considerably. The average yield per acre of the beets was only 0.17 ton higher than in 1912, but the percentage of sugar and the purity were very much higher. The average sugar content was 19.1 per cent in 1913, as compared with 14.8 per cent in 1912, and the average purity was 91.2 per cent, as compared with 82 per cent the year before. In 1913 the best yield of beets was obtained on land which produced potatoes iii 1912 The lowest yield in L 91 3 was obtained where beet followed beet The beei yield obtained from the I s * plate "f oats was from land which produced potatoes in 1912, and the lowest yield was obtained from the plat which had been continuously cropped to oats. The average yield of oats was 39 bushels per acre in 1913, as compared with 51 .9 bushels per acre in l!> 1 2. The highest wheal yield obtained in 1913, 31.3 bushels per was obtained on land which produced beets in 1912, and the lowest yield was secured from the continuously cropped wheat plat. The yield of potatoes was probablj reduced bj a frost which occurred on September 24, when the vines were Btill green. The average yield was only 112.5 bushels per acre. The highest yield was obtained <>u alfalfa land, which produced 176 bushels per acre. The average yield of corn was ■'< l bushels per acre, winch was 5 bushels more than the yield obtained in 1912. The highest yield was obtained where corn followed barley. The three plats of flax averaged 13.4 bushels per acre, practically the same as in 1912. The best yield was obtained from land which produced beets in 1912, and the Lowest yield was secured from the plat which has been continuously cropped to flax. Prom the obser- vations made in 1 u I "> it appears that the flax should be kept in good growing condition up to the time of full bloom and that no irrigation Water should he applied after that time. Late irrigation appear- to prevent the flax from ripening evenly, and it Btarts new branches from the lower joint-. Tin- causes some difficulty both in harvesl ing and thrashing and also lowers the quality of the aeed. The highest yield of alfalfa -ceded in the spring of I'M.", was 2.3 ton- per acre, and the lowesl 0.75 ton. The average yield of all the first-year plats Was 1 .-'11 tons per acre. The highest yield per acre obtained from the alfalfa planted in 1912 was 5.36 ton-, the lowest was 2.86 tons, and the average of all t he plat- was •'!. 19 ton-. PASTI ltl\<. vl. I Ml \ Willi HOGS In rotation , a 6-year rotation of corn, (lax. oat-, and three yea r- of alfalfa., hogs were pastured on the second-year alfalfa. The plan of the experiment contemplates that the hogs will he pastured on third-year alfalfa, hut as the experiment was not started until 1912 it wa- accessary to pasture second-year alfalfa in 1913. On May 20, I'M:;, three hogs, averaging 1">-"> pounds each, were turned on the quarter-acre plat. A. ration of _» pounds of equal part- of ground wheat, oats, and barley per day for each I nil pound- of live weight wa- used a- a supplement ary feed. The hogs Were left OH the plat for .V.) days, when it was found accessary to remove them to allow the alfalfa to gTOW up. On July '2 the hogs were again placed in 8 tho pasture. It was found that the alfalfa was soon overgrazed, and the hogs were removed on August 0, after being on the plat for 35 days. During the two periods, 74 days, the hogs gained 171 pounds. In making this gain they consumed T.'iS pounds of ground feed, which, at $1.25 a hundred, was worth $0.22. The 171 pounds of gain, at the local market price of 7 cents, was worth $11.97, so that the net value of the gain from the alfalfa was $2.75 on one-fourth acre, or $11 an acre. It was thought that better results would be obtained if younger bogs were used and if the plat was divided so that half the land would be pastured while the alfalfa was growing on the other half. Accord- ingly, the plat was subdivided on August 7, and eight hogs, averaging 39 pounds each, were turned into the alfalfa. They were pastured alternately on the two subdivisions of the plat for 20 days. During this time they were fed 335 pounds of the ground feed, which, at $1.25 a hundred, was worth $4.19. The hogs gained 96 pounds in the 20 days. This gain, at 7 cents a pound, was worth $6.72. The net gain, then, from the quarter acre of alfalfa for the 20 days was $2.53, or $10.12 an acre. The younger hogs on the subdivided plat netted practically as much in 20 days as the larger hogs on the same plat not subdivided netted in 74 days. There can be no doubt as to the desirability of using relatively young hogs and of subdividing the land to be pastured if the alfalfa is to be used to the best advantage. While the results obtained in this work in 1913 were not as good as might be expected, they indicate that to use the alfalfa land for hog pasture can be made a very profitable method of disposing of the alfalfa crop. The net value of the gains made by the hogs in this experiment was $21.12 per acre for the entire season. The average yield of alfalfa on 13 quarter-acre plats in the same field in 1913 was 3.5 tons per acre. Assuming that the pastured plat would have yielded at this rate, the value of the gain made by the hogs was equivalent to $6.03 per ton for the alfalfa consumed. The average yield of the third crop was 1.14 tons per acre. The young hogs which were pastured during a part of the growing period of the third crop made a net gain of $10.12 per acre, which was equivalent to about $9 a ton for the alfalfa consumed. During the season the market price of alfalfa hay on the project was about $5 a ton. HOGGING CORN. The corn plat in rotation 65 is to be harvested by hogs each year. In 1913 the eight young hogs used in the alfalfa pasturing experiment were turned into the corn plat on September 15. At the time the hogs were put on the corn plat they averaged 51 pounds each. The} 7 were left in the corn for 11 days, during which time they consumed all of the crop. During this period they gained 140 pounds from the quarter acre of corn, or 560 pounds per acre. This gain, .-it the local market price of 7 cents per pound, \\a- worth $39 20 an acre. The average \ ield of corn on the aix < >i In r plats in the Bame field was •'; 1.04 bushels per acre. Assuming thai the hogged plal produced al the average rate, the gain made \>\ the hogs was worth 11.13 a bushel for the corn consumed. The market price of ruin on the project BO cents a bushel. In 1912, bogs pastured <>n corn in the same experiment made a net gain worth I hi acre. The average \ ield i>f corn in the rotation held in 1912 was 29.9 bushels per acre, so that the gains made by the lui^s were equivalent to 91 cents a bushel for the corn consumed if it i- assumed that the hogged plat produced an average yield. The results secured in 1912 and 1913 indicate thai hogging is one of the moat profitable methods of disposing of the •■urn crop. It should be remembered that the figures given do col include the cosl of harvesting the corn by the usual methods and thai this amount' should be added to the figures giving the oel return- per acre. The fact that the manure from the hogs i- left on the land when the corn is hogged is another important point to he considered. RATE Ol SE1 l>lN'. iihin All experiment to determine the most satisfactory rate at which to seed alfalfa was started in L913 on land that was summer-fallowed during the season of 1912. The alfalfa was seeded June 5 with a disk drill. The crop was clipped once during the \ear. hut there was not enough plant growth to determine hay yields. Table IV -how- the rates of seeding and the stand obtained from each rate and al-o the percentage of seeds producing plants. The figures in the last column are based on the assumption that a pound of alfalfa seed contains 225,000 seeds. Tabi i i I 1 '!(/.'. 302,000 ID - 5 u 5 a 5 4 3 13 14 149,000 . 51548 !i 10 The final results of (his experiment will not be obtained until several crops of hay have been harvested. From the results obtained in 1913 it appears that rates varying from 8 to 15 pounds per acre are sufficiently high, so far as satisfactory stands are concerned, but additional results must be secured before the relative desirability of tin 1 different rates can be determined. TIME AND METHOD OF SEEDING ALFALFA. Alfalfa can be seeded on the Belle Fourche project at any time from early spring until midsummer, but the most convenient time is just before planting potatoes, corn, and sugar beets, or else about one month later, after these intertilled crops are planted. An experi- ment was started in 1913 on field A-III to determine which of these two planting periods is the better. The plantings were made on (piart er- acre plats. On some of the plats alfalfa was planted with a nurse crop of wheat to determine whether that method is desirable. The four plats planted with a nurse crop are compared with those in which alfalfa was planted alone. On two plats the nurse crop was cut for hay, while on the other two the wheat was harvested for the grain. On three plats the alfalfa was planted in rows 21 inches apart and cultivated. The chief reason for planting in rows was to experi- ment with this method of alfalfa-seed production. The yields obtained in this experiment in 1913 are given in Table V. Tabi e V. Yit tlds obtained from different linn. sand rru '.(hods of feeding alfalfa at the Belle Fourche Experiment Farm in WIS. Avei per acre. Method ;iik1 time of seeding. Num- ber of plats. Alfalfa. 1 First crop. Second crop. Total. hay. Wheat. \\ n bout nurse crop, May 9 (early) 3 3 2 2 3 Tons. U. 78 . 50 Tons. 0.31 .21 Tom. 1 09 .71 Tons. Bushels. 1.42 With nurse crop, Mav 9, cut for grain 2^.2 I n 21-inch rows, June 5 .31 .18 . 1!' It is seen that the early-seeded alfalfa yielded somewhat more than that seeded late. Assuming that the price of wheat hay is the same as that of alfalfa hay, about $5 a ton, planting with a nurse crop and harvesting the wheat as hay gave larger returns per acre than plant big the alfalfa alone. When the cost of harvesting and thrashing the wheat for grain is considered, it is seen that this method is less profitable than either of the two methods previously mentioned, for the yield of 2S.2 bushels per acre is little more than sufficient to pay II the cost of production on irrigated land. The returns for the row plantings were thosmallosl obtained in the experiment. 1 1 Bhould be remembered thai these statements appl} to the firs! year's resulte only. The final effecl of time .• 1 1 1 < I method of Beeding can nol !><• known until the alfalfa yields to be obtained from the different methods have been determined for two or three years, The stands of alfalfa obtained appear to be practically the same in all cases, except, of course, when the alfalfa was planted in rows. i III i SI 01 i i.\\ \-, I NURSE CROP FOR \i I \i I \ Aii experiment i" determine the value of flax as a nurse crop for a I I'fil fa was started in 1913 on field K. One acre was seeded to alfalfa ai 1 1 m> rate of Kt pounds per acre, wiih ila\ - led ai the rate of l- pounds per acre as a nurse crop. A.bou1 5.S acres of Land adjoining this was seeded to alfalfa alone, ai the rate of 10 pounds per acr< The seeding was Hour on May 7. Shortly after Beeding, a beav\ rain packed and crusted the Boil in this Geld. The flax, germinal much more promptly than the alfalfa, appeared to break tin- crusl and to give the alfalfa a better chance to come through. The alfalfa seeded alone yielded ai the rate of 0.5 ton per acre. No hay yield was obtained from the Meld where flax was used as a nurse crop, hut the flax produced 8.4 bushels of seed per acre. A good stand was obtained by both methods, but the alfalfa appeared to be slighth thicker where flax was USed a-> a OUTSe eiop. Counts made on reptv sentative area-- in the fall of 1913 indicated thai where the alfalfa was planted alone there were 1 Hi. nun plants per acre as compared with a stand of 151,000 plants where the flax was used as a nurse crop. Considering the cosl of culture during the year, the nel value of the crop obtained when- flax was used as a nurse crop was slightly higher than that of the alfalfa planted alone-. The results secured in 1913 indicate that the use of flax a- a nurse crop may prove to he a profit able prad ice. DtRIG mion or kLFAJLFA. An experiment was conducted in I'M:; to determine the effect of tin- late-fall irrigation and tin- early-spring irrigation of alfalfa as compared with irrigating in the usual way. The experiment was conducted on five ipiarter-acre plat-- in held A. Two plats were irrigated in the fall of 1912, one was irrigated early in the spring of 1913, and two were irrigated in the usual way, the first irrigation having been applied June ■">. I'M:;. The plats irrigated late in the fall of 1912 and the plat irrigated early in the spring of I'M:; were otherwise irrigated in the usual way. Tin- precipitation during the fall of 1912 and the winter of 1912 13 was unusuallv hca\\ and the 12 soil on all the plats contained an abundance of moisture, so that little effecl was produced by irrigation in the fall and early spring. The yields of alfalfa hay from the different plats indicated no im- portant effect of late-fall or early-spring irrigation. It is probable that in seasons having a light fall and winter precipitation fall irrigation or early-spring irrigation would have a beneficial effect . Whether or not this will be the case remains to be determined. VARIETY TEST OF CORN. In 1913 nine varieties of coin were tested, both on dry land and under irrigation. The varieties all failed to produce a crop of grain on the dry land. The yields obtained on irrigated land are shown in Table VI, being calculated on a basis of 12 per cent moisture. The varieties were planted in duplicate plats two rows wide and 110 feet long, the work being done in cooperation with the Office of Corn Investigations. Table VI. — Average yields of nine varieties of vim n> the Bell* Fourche Expern Farm, mi.;. Variety. Marten's White Dent Northwestern Dent. . U.S. Selection 133... Payne's White Dent . Disco Dent 1 late of maturity. Yield per acre. Sept. 11 Sept. 4 Sepl. 13 Sep1 . 1 1 Sepl. 15 Bushels. 60. 4 56. 2 56.2 .")5. 3 4"). ■"> Variety. Brown Counly Yellow . Ardmoie Yellow Denl Disco Flint Minnesota No. 2.; Average Date of maturity. Sept. 6 ..do Sept. 13 Sept. 6 Yield per acre. Bushels. 51.2 49.2 45.5 38.6 51.8 The highest yield was produced by Marten's White Dent, which averaged GO. 4 bushels per acre. The lowest yield was produced by Minnesota No. 23, which yielded 38.6 bushels per acre. The average yield of all the varieties was 51.8 bushels per acre. Northwestern Dent, the second best yielder, was the earliest in maturity, but the differences in time of maturity of the different varieties were not great. MANGELS. The increasing interest in dairy farming on the project make- it desirable that satisfactory forage crops be found for use in supple- menting alfalfa in the rations fed to milk cows. Mangels are generally considered one of the best supplementary feeds for this class of stock. In order to determine how mangels would behave under the conditions on the project, a quarter-acre plat (fig. 3) in field A was planted in rows 21 inches apart, and when the plants came up they were thinned to 10 inches within the row. The crop was irrigated three times and harvested on October 25. A yield of 26 tons per acre was secured. KM. I. IKIill. V I ION III 1 I \\ Aii experiment was conducted in 1913 on two quarter-acre plate in field A to determine the effect of fall irrigation "f land to be planted to Sax. One plat was heavllj irrigated on November 8, 1912, and the other was not irrigated in the full. During 1913 ila\ was gro w n KM l>otli plats and given the same treatmenl through- out ilif season. The fall-irrigated plat yielded at the rate <>f 18 bushels per acre and the other j » 1 .• 1 1 produced L8.6 bushels per acre. The absence of an) effect on the yield of the fall-irrigated plat was probably due to the unusually heavj rainfall in the autumn <>P L912, as previously mentioned. This experiment has been enlarged and u ill l>r continued in 1914. PASTDRKn May 24, contained the seed of the grasses and legumes mentioned below and were planted .-it the rates specified in pounds per acre Mi.rt'ir, A. This mixture contained timothy, 1 pounds; redtop, t pounds; Kentucky bluegrass, I pounds; orchard grass, 6 pounds; awnless brome-grass (Bromus inermis) 2 pounds; meadow fescue, 2 pounds; tall fescue, _' pounds; Italian rye-grass, 2 pounds; western wheat-grass, •; pounds; and perennial rye-grass, 2 pound-. 14 Mixture B. — Mixture B was the same as mixture A, except that 2 pounds of white clover and 2 pounds of alsike clover seed were added. Mixture C. — The same grasses and legumes were included in mix lure C as in mixture B and 2 pounds of alfalfa seed were added. These pasture-grass mixtures were planted on land that was summer-fallowed in 1912. The land was disked and harrowed in the spring and kept free from weeds previous to planting. A disk drill was used in planting, but there was some difficulty in getting the drill to sow evenly, as the seed was so coarse and light that it would not readily fall into the seed cups. For several weeks after planting it looked very doubtful whether a stand would be secured, but after the first irrigation, on July 19, the plants came up rapidly and the stand continued to improve until the end of the growing season, at which time there was a good stand on all three plats. It was found desirable to irrigate as frequently as every 10 days during the hottest weather, in order to keep the plants growing continu- ously. The crop was clipped once during the season, but there was not enough plant growth to determine yields. It is expected that these plats will be pastured in the summer of 1914 to determine whether it is practicable to pasture stock on these irrigated lands and to find out which of the mixtures gives the best results. TIME-OF-BREAKING EXPERIMENTS. An experiment was started in 1911 to determine the effect on dry-land grain yields of breaking sod land at different times of the year. This work was done on field D, which is not irrigated. A quarter-acre plat was plowed each month from April to October, inclusive, in 1911 and 1912, and one plat was plowed in April, 1913. The plat plowed on April 1, 1911, was replowed, or backset, in the fall of 1911, and the one plowed April 1, 1912, was replowed in the fall of 1912. In 1912 the eight plats plowed in 1911 were planted to Sixty-Day oats, but because of the severe drought of 1912 no crop was produced and the plats were all plowed in the fall. In the spring of 1913 these eight plats, and also eight plats which were plowed from April to October, 1912, and one plat which was plowed on April 15, 1913, were all seeded to Sixty-Day oats. Plat 9, which was plowed April 1, 1912, was backset in the fall of that year. Be- tween the time of plowing and that of planting, all plats were kept free from weeds by shallow cultivation with a disk and a harrow. The yields obtained in 1913 are piven in Table VII. L5 Tabi i \ 1 1 ) Belli I Time "i i m I I ina Yield i • 1 III 1 ll> .11 204 <•) IituhrU. 1 ! ' ' 116 Oct 1 III .9 1 I'll. The land on which ihi> experiment was located ia fairly uniform but of poor quality, the shale coining \ ery close to the Burface. Owing to ext remely dry conditions in July, the crop of 1913 was \ erj aearrj a failure on all the plats. There was a slight increase in yield, how- ever, on the backset plats and on the plats plowed in the early rammer. The chief indication of the results obtained is that it ^ not a desirable practice* to plant oats on hind during the same Bpring in which the land is broken. The experiment will he continued in 191 t on plats broken during the season of I'M:;. TREE PLANTING. Tests of various kinds of tree-, for -hade, ornamental, and wind- break purposes have been carried on in cooperation with the Foresl Service since 1909. During the firsl three years all the work was done on land above the canal, hut in 1912 -nine plantings were made on irrigated land. Dry haul. In the spring of 1909 about ■'! acre- of dry land were planted to the following tree-: Cottonwood, white and golden wil- low, black locust, honey locust, green ash, Siberian pea, Russian white olive, Scotch pine. Black Hills -priice, and led cedar. The spring of 1909 was very favorable, and all the tree-, made a g I growth during the year. They came through the winter of 1909 and 1910 without any winterkilling except the black locust and the - 'tch pine. The black locusl killed hack rather badly and ino-t <>f the Scotch pine killed out entirely. In the spring of 1910, Austrian pine and hackberry trees were added to the plantings. Tin 1 Austrian pine was a total failure, hut aboul half a -tand <>f hackberry was obtained. The season of L910 was extremely dry, but all the tree- which started growth in the Bpring made a good growth during the season, except the willow-. 16 which suffered considerably from drought. During the winter of 1910-11 there was no winterkilling of any of the species. The sum- mer of 1911 was the driest on record, the rainfall for the year being only 6.64 inches. The trees made but little growth during the sum- mer, but none of the varieties was killed by the drought. They all passed successfully through the winter of 1911-12. All the trees made a good growth during the summer of 1912. There was an abundance of rain in the latter part of the summer and early fall, so the season's growth did not ripen up well to go into the winter. During the whiter of 1912-13 the Cottonwood and black locust were killed to the ground and nearly all the other varieties were killed back to some extent. The only varieties that came through without any winterkilling were the green ash, Siberian pea, honey locust, and red cedar. Of these species the green ash and Siberian pea are the most hardy and desirable. While both of these are slow growing, the fact that they withstand the severe conditions of drought and cold on the western plains makes them valuable. It has been found at the experiment farm that to grow trees success- fully the land must be thoroughly cultivated until the trees shade the ground enough to keep out the weeds and native grasses. It is best to use 1 -year-old or 2-year-old stocks, as small trees are much more readily started than larger ones. While the trees are small, it is desirable to have them rather close together, as it is then much easier to keep them free from weeds. The trees at the experiment farm were planted 4 feet apart in rows 6 feet apart. After the second year, thinning should begin and continue as the trees require more space. Irrigated land. — About 7 acres of land are used for testing trees under irrigation. The following are included in the plantings made in 1912 and 1913: Cottonw r ood, wiiite elm, green ash, Siberian pea, Russian white olive, white willow, white elm, bull pine, and jack pine. Of these, the cottonwood, white elm, wiiite willow, and green ash were planted in the spring of 1912. A good stand of green ash and wiiite elm was secured, but a very poor stand of cottonwood was obtained, because of the poor condition of the trees when they were received. During the winter of 1912-13 the wiiite elm and cottonwood killed back very badly, but they made a vigorous growth in 1913. The remainder of the species mentioned were planted in the spring of 1913. Good stands w r ere secured except hi the case of the re- planted cottonwoods. The work with trees under irrigation has not progressed far enough to warrant any specific recommendations as to which species should be planted by farmers on the project. SOIL-DYNAMITING I \l'l RIMENT. lu order to determine the effect <»f dynamiting on the Boil, an ex- perimenl was started in the full of 1912 on three tenth-acre plate in field B, which lies above the canal. PlatB \ 1 ! I I, was dynamited as described below, and the two other plats, which lie one on cadi side of i>liit B VIII I. were used as checks. The dynamited plat produced oats in 1910, was fallow in 1911, and produced millel in 1912; and plal B \ II i. "n ( > "f the check plats, was treated in the Bame waj in 1910, 1911, and 1912. The other check plat, B 1X-1, was manured in the fall of 1910 :it the rate of 20 tons per acre, and produced oats in 1911 and 1912. All three plats were plowed Sep- tember 20, 1912. On October 22, 1912, plat B VIII l was dynamited. Dynamite of 20 per rent strength \\ as used, the shots being placed 20 feel apart , 8 holes to a plat. The holes were :; feel deep, and one-half pound <>f dynamite was used for each shot. The cost of this operation including dynamite, fuse, caps, and labor, was S12 per acre. In the Bpring of 1913 all three plats were given uniform treatment and Beeded to Sixty-] >ay oats. The dynamited plat, yielded IS. I bushels per acre, and the two check plats yielded 25.9 and 24.1 bushels per acre, respectively. The average of all the dry-land oat plate in field B was 23.9 bushels per acre. The crop conditions were favorable up to Jurj i . hut after that all the dry-land crops Buffered from drought. While this one year's result- do OOl warrant a statement that dynamiting is detrimental, it i- important to state that the results obtained on the dynamited plat were similar to those usualrj obtained in dry years at the experiment farm on land which i- deep tilled. particularly where subsoiling is practiced. In 1914 the three plats used in the dynamiting experiment will be planted again to the same crop, to mv what the effect of dynamiting will be two years after the operation. GARDEN VEGETAB1 l 9. In 1912 and 1913, a number of differenl varieties of garden tables were grown under irrigation at the experiment farm. The list given below contain- the name- of the varieties which have given satisfactory results. A view of a part of the vegetable garden a- it appeared in August, I'M.;, is shown in figure I. Cabhaiji. Disco Kureka and Premium Flat Dutch. The tir-t named is the earlier maturing. Cauliflower. Dwarf Erfurt and Early Snowball. The first named is preferred. 18 Pumpkin. — Small Sugar, Japanese Pie, and Connecticut Field. The last named is rather late in maturing. Sweet corn. — Peep o' Day, Black Mexican, and Disco Evergreen. Watermelon. -Sweet Heart, Cole's Early, and Fordhook Early. Muskmelon. — Emerald Gem, Rocky Ford, and Disco Gem. Cucumber. — Arlington White Spine and Improved Long Green. Squash. — Yellow Summer Crookneck, Golden Hubbard, Mammoth, and Delicious. Tomato. — Acme, Ponderosa, and Earliana. Bean. — Early Red Valentine, Detroit "Wax, Wardwell's Kidney Wax, and Seibert's Pole Lima. Turnip. — Extra Early Milan and Purple Top Strap Leaf. Pea. — Stratagem and Thomas Laxton. Fig. 4.— View in the vegetable garden at the Belle Fourche Experiment Farm in 1913. Eighteen different kinds of vegetables have been successfully grown here. Beet. — Crosby's Early, Detroit Dark Red, and Edmand's Blood Turnip. Radish. — Early Scarlet Globe, Early Scarlet Turnip, and French Breakfast. Lettuce. — Grand Rapids, May King, and Prize Head. Onion. — Yellow Globe Danvers and Large Red Globe Parsnip. — Hollow Crown and Guernsey. ( 'arrot. — Oxheart, Danvers Half Long, and Chantenay FUTURE WORK. Practically all the work conducted at the experiment farm in 1913 will be continued in 1914, and several new experiments will be started. Among the tests recently inaugurated tire extensive experiments in Ill full irrigal ii»ii with "uts, beete, flax, potatoes, barley, corn, and wheal ; mi experiment to determine the most satisfactory rate of planting for corn; and a variety test with potatoes. As rapidlj as result Becured thej will be published for the benefit of the farmers on the project . Approved : W'u. A. T\i LOB, ( Tnefqf Bureau, Jim 6, 191 I. O UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 3 1262 08928 9853 DEPOSITOR!