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UNIVERSITY OF ILLLINOIS, 
 
 Agricultural Experiment Station. 
 
 URBANA, JANUARY, 1897. 
 
 BULLETIN No. 46. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 EXPERIMENTS WITH CORN 
 
 EFFECT OF CULTIVATION. 
 
 NEW METHOD OF DETERMINING COMPARATIVE YIELDS. 
 
 ATTEMPTS TO GROW CRIMSON CLOVER. 
 
 ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF RETENTIVE CLAYS : DRAINAGE OF 
 
 THE SO-CALLED "HARD PAN" LANDS OF SOUTHERN 
 
 ILLINOIS. 
 ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PHYSIOLOGICAL REQUIREMENTS 
 
 OF THE ANIMAL BODY; RESULTS OF AN ATTEMPT TO 
 
 GROW CATTLE WITHOUT COARSE FEED. 
 
 EXPERIMENTS WITH CORN, 1896. 
 
 Of the many experiments with corn that are in progress at 
 this Station but two are reported in the present bulletin, other 
 apparent results being held for further confirmation. 
 
 For the benefit of those who desire to consider the effect of 
 meteorological conditions upon the experiments reported, there is 
 given on the next page a table of temperatures and rainfall as 
 observed at this^station from January, 1889, to December, 1896, 
 inclusive. 
 
 Experiment No. g. Depth of Cultivation. 
 
 PLANTING. For the purpose of continuing experiments in 
 cultivation, a small field was planted May nth to a variety known 
 as Burr's white, and immediately divided into ten plats lying side 
 by side, each eight rows in width, twenty-four in length, and well 
 protected by marginal plantings. The field was longest from 
 north to south and plat I was at the north end. 349 
 
350 
 
 BULLETIN NO. 46. 
 
 METEOROLOGICAL RECORDS, 1889-1896. 
 TEMPERATURE, DEGREES, FAHRENHEIT. 
 
 \_January, 
 
 
 January. 
 
 February. 
 
 March. 
 
 April. 
 
 
 Mean. 
 
 Max. 
 
 Min. 
 
 Mean. 
 
 Max. 
 
 Min. 
 
 Mean. 
 
 Max. 
 
 Min. 
 
 Mean. 
 
 Max. 
 
 Min. 
 
 1889 
 
 29.28 
 
 57 
 
 -2 
 
 23-36 
 
 53 
 
 -7-5 
 
 39-92 
 
 72 
 
 18 
 
 51-9 
 
 75 
 
 25 
 
 1890 
 
 33-5 
 
 66 
 
 -5 
 
 34.66 
 
 68 
 
 7 
 
 33-35 
 
 61 
 
 2 
 
 52.32 
 
 81 
 
 29 
 
 1891 
 
 30.26 
 
 57 
 
 6 
 
 30-45 
 
 61 
 
 -9 
 
 32-55 
 
 65 
 
 -I 
 
 52.78 
 
 81 
 
 22 
 
 1892 
 
 19.2 
 
 57 
 
 -15 
 
 33 
 
 55 
 
 * 
 
 36.1 
 
 69 
 
 * 
 
 48.6 
 
 70-5 
 
 26 
 
 1893 
 
 14.8 
 
 48 
 
 * 
 
 2 5 .8 
 
 5i 
 
 * 
 
 37-8 
 
 76 
 
 * 
 
 49-3 
 
 75 
 
 3<> 
 
 1894 
 
 29.4 
 
 64 
 
 -21 
 
 24.7 
 
 58 
 
 -5 
 
 43-5 
 
 77 
 
 IO 
 
 51-4 
 
 85 
 
 25 
 
 1895 
 
 19-5 
 
 57 
 
 -8 
 
 17.9 
 
 65 
 
 -20.5 
 
 35-9 
 
 84 
 
 7 
 
 52.3 
 
 83 
 
 27 
 
 1896 
 
 28.1 
 
 52 
 
 -5 
 
 29.6 
 
 68 
 
 -4 
 
 34-4 
 
 67 
 
 6 
 
 57-6 
 
 86 
 
 21 
 
 Whle pried. . 
 
 25-5 
 
 66 
 
 *-2I 
 
 27-43 
 
 68 
 
 *-20-5 
 
 36-69 
 
 84 
 
 *-i 
 
 52.02 
 
 88 
 
 21 
 
 
 May. 
 
 June. 
 
 Jiy- 
 
 August. 
 
 
 Mean. 
 
 Max. 
 
 Min. 
 
 Mean. 
 
 Max. 
 
 Min. 
 
 Mean. 
 
 Max. 
 
 Min. 
 
 Mean. 
 
 Max. 
 
 Min. 
 
 1889 
 
 59-2 
 
 9i 
 
 28 
 
 65.5 
 
 88 
 
 40 
 
 72-7 
 
 90.5 
 
 50 
 
 69.2 
 
 89 
 
 29-5 
 
 1890 
 
 58.27 
 
 87 
 
 33 
 
 74-56 
 
 96 
 
 47 
 
 73-02 
 
 97-5 
 
 45 
 
 68.74 
 
 96 
 
 44-5 
 
 1891 
 
 58.4 
 
 9i 
 
 30 
 
 71.9 
 
 93 
 
 49 
 
 70.12 
 
 93 
 
 42 
 
 70.21 
 
 99 
 
 40 
 
 1892 
 
 57-9 
 
 82 
 
 36 
 
 7.0.6 
 
 94 
 
 5i 
 
 73-3 
 
 96-5 
 
 46 
 
 71-5 
 
 94 
 
 47 
 
 1893 
 
 57-4 
 
 84 
 
 37 
 
 70.5 
 
 93 
 
 53 
 
 76.4 
 
 98 
 
 48 
 
 71.1 
 
 96 
 
 37 
 
 1894 
 
 59-6 
 
 89 
 
 32 
 
 73-4 
 
 97 
 
 34 
 
 73-8 
 
 98 
 
 47 
 
 72-3 
 
 99 
 
 4i 
 
 1895 
 
 59-4 
 
 95 
 
 28 
 
 73-3 
 
 98.5 
 
 42 
 
 71-3 
 
 94 
 
 43 
 
 73-2 
 
 97 
 
 48 
 
 1896 
 
 68.2 
 
 9i 
 
 45 
 
 70.2 
 
 92 
 
 49 
 
 73-8 
 
 95 
 
 49 
 
 72 
 
 97 
 
 44 
 
 Vhol p*riod . . 
 
 59-79 
 
 95 
 
 28 
 
 71.24 
 
 98-5 
 
 34 
 
 73-05 
 
 98 
 
 42 
 
 71-03 
 
 99 
 
 29. 5 
 
 September. 
 
 October. 
 
 November. 
 
 December. 
 
 
 Mean. 
 
 Max. 
 
 Min. 
 
 Mean. 
 
 Max. 
 
 Min. 
 
 Mean. 
 
 Max. 
 
 Min. 
 
 Mean. 
 
 Max. 
 
 Min. 
 
 1889 
 
 61.32 
 
 87-5 
 
 32 
 
 47.26 
 
 82 
 
 25 
 
 36.82 
 
 62 
 
 4 
 
 42.71 
 
 66 
 
 15 
 
 1890 
 
 60.46 
 
 89 
 
 33 
 
 52-07 
 
 76 
 
 27 
 
 42.62 
 
 68 
 
 21 
 
 30.91 
 
 58 
 
 8 
 
 1891 
 
 69.2 
 
 96 
 
 4i 
 
 51-3 
 
 88.5 
 
 27 
 
 35-69 
 
 6? 
 
 2 
 
 37 
 
 60 
 
 ii 
 
 1892 
 
 63-9 
 
 87 
 
 42 
 
 53-6 
 
 88.5 
 
 19 
 
 34-8 
 
 64 
 
 7 
 
 27.7 
 
 60 
 
 -7 
 
 1893 
 
 66.5 
 
 97 
 
 3i 
 
 53-3 
 
 84 
 
 18 
 
 37-3 
 
 75 
 
 6 
 
 30 
 
 63 
 
 -6 
 
 1894 65 
 
 94 
 
 38 
 
 5i-9 
 
 84 
 
 28 
 
 35-9 
 
 67 
 
 12 
 
 32-9 
 
 59 
 
 -4 
 
 1895 67.7 
 
 94 
 
 32 
 
 45-9 
 
 75 
 
 12 
 
 38.2 
 
 73 
 
 4 
 
 3i-i 
 
 59 
 
 -2 
 
 1896 61.9 
 
 9i 
 
 30 
 
 48.8 
 
 7Q 
 
 24 
 
 39-9 
 
 74 
 
 9 
 
 33-3 
 
 62 
 
 8 
 
 Whole ptried . . 64 . 49 
 
 97 
 
 3 
 
 50-51 
 
 88.5 
 
 12 
 
 37-65 
 
 75 
 
 2 
 
 33-20 
 
 66 
 
 -7 
 
 RAINFALL, INCHES. 
 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 April. 
 
 May. 
 
 June. 
 
 Jiy. 
 
 Aug. 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Qct. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Year. 
 
 1889 
 
 1.48 
 
 2.08 
 
 1.61 
 
 .61 
 
 5-52 
 
 6.81 
 
 5.81 
 
 .60 
 
 2-74 
 
 1.42 
 
 4.38 
 
 1.82 
 
 34.88 
 
 1890 
 
 5.26 
 
 1.87 
 
 2.70 
 
 4.11 
 
 3-56 
 
 3-8o 
 
 2.83 
 
 1-93 
 
 1.19 
 
 2-35 
 
 1.63 
 
 05 
 
 31.28 
 
 1891 
 
 -99 
 
 2.60 
 
 3-55 
 
 3-54 
 
 .89 
 
 2.08 
 
 1.41 
 
 2.86 
 
 .41 
 
 1.29 
 
 5.58 
 
 i-53 
 
 26.73 
 
 1892 
 
 79 
 
 2.64 
 
 2-59 
 
 6-45 
 
 7.86 
 
 5-36 
 
 2.50 
 
 2-45 
 
 93 
 
 93 
 
 4-95 
 
 1.62 
 
 39-05 
 
 1893 
 
 1.05 
 
 4.48 
 
 3-20 
 
 7.68 
 
 4-83 
 
 i-55 
 
 59 
 
 .06 
 
 3-62 
 
 1.14 
 
 2.98 
 
 1.09 
 
 32.37 
 
 1894 
 
 i-95 
 
 1.32 
 
 2.41 
 
 1.86 
 
 3-32 
 
 1.78 
 
 i. 08 
 
 2.06 
 
 4.21 
 
 5i 
 
 2-77 
 
 1.44 
 
 24.72 
 
 1895 
 
 1.36 
 
 52 
 
 .70 
 
 2.42 
 
 2.20 
 
 2.24 
 
 3.61 
 
 1.81 
 
 5-27 
 
 .21 
 
 3-07 
 
 5-71 
 
 29.12 
 
 1896 
 
 1. 12 
 
 i-95 
 
 1.22 
 
 1.89 
 
 5-62 
 
 2.98 
 
 7.87 
 
 3-74 
 
 5-84 
 
 42 
 
 2.87 
 
 39 
 
 35-91 
 
 AT. . . 
 
 1-75 
 
 2.18 
 
 2.24 
 
 3-57 
 
 4-22 
 
 3-32 
 
 3-21 
 
 1.94 
 
 3-02 
 
 1-03 
 
 3-53 
 
 1.70 
 
 31-75 
 
 * Record incomplete. 
 
i8 97 .] 
 
 CORN EXPERIMENTS, 1896. 
 
 351 
 
 CULTIVATION. Plat 4 was cultivated one inch deep ; plat 6, 
 two inches ; plat 7, four inches ; plat 9, six inches ; and plats 2, 5, 
 and 8, three inches deep, all with a harrow-toothed cultivator that 
 could be accurately adjusted to the specified depths. As a check, 
 plat I was left uncultivated, but heavily mulched ; plat 3 was left 
 uncultivated, except that weeds were removed with a hoe ; and 
 plat 10 was deeply worked with a double shovel plow. The eight 
 cultivated plats were worked upon the same days, viz., May 26th, 
 June 6th, June i/th, and June 25th, and plat I was mulched with 
 grass six inches deep on the day of the first cultivation. 
 
 HARVESTING. After removing margins each plat was divided, 
 November 23d, into four sections and each quarter harvested 
 separately. In this manner one plat was not finished before 
 another was commenced, but the work was done by quarters in 
 regular succession from I to 10. A further advantage of this 
 method of harvesting is to discover if any section of any plat is 
 particularly deficient in stand. 
 
 Table I gives treatment of each plat together with relative 
 location, yields by quarters expressed in pounds of ears, and total 
 yields per acre, allowing 75 pounds of ears for one bushel of 
 shelled corn. 
 
 TABLE i. TREATMENT AND YIELD IN POUNDS OF EARS PER QUARTER PLAT, AND 
 IN BUSHELS OF GRAIN PER ACRE. 
 
 Plat 
 
 Treatment. 
 
 First 
 quarter. 
 
 Second 
 quarter. 
 
 Third 
 quarter. 
 
 Fourth 
 quarter. 
 
 Yield pei- 
 acre, bu. 
 
 i 
 
 
 no5/ 
 
 08 / 
 
 104 */> 
 
 io63/ 
 
 04. 
 
 2 
 
 Cultivated 3 in. deep 
 
 nn]4 
 
 Q4 1 A 
 
 qt>X 
 
 93 
 
 36.2 
 
 -I 
 
 Uncultivated 
 
 Q7 
 
 97 i/ 
 
 QCJ/ 
 
 q64/ 
 
 87 
 
 4 
 
 
 93 / 
 
 94 
 
 Q43/ 
 
 97 H 
 
 85-5 
 
 c 
 
 Cultivated 3 in. ' 
 
 86 V> 
 
 8qV 
 
 94 V 
 
 qi3/ 
 
 81.6 
 
 6 
 
 
 QO5^ 
 
 01 / 
 
 qo3/ 
 
 W/t 
 
 82 
 
 7 
 
 Cultivated 4 in. u 
 
 8? y> 
 
 952 
 
 96 
 
 91% 
 
 83.4 
 
 S 
 
 Cultivated 3 in. " 
 
 <M 1 A 
 
 8q 
 
 100^2 
 
 96i( 
 
 85-3 
 
 q 
 
 Cultivated 6 in. " 
 
 Sort 
 
 9 2 
 
 96 
 
 106 
 
 86.3 
 
 IO 
 
 Plowed (shovel plow) 
 
 84K 
 
 88# 
 
 92 l /2 
 
 93^ 
 
 80.7 
 
 DISCUSSION. It would be difficult indeed to construct a table 
 that would show greater indifference to cultivation. The highest 
 yield was on the plat that was mulched, the next highest on the 
 one that was entirely uncultivated, and the next upon plat 9, culti- 
 vated six inches deep. 
 
 A close study of the yield by quarters does not reveal any 
 particularly poor spot, although in general the middle of the field 
 shows a tendency to slightly lower yields. Nor can this tendency 
 be connected with any particular treatment. It is true that this 
 same land had been used for two seasons before for the "time plant- 
 
352 BULLETIN NO. 46. {January, 
 
 ing" experiments, and the early plantings had been on plats I and 
 2, and the latest on plats 9 and 10. As both extremes of planting 
 had given minimum yields, it is therefore apparent that the plats 
 along the middle of the field had for two years previous given 
 larger crops, and were for that reason less able to produce maxi- 
 mum yields under conditions equal with the others. If this be con- 
 sidered, these slight differences tend to disappear, and if not, they 
 are unexplainable on the basis of this experiment. In any event 
 the comparatively low yield of plat IO is unaccountable, unless it 
 be attributed to the severe action of the shovel plow or to an 
 irregular row of pine trees some four rods to the south. Being 
 less than twenty-five feet high, however, they cast no shade over 
 the plat and their roots could not have reached it. 
 
 Hitherto at this Station shallow cultivation has quite uni- 
 formly proved most effective, but it must not be forgotten that the 
 present season was one of almost ideal conditions as to moisture. 
 Rains, copious, but not excessive, were well distributed through- 
 out the growing season, and on the deep prairie soil of this field the 
 necessity for cultivation of any kind beyond removal of weeds 
 seemed to have been reduced to a minimum, if not entirely 
 obliterated. 
 
 Experiment No. i. Tests of Varieties. ^Methods of Experiment, .] 
 
 The principal difficulty confronting the experimenter is so to 
 control conditions that the results obtained may be credited to the 
 proper cause. For many years the Station has grown a large 
 number of varieties of corn, not only to note any and all peculiari- 
 ties, but more especially to test their ability to yield and their 
 consequent value for cultivation. 
 
 Of necessity, areas employed must be small, and such yields 
 will always be open to the objection of unlimited crossing. It has 
 been learned, however, that these disturbances to yield are not 
 serious in the season of the first cross, and may be fairly disre- 
 garded if fresh seed be employed each year. 
 
 Certain facts ultimately led to the suspicion that results were 
 greatly disturbed by simple differences in soil. It had been sup- 
 posed that reducing the size of plats and bringing them corre- 
 spondingly closer together would tend to eliminate soil differences 
 and that by choosing unusually uniform land such differences 
 would be practically eliminated. -TUMJ- 
 
 In 1895 seventy-two varieties were tested on plats ten rods 
 square. One of the varieties was repeated on thirteen different 
 plats, and although the ground chosen was an exceedingly uniform 
 
CORN EXPERIMENTS, 1896. 353 
 
 piece of prairie, ten by forty rods in extent, the difference in 
 yield of the same variety on neighboring plats was startling. 
 Without going into minutiae it will be sufficient to say that the 
 yields of the same variety within the limits specified varied from 
 45.8 bushels to 100.8 bushels, and that yields on contiguous plats 
 varied from 65.3 bushels to 89.7 bushels per acre. These differ- 
 ences, due to causes other than variety, represent very nearly the 
 extremes of yield among all the varieties on all the plats; from 
 which we may conclude that differences in soil, even on selected 
 locations, are nearly as great as the differences between the 
 varieties whose yields we propose to test. 
 
 Evidently some method must be devised whereby these soil 
 differences may be eliminated or their effects neutralized, or it is 
 more than useless to institute tests of comparative yields, not only 
 in corn experiments, but along other and similar lines of work. 
 
 In variety tests the time element affords no relief, and as an 
 experiment the following plan was employed: 
 
 It was first discovered that variations in yields secured from 
 small plats are vastly greater than from larger areas, because the 
 greatest variation noted on contiguous tenth-acre plats growing 
 the sarms variety was less than ten bushels per acre, or about 12 
 per cent., whereas fortieth-acre plats lying contiguous showed 
 variations of over 24 bushels, or more than 37 per cent. Plantings 
 were therefore made in plats or strips 38 rods long to neutralize 
 soil variation in one direction, and the same variety was repeated 
 on every third strip for a standard by which to eliminate lateral 
 differences. At the time of harvesting one rod was cut from each 
 end and the strips as remaining, 36 rods long, were each harvested in 
 six separate sections of six rods each to catch abnormal spots. 
 
 Table 2, next page, shows the varieties employed, the manner 
 of planting by repeating one variety, Burr's white, in each fourth fc 
 strip, and the yield in pounds of ears of each section of each strip, 
 together with the comparative yields expressed in bushels per acre. 
 
 Manifestly something is wrong with the first section of some 
 of the strips. (See Iowa silver mine, Clark's Iroquois, Edmonds, 
 and others.) As a matter of fact, vacancies were common in this 
 end of the field, and in final computation the first or south section 
 of all varieties was disregarded and results were computed on the 
 basis of yields secured from the other five. 
 
 It yet remains to translate the meaning of the last column and 
 make the yields comparative for the same pieces of ground. The 
 method of accomplishing this is illustrated and the computed 
 yields given in table 3, next page. 
 
354 
 
 BULLETIN NO. 46. 
 
 January, 
 
 TABLE 2. VARIETIES, ORDER OF PLANTING AND YIELD OF EACH EXPRESSED IN 
 POUNDS OF EARS FOR EACH SECTION, AND AS TOTAL. ALSO ACTUAL YIELD 
 PER ACRE IN BUSHELS. 
 
 Varieties 
 
 
 
 
 Sections. 
 
 
 
 
 *Bu. 
 
 
 First. 
 
 Second. 
 
 Third. 
 
 Fourth. 
 
 Fifth. 
 
 Sixth. 
 
 * Total. 
 
 per 
 acre. 
 
 Burr's white 
 
 OQ.25 
 
 08.5 
 
 O7 
 
 10^ 
 
 104 
 
 no s. 
 
 SfYl 
 
 
 Boone county white . . 
 Champion white pearl 
 Burr's white. . 
 
 H7-5 
 81.25 
 
 Q1.25 
 
 i39- 2 5 
 85 
 106.25 
 
 125-5 
 83-5 
 105. 5 
 
 124 
 
 84.5 
 
 IOQ 
 
 126.25 
 82 
 no. 25 
 
 121.75 
 82 
 IOO 5 
 
 636-75 
 417 
 
 54O 5 
 
 107.4 
 74 
 
 Iowa silver mine. . . . 
 
 78 
 
 110.5 
 
 IO7.75 
 
 Il8.5 
 
 IO5.75 
 
 IO4. 5 
 
 547 
 
 Q7 A 
 
 Flint 
 
 4O 
 
 Af: 7? 
 
 A2 
 
 J.6 7^ 
 
 AC 
 
 
 222 5 
 
 
 Burr's white 
 
 Q7 5 
 
 108 
 
 IOQ.25 
 
 118. 5 
 
 IOQ. 75 
 
 OQ 5 
 
 545 
 
 O7 7 
 
 
 Q7 75 
 
 III .75 
 
 118 
 
 iqi .7C 
 
 122.75 
 
 Til 
 
 6l7. 25 
 
 106 8 
 
 Clark's Iroquois 
 
 66 
 
 08. 5 
 
 98 
 
 Q5 
 
 78.5 
 
 8l.25 
 
 451.25 
 
 81.1 
 
 Burr's white 
 
 81.75 
 
 IOO 
 
 IOQ 
 
 no. 5 
 
 IOI.25 
 
 IO4 
 
 524.75 
 
 O4. I 
 
 Legal tender 
 
 QO.75 
 
 1 06 
 
 102. 5 
 
 117-25 
 
 IO5 
 
 TOJ.. 25 
 
 515 
 
 q6 
 
 Murdock 
 
 QO.25 
 
 Q1.25 
 
 0^ 
 
 I O4 
 
 OX). 25 
 
 0*1 .25 
 
 471.75 
 
 84 i 
 
 Burr's white 
 
 100.25 
 
 I O7 
 
 06 
 
 00. 5 
 
 103.25 
 
 83 
 
 488.75 
 
 87.7 
 
 Edmonds 
 
 77 
 
 85.75 
 
 87.5 
 
 85.75 
 
 QO.25 
 
 83 
 
 412.25 
 
 7Q. I 
 
 Riley's favorite 
 
 88 
 
 Q7 
 
 105.75 
 
 105.75 
 
 108.5 
 
 87.25 
 
 5O4.25 
 
 02.8 
 
 
 84.75 
 
 IO4 
 
 IO2 
 
 IOQ. 7 5 
 
 07 
 
 or .75 
 
 5O4 5 
 
 oo ^ 
 
 Golden beautv 
 
 81.75 
 
 Q5.25 
 
 96.25 
 
 IO2 
 
 88.5 
 
 OO.25 
 
 476.25 
 
 81.6 
 
 Burr's white 
 
 93-5 
 
 97-25 
 
 99-25 
 
 100-5 
 
 103.25 
 
 93 
 
 493-25 
 
 88.5 
 
 * Computed from last five sections. See below. 
 
 TABLE 3. FOR COMPUTING COMPARATIVE YIELDS. [Column i, actual yields 
 of each variety on its plat; column 2, computed yields of Burr's white for each plat and 
 therefore over all the field ; column 3, comparative yields of varieties computed for the 
 entire field.] 
 
 2 
 jo 
 
 Variety. 
 
 i 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 i 
 
 
 QO.4 
 
 QO.4 
 
 Q2 .7 
 
 2 
 
 Boone county white 
 
 IO7.4 
 
 Q2.6 
 
 IO7 . 5 
 
 
 
 74. 
 
 Q4.7 
 
 72.4 
 
 
 Burr's white .. . 
 
 96.9 
 
 Q&.Q 
 
 
 
 Iowa silver mine 
 
 07. i 
 
 Q7 . 2 
 
 O2 .Q 
 
 6 
 
 Flint 
 
 17.2 
 
 Q7 --1 
 
 15 .4 
 
 
 Burr's white 
 
 Q7 .7 
 
 Q7 7 
 
 
 ft 
 
 Learning . 
 
 106.8 
 
 q6. 5 
 
 IO2.6 
 
 
 Clark's Iroquois 
 
 81.1 
 
 95-3 
 
 78.9 
 
 IO 
 
 Burr's white 
 
 Q4- 1 
 
 94- 1 
 
 
 II 
 
 
 06 
 
 92 
 
 Q6.7 
 
 12 
 
 
 84.1 
 
 89.8 
 
 86.8 
 
 11 
 
 Burr's white . 
 
 87.7 
 
 87.7 
 
 
 14 
 
 
 7Q. I 
 
 88.6 
 
 82.8 
 
 1C 
 
 
 92.8 
 
 89.6 
 
 96 
 
 Tfi 
 
 Burr's white .. 
 
 QO. 5 
 
 OO. 5 
 
 
 T7 
 
 
 81.6 
 
 89.5 
 
 86.6 
 
 1 8 
 
 Burr's white 
 
 88.5 
 
 88.5 
 
 
 
 Average . 
 
 
 Q2.7 
 
 
 Column i restates the actual yield of each variety on its plat. 
 Column 2 is computed for Burr's white only and is intended to 
 exhibit the probable yields of each plat if Burr's white had been 
 planted over all the piece. The method is evident and rests on 
 
i8 97 .} 
 
 CRIMSON CLOVER. 
 
 355 
 
 the assumption, not quite correct, that the gradation from one 
 strip to the third beyond is practically gradual. The average of 
 this column (2) shows the computed yield for Burr's white over all 
 the piece. In column 3 the yields of each variety are corrected, 
 being raised or lowered upon the percentage basis according as 
 the computed yield of Burr's white on that plat is above or below 
 the average. This eliminates almost completely errors of yield 
 due to differences of ground and exhibits what each variety would 
 have yielded had it occupied the whole field. The yields are 
 therefore strictly comparable, except for the fact that the varieties 
 must have varied in the percent, of moisture which was not deter- 
 mined, 56 pounds of shelled corn being taken as one bushel. 
 
 TABLE 4. 
 
 Variety. 
 
 Where seed may be obtained. 
 
 Yield per 
 acre, bu. 
 
 Per cent, 
 of cob. 
 
 A v. weight 
 of ears, lb. 
 
 Burr's white 
 
 F. E. Burr, Philo, 111 
 
 Q2 . 7 
 
 16. i 
 
 eg 
 
 Boone county white . . . 
 Champion white pearl . . 
 Iowa silver mine 
 
 James Riley, Thorntown,Ind. 
 J. C. Suffern, Voorhies, 111. . 
 la. Seed Co., Des Moines, la. 
 
 107.5 
 72.4 
 Q2.Q 
 
 21.3 
 17.2 
 16.0 
 
 75 
 57 
 .60 
 
 Flint 
 
 
 IK. 4. 
 
 21 .Q 
 
 .26 
 
 Learning 
 
 E. E. Chester, Champaign, 1 11. 
 
 IO2.6 
 
 IQ.2 
 
 .70 
 
 Clark's Iroquois 
 
 H. H. Clark, Onarga, 111 
 
 78.0 
 
 16.1 
 
 .58 
 
 Legal tender 
 
 Nims Brothers, Emerson, la. 
 
 O6.7 
 
 16.2 
 
 .60 
 
 
 C. H. Mills, Champaign, 111. 
 
 86.8 
 
 17.2 
 
 .46 
 
 Kdmonds .... . . 
 
 H. P. Edmonds, Taylor, 111.. 
 
 82.8 
 
 14.6 
 
 S3 
 
 Riley's favorite 
 
 James Riley, Thorntown,Ind. 
 
 96 
 
 14.1 
 
 58 
 
 Golden beauty ........ 
 
 Barnard & Co., Chicago .... 
 
 86.6 
 
 18. i 
 
 52 
 
 W. J. ERASER, B. S., Assistant Agriculturist, 
 
 CRIMSON CLOVER. 
 
 The dry summer of 1893 and 1894 gave rise to much difficulty 
 in seeding to red clover, and attention was quite generally directed 
 to the crimson clover as a possible substitute. This, with the 
 numerous inquiries by letter, induced the Station to undertake 
 some trials of its usefulness as an agricultural crop for Illinois. 
 
 Efforts to secure a stand met with but partial success, although 
 attempts were made under a great variety of conditions. Sowings 
 made in summer uniformly suffered from lack of moisture, and 
 even August and September proved little more favorable, because 
 even a slight shower provided sufficient moisture to cause the 
 seeds to sprout, but not enough to sustain growth. 
 
BULLETIN NO. 46. [January, 
 
 If sown in early spring a better stand was secured, but the 
 crop hastened to maturity with but a small growth and a light 
 yield. The small amount that started from fall seedings appeared 
 in most cases to live and to take on a satisfactory growth in the 
 succeeding spring. But in every case the stand was uneven and 
 far too poor for a profitable yield. In the meantime numerous 
 letters asking for the best method of seeding to crimson clover 
 showed that public interest was not abating. 
 
 For the purpose of collecting information as to experience 
 over the state, a circular letter was addressed to some forty farm- 
 ers in various sections of the state, who it was thought might 
 have been trying the crop. Of the twenty-three answers received, 
 six reported that no attempt had been made, fourteen reported 
 total failure, two claimed partial success, and one stated that a 
 good stand had been secured on about two acres of ground. 
 
 Failure was attributed to drouth, to poor seed, and to cold^ 
 The common statement was but a restating of the experience at 
 the Station. "It came up well, but was mostly killed by the dry 
 weather." It is more than likely that the failures attributed to 
 poor seed were due in reality to the same cause, "dry weather," 
 for crimson clover seed uniformly has a high percentage of germi- 
 nating power. Few seeds germinate more readily in presence of 
 even slight moisture, and few young plants are more sensitive to 
 drouth. Even a slight shower in the midst of a drouth is sufficient 
 to start the sprouts, most of which soon perish, leaving little 
 patches of green scattered over great stretches of bare field. 
 
 In the one successful case reported the seed had been sown 
 alone in September on land that had grown a crop of corn. This 
 was not typical black prairie, but what is locally known in south 
 central Illinois as "hard pan" land, with a stiff impervious clay within 
 18 inches of the surface. One partial success followed sowing in 
 August on wheat stubble after preparation with a spading harrow; 
 the other was in oats stubble in September, after a cutaway or 
 disk harrow. Neither was on hard pan land. 
 
 Of the entire twenty-three correspondents seventeen state 
 definitely that red clover succeeds in their section. Two on hard 
 pan land state that it will not succeed, and one that it fails too 
 often to be profitable ; but it is a significant fact that the two others 
 living on hard pan land report red clover as successfully grown. 
 
 From this it would .seem that crimson clover is in Illinois a far 
 more precarious crop than the red clover in whose stead it was 
 expected to serve. 
 
 In addition to other unfavorable reports letters from the 
 Experiment Stations of Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan all reported 
 
IMPROVEMENT OF "HARD PAN" LANDS. 357 
 
 practical failure with crimson clover, leading us to infer either 
 that our conditions are not favorable to this crop or else that we 
 have yet to learn how to grow it. 
 
 During the season of 1895 much was said about the advantage 
 of using northern grown seed, thereby securing the benefits of 
 acclimation. In the hope of learning to what extent the source 
 of seed might be responsible for failure, the Station secured crim- 
 son clover seed from eight representative seedsmen. 
 
 One dealer furnished two brands, one of which was warranted 
 extra hardy, and another claimed superior excellence for seed 
 grown in Indiana and supplied for comparison both imported seed 
 and that grown in Delaware. Repeated sowings were made of 
 these eleven samples of seed at different dates and under various 
 conditions but with no better success than formerly and no per- 
 ceptible difference in the power of plants from particular brands 
 of seed to stand either drouth or cold weather. 
 
 Several cases were reported of success from sowings made in 
 July, 1895, and it should be mentioned in this connection that 
 these were coincident with an unusually moist and rainy period of 
 several days, allowing time for the young plants to become estab- 
 lished. 
 
 CONCLUSIONS. 
 
 1. Crimson clover is less likely than red clover to succeed in 
 Illinois. 
 
 2. Drouth and cold are its great enemies notably the former, 
 especially in the early life of the plant. 
 
 3. If benefits may be had from acclimation, they have not 
 yet become sufficiently established to be noticeable. 
 
 E. DAVENPORT, M. AGR., Director. 
 
 On the Improvement of Retentive Clays-. Drainage of the So- 
 called "Hard pan" Lands of Southern Illinois. 
 
 If an irregular line be drawn from the mouth of the Kaskaskia 
 river through Murphysboro in Jackson county and Marion in 
 Williamson county to Carmi in White county, it will mark approxi- 
 mately the southern limits of the first or oldest glacier of Illinois. 
 
 Another irregular line running from Terre Haute, Indiana, 
 through Mattoon in Coles county, near Shelbyville in Shelby 
 
358 BULLETIN NO. 46. {January, 
 
 county, thence bending to the north and passing west of Decatur 
 in Macon county on its way to Peoria will mark approximately the 
 extreme limits of the second ice sheet which in its descent covered 
 deeply with a mixture of boulder clay, sand, and gravel the older 
 and thinner deposit of finely divided clay left by the first glacier. 
 Between these boundaries the deposit left by the old glacier 
 lies for the most part still exposed except where tongues from the 
 higher levels of the great prairie intrude upon and overlap it, or 
 where its characteristic features have been obliterated by river 
 systems. So extensive have been the invasions into the domain 
 of this ancient region that the white clay tracts are chiefly found as 
 they exist to-day on the higher levels south of Mattoon and north 
 of Marion, and between the Kaskaskia River on the west and the 
 Wabash River on the east. The margins of these tracts are every- 
 where irregular and their features are best preserved at points 
 remote from water courses. 
 
 It may be well to say here that the term " hard pan " as refer- 
 ring to this section is a local term meaning only an unusually 
 heavy and retentive clay subsoil, which, when it comes to the sur- 
 face, constitutes a "scald spot" or "stick." Such subsoils and 
 "stick "spots appear to have a content of iron somewhat above 
 the normal, but have not yet been examined. Let it suffice to say 
 that by " hard pan " is not meant that thin stratum of what is 
 practically rock that commonly goes by the same name and that 
 is totally impervious to water, but that it means simply an uncom- 
 monly exaggerated instance of ordinary conditions in this locality. 
 The characteristic deposit of the old glacier, br at least of so 
 much of it as has been left exposed in this region, is an impalpable 
 clay and sand through which water makes its way so slowly that it 
 is classed as an impervious soil. 
 
 There is the greatest difficulty in securing the proper condi- 
 tions of moisture in such a soil, where, as is usually the case, the 
 land is too nearly level to permit the rains of spring to run off. 
 The soil is so nearly impervious that the water must needs stand 
 upon the land until removed by evaporation. By this time the 
 season is far advanced, and the effect is seen in corn planted later 
 in the southern limits of this area than at the northern end of the 
 state, more than 300 miles distant. Not only that; this same water 
 that encumbered the land in spring and delayed planting was 
 precious; had it soaked away into the ground, it would have 
 remained to check the temperature and to recompense the evapo- 
 ration of summer. But it has evaporated, its cooling effect was 
 produced when it was a damage and not a benefit, and the natural 
 defense against the summer drouth is gone. It has gone as thor- 
 
'8971 
 
 IMPROVEMENT OF "HARD PAN" LANDS. 
 
 359 
 
 oughly as if the surface were rolling and it had run away, with the 
 added disadvantage that slowly evaporating it consumed both heat 
 and time at a season when both were precious. 
 
 The land in question has enjoyed an enviable reputation as a 
 wheat producing region, and is a region of great fertility. It is 
 especially adapted to wheat, as that is a crop which requires no 
 spring culture, and is out of the way before the drouth appears. 
 However, the need of more diversified cropping is apparent, not 
 only on account of the low price of wheat and the good of the 
 soil, but because of the fact that all the conditions are perfect for 
 the development and ravages of that destructive pest, the chinch- 
 bug. 
 
 The attempt to grow other than winter crops, as wheat and 
 hay, encounters difficulties easily appreciated. It requires spring 
 culture and summer growth, which are impossible except in sea- 
 sons of moderate spring and copious summer rains. 
 
 The natural situation will be better understood by a reference 
 to the following table, which exhibits the physical character of the 
 soil in question, the samples being taken from different localities 
 along a line nearly north and south and compared, by the centrifu- 
 gal method for mechanical analysis, with a sample of the soil at 
 this Station, which lies on the higher levels of the second glacier. 
 
 COMPARATIVE PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF TWO SAMPLES OF WHITE CLAY SOIL AND ONE 
 OF UPLAND PRAIRIE OF SECOND GLACIATION, WITH SUBSOILS OF EACH. 
 
 Name of 
 particles. 
 
 Size of 
 particles in 
 milimeters. 
 
 Odin soil. 
 
 Edgewood soil. 
 
 Station soil. 
 
 Surface. 
 
 Subsoil 
 20 in. 
 
 Surface 
 
 Subsoil 
 15 in. 
 
 Surface. 
 
 Subsoil 
 15 in. 
 
 Gravel 
 
 More than 2 
 
 2 .5 
 
 -5 -2 
 
 . 2OO . 060 
 .060 .025 
 .025 .OIO 
 .OIO .OO2 
 
 Less than .002 
 
 
 
 . IQ 
 
 
 i .02 
 6.01 
 23.69 
 9.48 
 27-35 
 9-75 
 7.96 
 
 14-57 
 
 1. 06 
 
 6.85 
 28.71 
 9 94 
 23-31 
 8.31 
 7-36 
 14.46 
 
 Grits 
 
 1.03 
 
 3-73 
 8.38 
 45-01 
 19.01 
 11.44 
 10.78 
 
 -44 
 1-52 
 3-98 
 32.61 
 16.48 
 10. 08 
 34-44 
 
 1.64 
 7.66 
 7.64 
 
 45-14 
 16.05 
 9.22 
 12.08 
 
 .72 
 2.31 
 3-72 
 30.40 
 12. 02 
 10.01 
 
 39-77 
 
 Coarse sand 
 Fine sand 
 Coarse silt 
 Fine silt 
 
 Dust 
 
 Clay.. 
 
 
 
 99-43 
 
 99-55 
 
 99.62 
 
 98-95 
 
 99-83 
 
 IOO.OO 
 
 Error 
 
 57 
 
 45 
 
 38 
 
 *i.ps 
 
 17 
 
 .00 
 
 
 tOrganic matter 
 
 6.53 
 
 6.07 
 
 4.12 
 
 6.87 
 
 7.40 
 
 4.90 
 
 NOTE. The percentages are given on the basis of ignited soil. 
 *This error is chiefly in grades 4 and 5. Due to accidents. 
 tOrganic matter equals loss on ignition of water-free soil. 
 
 The fineness of these lesser particles is inconceivable. Those 
 denominated "clay "are less than one-twelve thousandth of an 
 inch in diameter and the number of particles in a cubic inch of 
 such soil is way up among the billions. Not only that ; it will be 
 noticed that of the Station sample 23.69 per cent, of the soil and 
 
360 BULLETIN NO. 46. January. 
 
 28.71 per cent, of the subsoil rank as coarse sand whose particles 
 are between .5 and .2 of a milimeter in diameter. Such immense 
 masses, comparatively speaking, afford clinging room for thous- 
 ands of the finest ones, and we find that they do so adhere, because 
 the per cent, of clay in this sample is practically the same for soil 
 and subsoil, viz., 14.57 per cent, for soil and 14.46 per cent, for 
 subsoil. 
 
 Not so in the two samples from the older glacial soil. There 
 is little of coarse matter in the upper layers to which the finest 
 particles may cling and they seem to have settled gradually into 
 the lower or subsoil. Note that the percentages of clay in soil 
 and subsoil as given in the table are respectively : Odin, 10.78 
 and 34.44 ; Edgewood, 12.08 and 39.77. Note also that the sample 
 from the Station is the only one that exhibits much more organic 
 matter in the soil than in the subsoil and that the Edgewood 
 sample shows even less. 
 
 The practical question is, what is to be done for such soils ? 
 The Station has undertaken certain lines of work looking towards 
 a possible answer, only a portion of which has proceeded suffi- 
 ciently far to warrant even a preliminary report. 
 
 It was seen at once that the fundamental difficulty is one 
 of moisture arising not from excessive or deficient rainfall, but 
 from soil conditions. Soils made up of such finely divided 
 particles possess an immense extent of surface and a correspond- 
 ingly great capacity for water, if only it can be brought to enter. 
 
 The fineness of division is exhibited in another- way. When 
 parched with drouth in August, a handful of road dust firmly 
 pressed by the fingers becomes and remains a ball of earth that 
 will endure considerable tossing about. This being true, the air 
 that occupies such soils does not simply rest freely from particles 
 to be easily displaced by some other gas or liquid with a superior 
 gravity. It is not held loosely by entanglement but firmly by 
 adhesion to the great expanse of surface of the infinitely small 
 particles and is not readily displaced. Consequently, when 
 rains come, there is the strongest tendency for the water to stand 
 upon the surface as upon a cushion of air without much contact, 
 precisely as it will upon the surface of flour, stucco, or other finely 
 divided powders. 
 
 Underdrainage is a well known remedy not only for soils that 
 are too wet but for those that, although in regions of abundant 
 rainfall, are too dry. A drained soil is not only drier in the spring 
 but is more moist in summer, because of having brought into 
 contact with its particles water which otherwise would have run 
 away or evaporated. 
 
1897.} IMPROVEMENT OF. "HARD PAN" LANDS. 361 
 
 There was no question of the effect of underdrainage if it 
 could be made to operate, but local opinion was nearly unanimous 
 to the effect that water would never reach tiles laid in such soils, 
 particularly in the so-called "hard pan " lands and "scald spots" 
 or "sticks." 
 
 It was decided to resort to a test of drainage, and accordingly 
 one of the most refractory spots procurable was selected at Edge- 
 wood. The following notes refer to the tiling of an area of one 
 acre. 
 
 Three and one-half inch tile were laid two and one-half feet 
 deep in lines 50 feet apart, and the job was finished March 3, 1896. 
 The workmen noted that the digging near a railroad ditch was easier 
 and that the dirt handled more freely there than in other portions 
 of the field. 
 
 March 5. Three-fourths inch rain ; water flowed from drain 
 three days. 
 
 March 23. Five inches of snow ; water flowed from tile for 
 seventeen days in succession. The first three days after the snow 
 disappeared the tile flowed one-half full. 
 
 April 1 6 and 17. Plowed all the field, tiled portion was per- 
 ceptibly driest. On the i6th the Station took samples of both 
 soil and subsoil, in both drained and undrained portions. In dig- 
 ging in the tiled portion at the farthest points from the tile water 
 was not reached till below a depth of two feet and the earth 
 handled freely ; but in the undrained part water was found within 
 a foot of the surface and the lower soil was a tenacious mud. 
 
 April 20. Three-fourths inch of rain ; water flowed from tile. 
 
 April 29. Planted all to corn, Kafir corn, cow peas, and buck- 
 wheat. 
 
 May 26. Two and three-fourths inches of rain. 
 
 May 27. Water commenced to flow from tile and continued 
 for three and one-half days. 
 
 May 31. Between I and 4 A. M. one and three-fourths inches 
 of rain fell, and at 9 A. M. the tile were running three-fourths full 
 and continued to flow for six days. 
 
 June 9. Plowed corn ; tiled land in best condition. 
 
 June 22. One and three-fourths inches rain fell ; tile did not 
 start. 
 
 June 25, Three and one-fourth inches rain fell during the 
 early part of the night and the next morning the tile were running 
 one-half full. 
 
 June 27. One_and one-half inches of rain ; tile ran five days 
 in all. 
 
 June 30. Tiled portion much the driest. 
 
362 BULLETIN NO. 46. {January, 
 
 July 15. One and one-half inches rain ; tile did not start. 
 
 July 19. Five-eighths inch rain ; tile started but continued 
 only a short time. 
 
 ctober 3. Equal areas of tiled and of undrained land yielded 
 corn and stover as follows: Undrained, 2215 pounds of ears, and 
 1570 pounds of stover; tiled, 2711 pounds of ears and 1990 
 pounds of stover. This is 22 per cent, increase of corn and 26 per 
 cent, increase of stover on the tiled portion. 
 
 As a result of the season's labors it has been demonstrated 
 that these lands may be underdrained without difficulty, and the 
 notable increase in yield is no surprise. 
 
 It yet remains to learn if drains will endure, but the closest 
 observation has failed to find signs of destruction. But little silt 
 appears at the outlet and none has settled in the tile along the 
 course of the drain. The work will be continued, but the essential 
 question in doubt has been settled, viz.: Could water penetrate 
 these soils and reach tiles laid at a sufficient depth for drainage? 
 
 For the benefit of those specially interested, this caution is 
 expressed : Do not be deceived by standing puddles of water. 
 The bottom of the pool has in some way become "puddled" and 
 is impervious. In numerous cases water was found standing in 
 cattle tracks directly over and within two and one-half feet of tile 
 in active operation. When tiles are laid in these soils, because of 
 their exceeding fineness, the grade must be even, the joints close, and 
 the earth well packed next the tile. 
 
 The experience of the year indicates that 50 feet, or even 100 
 feet, apart is unnecessarily close for lines of tile even in these 
 so-called impervious soils. 
 
 E. DAVENPORT, M. AGR., Director. 
 
 On the Importance of the Physiological Requirements of the 
 
 Animal Body ; Results of an Attempt to Grow Cattle 
 
 without Coarse Feed. 
 
 Object. Some years ago a question arose in the writer's mind 
 regarding the physiological requirements of the animal body as 
 distinct from the chemical, and it suggested the query, To what 
 extent is it necessary to cater to the instinct and the appetite of 
 the animal in the matter of nutrition ? 
 
 As a preliminary study an experiment was planned at that 
 time in which the object was to note the effect of withholding 
 
l8()J.} GROWING CATTLE WITHOUT COARSE FEED. 363 
 
 coarse feed from an herbivorous animal. Some work was done 
 but circumstances intervened to prevent its completion, and not 
 until the past year has it been possible to resume a line of investi- 
 gation which at the outset encountered so many strange and 
 unexpected phenomena. 
 
 Plan. In brief, the plan was and has been to attempt to raise 
 a calf to maturity under conditions entirely normal with one 
 exception, viz., the absence of coarse feed of any kind, but with 
 every compensation possible in the way of variety and amount. 
 It may be argued that such an experiment can have no practical 
 value. Indeed, it may be frankly stated that when commenced, it 
 was not with a feeling that much would come of it ; but, as the 
 work has progressed, certain facts have seemed to be plainly brought 
 out and so surely and accurately repeated as to indicate the pres- 
 ence and the operation of a general principle that we cannot 
 offend with impunity, and that is that the deep seated needs of 
 constitutional habit are absolute. This principle, if it be a princi- 
 ple, has an exceedingly important economic bearing. 
 
 Four experiments have been conducted, all with calves, and 
 all begun immediately after birth. Peculiar difficulties were 
 encountered, and it was not until the second experiment that 
 methods were so far perfected as to control conditions. During 
 that experiment and afterwards accurate notes were kept. For 
 the use of those specially interested these notes are transcribed 
 in full. 
 
 EXPERIMENT No. I. As has been stated this experiment was 
 inagurated a number of years ago, and as no notes are at hand 
 this brief statement covering the principal points of the first 
 experiment is from memory. Early in the spring a grade Short- 
 horn calf was selected and fed freely, at first upon milk, precisely 
 like its fellows. At the first indication of a desire to take coarse 
 food its bedding was removed and shavings substituted. Grain 
 was given at an early age and freely eaten, but there appeared a 
 phenomenal appetite for bulky food, and indications of an unsatis- 
 fied appetite. It would freely eat shavings, if allowed, and ropes 
 and bits of lumber were chewed whenever attainable. 
 
 All this time, however, the calf was hearty, healthy, and flour- 
 ishing, and nothing peculiar could be detected except its insatiate 
 desire for anything that was bulky or coarse. It consumed inordi- 
 nate quantities of ground feed composed of one-half corn and one- 
 half oats, and it seemed that the hulls of the oats would afford 
 sufficient bulk to satisfy the appetite for coarse material, especially 
 as he came to take more than a half bushel daily before he was 
 five months of age. 
 
364 BULLETIN NO. 46. \Janitary, 
 
 In its eagerness for something more or something different 
 in the way of food earth was freely eaten, if available ; but as 
 this habit is a normal one with horses and as all cattle evince an 
 abnormal appetite for anything that may be chewed, the calf was 
 closely watched to see whether these peculiarities might not ulti- 
 mately disappear and the animal settle down to its regular food 
 and become accustomed to, and satisfied with, a non-herbiverous 
 diet. This it never did. 
 
 At about four months the joints commenced to swell and the 
 legs to stiffen; later by spells the calf walked with a reeling motion, 
 although at other times he played as would any other calf. One of 
 the most peculiar facts noticeable was the body conditions as to 
 flesh. It was poor, but not thin. Its muscles remained plump and 
 exceedingly firm not to say solid to the touch. 
 
 At about five months there was an evident disturbance of the 
 nerve centers, and, although the calf never missed a meal or suf- 
 fered from disturbed digestion, it was evident that it could not long 
 survive. It was at this time taking over a half bushel of grain daily 
 with evident relish. It was now killed and a postmortem exami- 
 nation revealed nothing peculiar in the development of the internal 
 organs. A great quantity of food was found in the stomachs, but 
 there was no sign of inflammation, or of internal disturbance of any 
 kind. The one noteworthy feature of the carcass was the absolute 
 lack of fat, either external, or internal. This, together with the 
 plumpness of the muscles, left the outlines of each clearly defined 
 and not obscured as is the case in normal specimens in which the 
 connective tissue even in thin animals carries considerable fat. 
 
 EXPERIMENT No. 2. Calf the offspring of a high grade 
 Holstein-Friesian cow and a Jersey bull, dropped June 17, 1895, 
 and weighed at birth 107 pounds. After the sixth day he was put 
 on a diet of skimmed milk alone, of which he consumed 950 pounds 
 before the first of August, or 25 pounds per day. 
 
 During the month of August he consumed 1130 pounds of milk, 
 did very well and weighed at the end of the month 197 pounds. 
 In 69 days the calf had gained 90 pounds at the expense of 2080 
 pounds of skimmed milk, or in the proportion of I to 23. He had 
 evinced a strong appetite for coarse food and was kept well muzzled. 
 
 September. Milk consumed, 130x3 pounds; weight, 245 pounds; 
 gain, 48 pounds, or nearly I to 27. Calf vigorous and has a 
 ravenous appetite ; bawls for food and is not satisfied even with 
 50 pounds of milk a day. 
 
 October. Milk consumed, 1600 pounds; weight, 285 pounds ; 
 gain, 40 pounds, or I to 40. A pronounced stiffness in the joints. 
 
 November. Milk consumed, 1533 pounds; weight, 291 pounds; 
 
1897.} GROWING CATJLE WITHOUT COARSE FEED. 365 
 
 gain, 6 pounds, or I to 255. Stiffness increasing and accompanied 
 by a lessened activity and appetite. No longer appears restless 
 and no longer bawls for food. 
 
 December. Milk consumed, 1313 pounds; weight, 297 pounds; 
 gain, 6 pounds, or I to 219. Calf in a bad condition, very stiff and 
 with very little inclination to move. Seemed indifferent as to 
 whether it eats or not and is not found. up awaiting its food. 
 
 January. Up to the i ith of the month the calf drank 250 pounds 
 of milk and weighed 333 pounds, having apparently gained 36 
 pounds in eleven days on 250 pounds of milk, or i to 7. Seven 
 months on an exclusive diet of skimmed milk. 
 
 January n. Calf refused to get up or to take milk. It did 
 not hold its head up and seemed nearly dead. At 8 o'clock A. M. 
 hay and straw were put before it and it ate greedily, evincing no 
 choice between the two, and at II o'clock A. M., three hours after 
 taking coarse food, it was ruminating for the first time in its life 
 and exhibited a brightened eye and a most contented expression 
 of countenance. Before night it was standing up and moving 
 about. Drank 6> pounds of milk. 
 
 January 12. Morning: Calf ate hay and straw thirty minutes 
 and drank $% pounds of milk. Evening: It ate hay and straw 
 thirty-five minutes and drank 14^ pounds of milk. 
 
 January 13. Ate i|^ pounds of hay and drank 16 pounds of 
 milk. Greatly improved. 
 
 January 14. Hay, 2 pounds ; milk, 23 pounds. 
 
 January 15. Hay, 2% pounds; milk, 27 pounds. 
 
 January 16. Hay, \y 2 pounds; milk, 17 pounds. 
 
 January 17. Hay, I pound; milk, 19 pounds. 
 
 January 18. Hay, i pound; milk, 26 pounds. 
 
 January 19. Hay, \y pounds; milk, 29 pounds. 
 
 January 20. Hay, i^ pounds; milk, 34 pounds. Legs 
 straightening. 
 
 January 21 to 28. Hay, 10 pounds; milk, 120 pounds; oats, 12 
 pounds. Improving. 
 
 January 28 to February 4. Hay, 11 pounds; milk, 131 pounds; 
 oats, 13 pounds. Weighed 343 pounds. 
 
 February 4 to II. Hay, 12^ pounds; milk, 140 pounds; oats, 
 1 1 pounds; weight, 350 pounds; gain, 7 pounds. Improving. 
 
 February 12. Took first play in pen for four months. 
 
 February n to 18. Hay, 16^ pounds; oil meal, 5 pounds; 
 milk, 200 pounds; weight, 365 pounds; gain, 15 pounds. 
 
 February 18 to 25. -Hay, 20 pounds; oil meal, 6 pounds; oats, 
 183^ pounds; milk, 360 pounds; weight, 370 pounds; gain, 5 pounds. 
 Very playful in pen. 
 
3 66 
 
 BULLETIN NO. 46. 
 
 January, 
 
 February 25 to March 3. Hay, 14 pounds; oats, corn, and 
 wheat, equal parts mixed, 9 pounds; milk, 200 pounds; weight, 385 
 pounds; gain, 15 pounds. Improving wonderfully and getting 
 straight in the joints. 
 
 March 3 to 10. Hay, 20 pounds; oats, bran, ground corn, and 
 wheat mixed in equal parts, 18 pounds; milk, 240 pounds; weight, 
 406 pounds; gain, 21 pounds.* 
 
 March 10 to 17. Hay, 18 pounds; mixed feed as above, 20 
 pounds; milk, 300 pounds. 
 
 March 17 to 24. Hay, 20 pounds; mixed feed, 40 pounds; milk, 
 300 pounds. 
 
 March 31. Ate during last seven days 35 pounds mixed feed 
 with milk, hay, and* silage at will, and was in every respect well, 
 hearty, and growing, and as able and as disposed to be active as 
 was any calf in the barn. Experiment closed. 
 
 This was practically a case of raising from the dead, and to 
 those who watched intently the decline and the recovery it was a 
 lasting lesson upon the requirements of constitutional habit. 
 
 EXPERIMENT No. 3. Grade Jersey dropped May i, 1896. 
 Deprived of coarse food. 
 
 Record of feed and weights in pounds. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Milk. 
 
 Weight. 
 
 Gain. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 May i to June i 
 
 CQJ. 
 
 
 
 
 June i to 17 
 
 J.IQ 
 
 iic 
 
 
 
 (une 17 to 24 ... 
 
 182 
 
 TCI 
 
 16 
 
 Doing well 
 
 June 24 to July i 
 
 2C.2 
 
 ICC 
 
 4 
 
 Good appetite and plenty of life 
 
 July i to 8 
 
 224 
 
 162 
 
 7 
 
 
 July 8 to 15 
 
 22O 
 
 164 
 
 2 
 
 Plenty of life. 
 
 July 15 to 22 
 
 24O 
 
 184 
 
 2O 
 
 Good appetite but reeling walk 
 
 July 22 to 29 
 
 1O I 
 
 187 
 
 a 
 
 Good appetite but getting weak. 
 
 July 29 to August 5 
 
 4OO 
 
 IQ2 
 
 c 
 
 
 August 5 to 12 
 
 4.IJ. 
 
 108 
 
 6 
 
 Doing well. 
 
 August 12 to 19 .... 
 
 4IO 
 
 200 
 
 2 
 
 Straight and smooth' joints all 
 
 August 19 to 26 
 
 5OO 
 
 2m 
 
 1C 
 
 right as yet. 
 Plays freely. 
 
 August 26 to September 2. 
 September 2 to 9 
 
 540 
 5OO 
 
 217 
 
 2&C. 
 
 48 
 
 
 September 9 to 16 
 
 517 
 
 260 
 
 -5 
 
 Doing well. 
 
 September 16 to 23 
 
 447 
 
 
 
 
 Note here says that calf is not doing well and seems not to be 
 satisfied with its food, although it has been taking more than 70 
 pounds of milk per day for over a month. 
 
GROWING CATTLE WITHOUT COARSE FEED. 
 
 367 
 
 Date. Milk. 
 
 Grain. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 September 
 
 u 
 October 
 
 u 
 
 If 
 
 H 
 U 
 
 24. . 
 
 4i# 
 47 
 
 32^ 
 40 
 
 30 
 36^ 
 42 
 
 50^ 
 32 
 
 23^ 
 37^ 
 42 
 
 47 K 
 10 
 
 4 
 6^ 
 7 
 
 3 
 8 
 5K 
 4 
 7 
 6^ 
 
 
 
 Equal parts corn and oats. 
 
 Weight, 271 pounds. 
 Doing well. 
 
 Weight, 258 pounds. 
 
 25 
 
 26 
 
 27. . 
 
 28 
 
 2Q. . 
 
 3O 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 c 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 Not doing well and given some hay ; five and one-half hours 
 before ruminating was begun. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Milk. 
 
 Hay. 
 
 Grain. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 Octotx 
 
 u 
 
 MS 
 
 8 
 9>A 
 
 21 
 22^ 
 21* 
 
 2^ 
 2 
 
 I* 
 
 2^ 
 I 
 
 3 
 5^ 
 4 
 3* 
 
 2^ 
 
 Mixed as above. 
 Calf greatly improved. 
 
 
 10 
 
 u : 
 
 12 
 
 From here on the experiment may be considered as closed, for 
 it enjoyed a mixed feed like other calves, and speedily fully 
 recovered. Like its predecessors the first symptom of approach- 
 ing starvation, for that is what the effect of such a diet most 
 resembles, was an increased appetiteand an enormous consumption 
 of food that seemed not to satisfy. Later, however, when the 
 symptoms were fully developed, the animal seemed entirely 
 indifferent to food. 
 
 EXPERIMENT No. 4. High grade Jersey. To be weaned 
 early and put on an exclusive diet of grain. 
 
 June 3, 1896. Calf two weeks old and taking 20 pounds of 
 milk daily. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Milk. 
 
 Grain. 
 
 Bran. 
 
 Oats. 
 
 Water. 
 
 Weight. 
 
 Gain. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 June 17 
 
 280 
 
 
 
 
 
 IO7 
 
 
 
 June 24 
 
 280 
 
 17/4 
 
 
 
 
 112 
 
 5 
 
 Grain equal parts by weight, 
 
 July i 
 
 280 
 
 21 
 
 
 
 
 122 
 
 IO 
 
 corn, oats, and wheat ground. 
 
 Tuly 8 
 
 280 
 
 21 
 
 
 
 
 no 
 
 8 
 
 
 Julv 15 
 
 2IO 
 
 IO 
 
 
 
 
 1-17 
 
 7 
 
 Grain equal parts by weight 
 
 July 22 
 
 I4O 
 
 n l A 
 
 
 
 
 ieo 
 
 M 
 
 corn and oats ground 
 
 luly 2q 
 
 08 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 
 IC2 
 
 2 
 
 
 August 5 
 
 84 
 
 20 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 14.1 
 
 -8 
 
 Getting poor. 
 
 August 12 
 August 19 
 August 26 
 September 
 
 40 
 
 o 
 o 
 o 
 
 22^ 
 20 
 
 VX 
 
 10% 
 
 i8>4 
 
 10 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 7 
 15 
 if> 
 
 30 
 
 21^ 
 O 
 O 
 
 145 
 143 
 135 
 1 2O 
 
 i 
 
 -2 
 
 -8 
 -15 
 
 Not doing well. 
 Had 3 Ib. oil cake. 
 2]4 Ib. oil cake. 
 Appetite not good. 
 
368 BULLETIN NO. 46. 
 
 Note here says that calf has no desire for food and will not 
 get up. 
 
 September 5. Calf took a little milk; has refused water 
 for two weeks. 
 
 September 6. Calf drank 8 pounds of milk and seemed to 
 enjoy it. 
 
 September 7. Refused milk in the morning, but drank 3 
 pounds in the afternoon. 
 
 September 8. Refused all food. 
 
 September 9. Drank 8 pounds of milk and ate 3 pounds of 
 oats. Bloated badly. It weighed now 167 pounds and had appar- 
 ently gained 24 pounds since August 20th, when it refused water 
 and since which time it had drunk but 19 pounds. It weighed 47 
 pounds more than on September 3d, when it refused all food and 
 drink and since which time it had consumed but 3 pounds of oats 
 and 19 pounds of milk, not counting the few swallows recorded as 
 "a little." 
 
 The query is as to the source of this gain, and it would be 
 most readily chargeable to error were it not that a like increase 
 had been noted in both No. 2 and No. 3 at a similar stage in the 
 experiment. 
 
 September 10. Drank 4 pounds of water and ate 2 pounds of 
 bran. 
 
 September n. Drank 12 pounds of water and ate 4 pounds 
 of mixed grain. Appetite is better and the calf seems to be 
 improving. 
 
 September 12. Water, 23^ pounds; mixed grain, 4 pounds. 
 
 September 13. Water, 27 pounds; bran, ij^ pounds; whole 
 oats, 2 pounds. 
 
 September 14. Water, 28 pounds; bran, 2 pounds; oats, 3 
 pounds. 
 
 September 15. Water, 17% pounds; mixed grain, 7 pounds. 
 
 September 16. Water, g% pounds ; mixed grain, 6^ pounds. 
 
 With this increase of appetite and brightened appearance it 
 looked as if this calf would, as had its predecessors, rally for a 
 time at least without hay, but almost without warning it sickened 
 and died. This was the first calf to show signs of a disturbed 
 digestion. 
 
 DISCUSSION. 
 
 A close study of these animals, their feed, gains, and attendant 
 symptoms discloses certain peculiar and not a few abnormal and 
 puzzling facts. 
 
 RUMINATION. From the first it had been a query whether 
 anything like normal rumination would follow the consumption of 
 
GROWING CATTLE WITHOUT COARSE FEED. 369 
 
 coarse grains like bran or oats in the absence of coarser food ; 
 but the closest observation failed to discover it until hay or straw 
 was taken. No. 2 was contentedly chewing his cud for the first 
 time at 7 months of age, 3 hours after his first meal of hay. With 
 No. 3 it was not until 5^ hours after the first meal of hay that 
 rumination was noticed, and Nos. I and 4 never ruminated. 
 
 ABSENCE OF FAT AND CHARACTER OF FLESH. The total 
 absence of fat either internal or external as revealed on post- 
 mortem examination, particularly after the enormous amounts of 
 food consumed, is unaccountable. No. I at six months of age was 
 taking about y 2 bushel of mixed grain per day, yet no fat was to 
 be found even about the kidneys. But the muscles were hot 
 shrunken ; on the contrary, they were plump and exceedingly 
 dense. The animals would all attract instant attention. At a 
 glance they looked poor, yet they were not thin like those that 
 have suffered from insufficient food. Upon touching with the 
 hand it would be noted instantly that the muscles were exceed- 
 ingly hard, and that the general appearance of the animals is 
 approached by those only that have been long on dry pasture 
 with insufficient water. 
 
 ENORMOUS CONSUMPTION OF FOOD. These experiments 
 serve an important purpose in showing that the amount of food 
 that is consumed is no indication of its economic use, and that 
 enormous amounts may be taken in the vain attempt to satisfy 
 an abnormal appetite. These animals were wanting something 
 that they could not get, and with the appetite of the first stages 
 of dyspepsia, ate everything in sight. This is one of the symp- 
 toms of insufficient nutrition, which is but another name for the 
 early stages of starvation, and is a condition of things that the 
 careless feeder often brings upon his stock by poor care or insuffi- 
 cient food in early winter. That the rally, if made at all, will be 
 made at great expense of food is more clearly shown in these 
 experiments than by data heretofore possessed. 
 
 No. i ate at six months of age a half bushel of mixed grain 
 per day. At two months of age No. 2 ate 40 pounds of milk daily 
 and rose to over 50 pounds at four months, which proved inade- 
 quate to its wants. After being allowed hay the same calf made 
 gains amounting to from 2 to 3 pounds a day on a ration of from 
 2 to 3 pounds of hay, 2j^ to 3 pounds of grain, and 30 to 35 pounds 
 of milk. No. 3 went to pieces at between four and five months 
 after consuming an average of 71^ pounds of milk daily for five 
 weeks. This is 35 quarts per day, and it seems almost inconceiv- 
 able that a Jersey calf, at less than four months, could consume so 
 much. 
 
370 BULLETIN NO. 46. r January, 
 
 NON-DISTURBANCE OF DIGESTION. It would seem that such 
 inordinate amounts of food must destroy a calf or at least lead to 
 complicated disturbances within the machinery of digestion. In 
 none but the last (No. 4) was any disorder of the kind noted. The 
 bowels remained regular throughout and the droppings appeared 
 normal. It raises a query as to the extent to which digestion was 
 really accomplished and whether failure was primarily in the 
 digestive apparatus, or in the metabolic processes of the body. 
 
 GAINS. Some of the gains secured are worth noting. No. 
 2 in the first loo days gained 138 pounds on 3380 pounds of 
 skimmed milk, or I pound of gain for 25 pounds of milk. The 
 same calf increased from 107 pounds to 333 pounds at seven 
 months, a gain of 226 pounds, on an exclusive diet of skimmed 
 milk. But the limit was reached and gains as high as 3 pounds per 
 day were made later on a moderate feed of hay, grain, and milk. 
 No. 3 gained less on his diet of milk and in 90 days gained 109 
 pounds on 4739 pounds of milk, or I pound of gain for 43 of milk. 
 No. 3, although much smaller than No. 2, ate more milk, as will be 
 seen, and put on less gain. 
 
 SUDDEN APPARENT HEAVY GAINS. It will be remembered 
 that No. 2 appeared to have gained 36 pounds in the eleven days 
 just before its collapse ; that No. 3 apparently gained 48 pounds 
 in the seven days from September 2d to 9th and went " off" imme- 
 diately after, and that No. 4 September 9th weighed 47 pounds 
 more than it did six days before, although it could not have con- 
 sumed in the meantime more than that amount of food. Some 
 allowance must be made for the inaccuracy of gains computed 
 from a difference in consecutive weights and an error in weights is 
 always possible ; but the substantial agreement, in all cases, in a 
 sudden and extreme increase of weight just before a collapse is, to 
 say the least, surprising and difficult of explanation, especially in 
 the case of No. 4, in which the material appears to be wanting. 
 The difficulty is not lessened by the fact that this occurred once 
 and once only with each calf. 
 
 UNIFORMITY OF SYMPTOMS. All agreed substantially in the 
 essential symptoms resulting from deprivation of coarse food; viz., 
 a ravenous appetite followed by enlargement and stiffening of 
 joints, spells of dizziness and difficult locomotion, all followed by 
 periods of relief and, finally, by a settled feeling of indifference to 
 food. This indifference could be removed temporarily by any 
 change of food, but permanently by coarse food only, which never 
 failed to effect a restoration to normal conditions. 
 
 STARVATION. These experiments considered in connection 
 with common observation and experience seem to teach that 
 
7c?07-] GROWING CATTLE WITHOUT COARSE FEED. 371 
 
 whether food be insufficient in quantity or imperfectly adapted in 
 quality to the needs of the animal the result is the same, defective 
 nutrition, which is in no sense different from starvation. 
 
 It may be argued that depriving milk of its fat violated a law 
 of nature. The teaching has been, however, that the casein would 
 be a full equivalent if in sufficient quantity, and the fact is clear 
 that all these calves that were put on a diet of skimmed milk 
 flourished remarkably well till at the age of four or five months. 
 
 However that may be, they all failed to sustain the demands 
 of life on any diet until a ration of hay or straw was added and 
 then, as in the case of Nos. 2 and 3, made a rapid recovery. 
 Further, from the first the attendant symptoms were those 
 characteristic of slow starvation; viz., a ravenous appetite soon 
 giving place to a disturbance of the nerve centers and, later, an 
 entire indifference to food and a total loss of appetite. 
 
 As starvation in mature animals is accompanied by a wasting 
 of the tissues, especially fat, so here starvation by imperfect 
 nutrition during development resulted in the total absence of fat. 
 
 As bearing upon the more general principles of physiological 
 requirements and body behavior, it may be said that these calves 
 have exhibited phenomena notably similar to those of ill-fed chil- 
 dren, as they have been studied by the writer in the tropics and 
 observed to some extent in certain quarters of great cities. In 
 hot countries a very little food will sustain life in a mature body, 
 but the demands of growing children are more exacting and they 
 may be seen by hundreds tucked away in obscure corners, with 
 face in hands, exhibiting that characteristic expression that may 
 be called the starved look and that is easily detected in human 
 being or in animal wherever present. 
 
 There is a popular belief that starvation in all its stages is an 
 acute and painful condition incident only upon insufficient amounts 
 of food. There could be no greater error. The acute stage soon 
 passes and there is only a nameless and dull yearning left till life 
 is extinct. These experiments appear to teach that starvation 
 partial or complete may ensue upon an apparently slight inter- 
 ference with constitutional habit. 
 
 E. DAVENPORT, M. AGR., Director. 
 
372 BULLETIN NO. 46. {January, 1897. 
 
 ORGANIZATION. 
 
 BOARD OF TRUSTEES, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 JAMES E. ARMSTRONG, Chicago, President. 
 JOHN R. TANNER, Springfield, Governor of Illinois. 
 J. IRVING PEARCE, Chicago, President State Board of Agriculture. 
 SAMUEL M. INGLIS, Springfield, Superintendent Public Instruction. 
 RICHARD P. MORGAN, Dwight. ISAAC S. RAYMOND, Sidney. 
 
 DR. JULIA H. SMITH, Chicago. SAMUEL A. BULLARD, Springfield. 
 
 NELSON W. GRAHAM, Carbondale. ALEXANDER McLEAN, Macomb. 
 
 NAPOLEON B. MORRISON, Odin MRS. LUCY L. FLOWER, Chicago 
 
 ADVISORY BOARD OF THE EXPERIMENT STATION. 
 
 THOMAS J. BURRILL, PH.D.. Urbana, Prof, of Botany and Horticulture, Pres. 
 E. E. CHESTER, Champaign, of State Board of Agriculture. 
 
 E. A. RIEHL, Alton, of State Horticultural Society. 
 H. B. GURLER, DeKalb, of State Dairymen's Association. 
 
 N. B. MORRISON, Odin, Trustee of the University. 
 
 ISAAC S. RAYMOND, Sidney, Trustee of the University. 
 
 ANDREW S. DRAPER, LL.D., President of the University. 
 
 STEPHEN A. FORBES, PH.D., Urbana, Professor of ZoSlogy. 
 
 EUGENE DAVENPORT, M. AGR., Urbana, Professor of Animal Husbandry. 
 
 THE STATION STAFF. 
 
 EUGENE DAVENPORT, M.AGR., Agriculturist, Director. 
 
 WILLIAM L. PILLSBURY, A.M., Urbana, Secretary. 
 THOMAS J. BURRILL. PH.D., Horticulturist and Botanist. 
 
 CYRIL GEORGE HOPKINS, M.S., Chemist. 
 
 STEPHEN A. FORBES, PH.D., Consulting Entomologist. 
 
 DONALD McINTOSH, V.S.. Consulting Veterinarian. 
 
 GEORGE P. CLINTON, M.S., Assistant Botanist. 
 
 WILBER J. ERASER, B.S., Assistant in Dairying. 
 
 PERRY G. HOLDEN, M.S., Assistant Agriculturist. 
 
 JOSEPH C. BLAIR, Assistant Horticulturist. 
 

 
 
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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA