THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS no. l~7-SQ> NON CIRCULATING CHECK FOR UNBOUND CIRCULATING COPY UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS. Agricultural Experiment Station, CHAMPAIGN, MARCH, 1894. BULLETIN NO. 31. CORN AND OATS EXPERIMENTS, 1893, EXPERIMENTS WITH CORN. This bulletin gives the results of some experiments with field corn in 1893, together with the summary of the results obtained in the same experiments in 1888, 1889, 1890, 1891, and 1892. The following are reported: No. i. Test of varieties. No. 3. Time of planting. No. 4. Depth of planting. No. 5. Thickness of planting. No. 6. Planting in hills or drills. No. 8. Frequency of cultivation. No. 9. Depth of cultivation. No. 10. Effect of root-pruning. No. 23. Continuous cropping with corn contrasted with rotation of crops. No. 71. Corn fodder, effect of ripeness. No. 89. Cross fertilization. No. 90. Growth of the corn plant; increase of its dry matter. SUMMARY. The experiments were tried on the dark colored, fertile, prairie soil common to central Illinois. The surface soil is about 18 inches deep, underlaid with yellow clay. The land on which the tests of varieties were conducted had been in corn in 1892. It was plowed in the spring, no fertilizers being applied. The land used for most of the other experi- ments had been in clover in 1892, and was plowed in the spring after a liberal application of stable manure. The corn was planted by hand and covered with the hoe, the rows being 3 ft. 8 in. apart, and the hills, generally, the same distance apart in the rows. 333 334 BULLETIN NO. 31. [March, The season was characterized by extreme drought during the summer months. The rainfall for the five months from May to Sept., inclusive, was 10.65 m< > but that from June nth to Sept. i ith was only .94 of an inch. The mean temperature for the five months and for each month was not materially different from the average for the past five years. The yields of corn and of stover were less in all the experiments, as well as in the other field crops on the University farm, than in any year since 1887. The exceptional character of the season reduces the value of the results obtained in most of the experiments. This is believed to be especially true of the results in the tests of varieties. But the conclu- sions reached from a comparison of the results of experiments tried for six successive years are probably the more valuable because they include this unusually unfavorable year. The results of the experiments for the six years, from 1888 to 1893, well illustrate the fact that the soil and climate of central Illinois is admirably adapted to the production of Indian corn. Eleven different varieties have been cultivated in each of these six years without excep- tionally good care or treatment of any kind, and without the application of other than stable manure. The average yield of air-dry corn of these eleven varieties has been almost 63 bu. per acre. The division of varieties into early, medium, and late maturing is necessarily somewhat arbitrarily made. The average yield of all early varieties has been 54, of medium, 65, and of late maturing, 59 bu. per acre. The largest average yield of any one variety for the six years has been slightly under 70 bu. per acre. The average yield of air-dry stover for five years, from the medium maturing variety, Burr's white, when planted in rows 3 ft. 8 in. apart, is 4.5, 3.5, 3, and 2.8 tons per acre, when planted at the rate of one kernel every 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 in., respectively. As corn is ordinarily planted, 3 tons per acre is a good yield of stover. The tests at the Station indicate the advisability of the selection of medium rather than either early or late maturing varieties; those with ears above the average, but not remarkably large in size, and those which combine as many good qualities as possible. But some of the most profitable varieties have been faulty in some respects. The largest yields of shelled corn have not been secured from varieties with the smallest cobs, or with deepest kernels, or, in all cases, with symmet- rical ears. As a rule, it is not advisable to select for the main crop a variety which has been produced far north or south of the latitude in which it is to be planted. A small acreage of some early maturing variety may be profitably planted for use in the early autumn. Such varieties are also valuable if corn must be planted exceptionally late. No one variety has been shown to be greatly superior to all others. There are many varieties much resembling each other. It has not been shown that the yield depends upon either the color of the kernel, or on the exact shape of either the ear, or the kernel. Large numbers of 1894-] FIELD EXPERIMENTS WITH CORN, 1893. 335 excellent varieties have been obtained from different sources, often when they have had little more than a neighborhood reputation. The claims made for many varieties advertised by seedsmen have not been sustained. In many cases there seems little reason for Illinois farmers to send out of their own county for seed corn. Corn obtained from different sources under the same name often differs materially. Corn obtained with differing names is often much alike. The results of experiments with cross-bred corn suggest the import- ance of thorough trials of the practice of crossing desirable varieties. Uniformity of type is sacrificed, but in a large majority of the trials made at the Station the yields from cross-bred seed have been larger than those from the pure bred parent seed. Contrary to the opinion and practice of the large majority of Illi- nois farmers, the results of the experiments as to thickness of plant- ing, almost without exception, indicate that thicker planting than is ordi- narily practiced will give larger yields of both corn and stalks. In five years out of six, planting at the rate of at least 12,000 kernels per acre, which is equivalent to 4 kernels per hill in the rows at the usual distances for planting in Illinois, has given larger yields of corn than thinner plantings. In the exceptionally dry year, 1893, somewhat thinner plant- ing gave better results. The thicker planting produces smaller ears, and reduces the average weight of the stalks. The result of all trials at the Station clearly indicates that in average seasons, in central Illinois at least, a lessened .yield may be expected if the number of stalks is less than 3 a hill. In no year out of the six was any material difference shown in the yield of corn, whether planted in hills or drills, where an equal number of kernels was planted, and the ground kept equally free from weeds. The date of planting, within reasonable limits, has not materially affected the yield. The largest average yields have been secured by planting from May loth to i5th, with no material variation in yield, if the planting was done at any time from May ist to 25th. If the ground was in equally good condition at the time of planting, less cultivation has usually been necessary for the later than for the earlier plantings. Uniformly shallow covering has been found somewhat better than deep covering; but it is probable that the corn is more carefully, covered by the use of the hoe than it is where machines are used. Shallow cultivation has uniformly given better results than has deep. Purposed root-pruning has in all cases decreased the yield. It has not been proved that comparatively deep culture, while the corn is small, would be injurious. Unusually frequent cultivation has in some cases decreased the yield, and in no case been profitable. No one implement has been shown to be clearly superior to all others. It is believed the best results can be secured with the smallest expenditure of time and labor by having the ground in good condition at the time of planting beginning cultivation before grass or weeds have made much growth, 336 BULLETIN NO. 31. [March, and stirring the entire surface of the soil as nearly as practicable to the depth of not more than 2 or 3 in., often enough to keep the surface well pulverized and to prevent the growth of weeds and grass. Each year yields of corn not much below the average have been secured with- out any cultivation subsequent to planting, except scraping the surface with a sharp hoe to prevent the growth of weeds. On soils of different texture other methods of cultivation may be better. Repeated observations show that the percentage of dry matter in the corn plant, both stalk and ear, increases up to the time of maturing. It has not been shown that the digestibility is decreased as maturity increases. In many cases the palatability of both stalk and ear does decrease. Leaving the stalks uncut until they reach full maturity in- creases probability of loss from storms, and often makes it necessary to harvest the crop in less favorable weather. It seems clearly proved, however, that there often has been a considerable loss in the total food value of the crop by cutting it at too early a stage, whether designed for ensilage or for dry fodder. The percentage of water in the young corn plant is surprisingly large, while the quantity of dry matter and the food value is very much less than that found as the plant approaches full maturity. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEASON. The year 1893 was exceptionally unfavorable for corn in Illinois, especially in the central eastern portion. The rainfall was above the average in April and May, but was almost unprecedentedly light for a period of three months beginning June nth. As stated before, from this date to September nth, the total rainfall at the Station was only .94 of an inch. The temperature during all the growing season was some- what below the average, but in no month noticeably different from it. The unusual drought greatly interfered with the growth of the corn and reduced the yields in all cases, both of grain and of stover. The later varieties were more seriously affected than those ripening earlier. Varieties which in former years gave remarkably large yields, but which usually did not mature sufficiently early to be counted desirable for central Illinois, in 1893 were almost total failures so far as the yield of grain was concerned. In one case there was 69 per cent of the stalks without any ears. Most of the varieties ordinarily classed as late ripened at such a date as to be classed with the medium, and some varieties, usually classed as medium, had to be put with the early maturing varieties. In view of these unfavorable conditions much less importance should be attached to the varying yields of different varieties than to their aver- age yields for the series of years during which they have been tested by the Station. The table gives the mean temperature and the rainfall in inches from May to September, inclusive, for each year from 1887 to 1893. i8 94 .] FIELD EXPERIMENTS WITH CORN, 1893. 337 The records for 1887 an< ^ J 888 are those of the Illinois Weather Service for central Illinois. For the remaining years the records are those of the observations made at the Station. TEMPERATURE AND RAINFALL DURING THE CORN SEASON OF YEARS NAMED. Mean temperature, F. Year May. June. July. August. Sept. Average. 1887 67.9 59-4 59-2 58.3 58.4 57-9 57-4 73-6 71-3 65-5 746 72 70.6 70-5 80.4 77 72.7 73 70 73-3 76-4 75.2 72.4 69.2 68.7 70.2 71.5 71.1 66.4 62.4 61.3 60.5 69.2 63.9 66.5 72.7 ' 68.5 65.6 67 68 67.4 68.4 1888 1889 1800 1801 . . 1892 . 1803. . Average 188993 58.2 70.6 73-1 70.1 64.3 67-3 Rainfall, inches. Aggregate 1887 3.8 4 6.84 5-52 3.56 .89 7.86 4-83 1.62 5-75 6.81 3-8 2.08 5.36 1-55 1.65 5-34 5.84 2.83 1.41 2.5 59 2.56 3-14 .6 1-93 2.86 2-43 .06 3.68 i-95 2-74 1.19 .41 93 3-62 13-35 23.02 21.51 13-31 7.65 19.08 10.65 1888 1889 1800 1801 1802 1803 Average, 1889-93 4-53 3.92 2.63 1-57 1.78 14.44 Experiment No. i. Corn, Testing Varieties. Tests of varieties of dent corn have been ma'de for seven consecu- tive years, reports of which may be found in bulletins No. 4, 8, 13, 20, and 25. The land used in 1893 was the same as that used for this experi- ment the preceding year. The stalks were removed, the land plowed about five inches deep, harrowed twice, and marked a few days before planting. The corn was planted by hand, six kernels a hill, in checks 3 ft. 8 in. apart, and was covered about two inches deep with a hoe. The planting was done May igth to 23d. The plats, 119 in num- ber, each one-fortieth of an acre, 2 rods or 9 hills square, were so planted that corn grew on every side. June 9th to 24th the corn was cultivated three times with surface cultivators, the first time with the " Superior " and the second and third times with the "Tower." July i8th to 24th the remaining weeds were removed with a hoe. Soon after the first cultivation the corn was thinned to four plants a hill. Plats 31, 87, 89, 90, 93, and 100 failed and were again planted, this time with Mur- dock, but no account is made of them in what follows. The number of barren stalks and the average height to tips of tassels and butts of ears BULLETIN NO. 31. [March. were ascertained for each plat. Observations were made on the time of ripening. October yth to !3th the plats were husked by thirds and the weight and number of ears ascertained for each third. The middle third was at once shelled, the number and weight of both good ears and nub- bins, and the weight of both shelled corn and cobs, being ascertained. A pint jar of shelled corn from each plat was sent to the laboratory for the determination of water. Eleven per cent is taken as the average water content of air-dry corn. DUPLICATE PLATS. While the attempt was to have uniform soil and like treatment throughout, the differences in yield, as in former years, of plats planted with the same variety were considerable. There were four plats each of Learning and Murdock, and two plats each of fourteen other varieties, as shown in the table. The greatest difference in yield per acre between two plats of the same variety was with Murdock, 15 bu.; Learning, 13.8 bu.; the average difference, Murdock, 8.2 bu.; Learning, 7.5 bu. ; and the least difference, Murdock, 4.2 bu.; Learning, i bu. These differences, though considerable, are somewhat less than those found between different varieties of even the same class. For example, -the greatest difference between two plats of the 49 planted with early maturing varieties was 26.9 bu. an acre, and of the 49 medium matur- ing, 29.4 bu. YIELD PER ACRE OF AIR-DRY CORN UPON DUPLICATE PLATS, 1893. Variety. a b c d Average- Murdock 424 33 5 37 7 28 4 s'? 7 Learning ... .... SO. 7 29.7 43 5 34. 5 34 6 Edmonds 24.7 32 .9 28.3 Dunlap's white 28 4 28 I 28 2 Steward's improved 2Q 7 36 2 33 Riley's favorite 38 6 37 6 38 I Boone county white ^2.Q 34 6 33.8 Burr's white 35 .2 42 38.6 Hess white 40 8 2Q S 3S 2 Hughes 31 6 37 I 34-4 Clark's Onarga. 37 7 34. 3 36 Thomas 21 . S. 29 2 3O.4 Log cabin 22 7 31 8 27 ^ Bickerdike's early mammoth 21 I 2Q 25. I Helms improved . II 6 2O 4 16 Yellow [ no name ] 30.6 30 30.3 When the variation of yield of different varieties does not exceed that of different plats of the same variety the results are inconclusive. A greater variation may properly be attributed, in part at least, to the variety. If single plats are used, it is only after varieties have been tested for a series of years that we can conclude which are the most prolific; but other things can be ascertained in a single year, such as time of maturity, size, ratio of ears to stalks, ratio of shelled corn to cobs, and the general characteristics of stalk and ear. If several plats, 1894.] FIELD EXPERIMENTS WITH CORN, 1893. 339 widely distributed over the tract, are used for each variety and the aver- age yields ascertained, these form a better basis for a comparison of the varieties in respect to yield ; for in this way the effect of differences in the conditions of the test is much diminished. MIXTURES. Four plats were planted, each with equal parts of two varieties of corn, and one with equal parts of four varieties. The accompanying table gives the number of ears and bushels an acre for each variety planted separately, and their average as compared with the result of the mixture. In four out of the five cases the mixtures gave larger yields than the average of the varieties composing them. This is contrary to the results of 1892, when in four out of five cases the yields were smaller for the mixtures. In 1892, the average difference in yield was 3.7 bu. an acre in favor of the varieties grown separately; in 1893, 2.4 bu. in favor of the mixtures. RESULTS OF MIXTURES, 1893. Plat Yield acre per No. Name of Variety. No. of ears. Bu. air- dry corn. 45 & I IO Hughes 8520 34. 3 63 & III Thomas 7620 30-4 Average 8700 32-3 IOI Mixture of Hughes and Thomas 9000 20.5 13 & IIS Burr's white .... IO2OO 38 6 12 & 114 Boone county white 8690 33-8 Average ... ... ... QAAG. 36.2 102 Mixture 8760 36.7 1:7 & 07 Riley's favorite 63OO 18 I 3A & IO7 Bickerdike's early mammoth 828O 25 I ii & 106 Hess white .... ... Q660 35.2 10 & 86 Dunlap's white 7O80 28 2 Average Sozs 3i 6 103 Mixture 9600 37-5 Murdock (average of 4 plats) 9600 35:7 "?8 & 08 Kdmonds. . 774.0 28.3 Average 8670 32 104 Mixture _ 9120 37-3 Learning (average of 4 plats) 8070 34 6 56 & 06 Clark's Onarga 0240 36 Average 86er 35 ^ JQ5 Mixture 9360 47-3 CLASSIFICATION OF VARIETIES. The table on page 340 gives a classification of the varieties tested this year, and the yield of air-dry corn by each variety. It is based upon the time of ripening, color, and smoothness or roughness of the outer end of the kernels. Varieties maturing before Sept. i3th are classed as early; those maturing Sept. i3th to Sept. 3oth, as medium; and those maturing after Oct. ist, as late. The varieties that are very near the 34 BULLETIN NO. 31. [March, SYNOPSIS OF VARIETIES, 1893. f Learning (av. 4 plats) 33 . 3 ^ Star 27.3 | Woodhull 22 Bickerdike's early mammoth. 21.1 Clarage 22.1 Yellow (no name) 22.3 Munns 30 . 3 f Smooth. ^ Clark's Iroquois . 30.7 ^30.3 B. O. E. ensilage 40 Queen of the field 33-4 Thomas corn 31 . 5 Minnesota king 26.8 Early Huron 37 .6 Early Butler 35-5 I Cuban queen 40 . 4 / Yellow . " Murdock (av. 4 plats) 35.7 Chester county mammoth ... 17.3 Log cabin 22.7 Eclipse 16. i Yellow (no name) 34-5 Edmonds (av. 2 plats) 28 .8 Rough . . { Legal tender 33.8 ^28.9 Pride of the north 30. i Yellow (no name). _ 21.8 Early . . J Pride of Columbia 34-6 i King of the earlies 3 1 -? Wisconsin yellow 33-9 L Learning 34 5 J C White (no name) 19.5 ") j Champion white pearl, 42 qmnoth J White ( no name ) 30 . 4 I th 'VMills county white... 33.2 f 3I White (no name) 35-2 I (^ Baker's white 26 I White . . J ' Ohio white dent 26.8 ^ Dunlap's white (av. 2 plats). . 28.2 Ivory dent 28 . 9 j Rough.. - 10 . . . co ON CM M M CM Tf t^OO M M HI \ '. '. ; ; ; From good ears. m CM r>. Tf M vo oo oo 00 00 1O HI 1000 O Tf t^ Tf 10 Tf 1 5 As husked per bu. air-dry. CO M 00 VO HI CM Tf ro 00 OO CM IOVO t^ t^OO Tf vo ON l-vO ON t^ t^CO ONOO Tf HI 00 00 ON O COOO l^ r^ t^oo O M O r>-oo ON O cooo As husked per bu. CM Tf Tf HI VO CM CM M co co t^ HI Tf Tf f. t^CO HI VO vo t^ VO t~>. t^ vO vo vO vO ON t^ vO vO vo * * * 00 CO HI vO vo t^ HI CO t^. ' M) 1 100 average ears. COOO O mvo oo O\ M f> cnvo O Tf O 00 CM 00 CO O OO ON MCOON O m co 100 nubbins. m co M co co m SS-S OO M Tf CM CO CO IOVO 00 HI CO CM CO CO VO 10 t>. 100 good ears. O Tf CO vo f^ ON VO CM HI CO M 10 M O iovo vo vo vo co ONOO M Tf IOVO COVO HI IOVO 00 00 vn ON Tf vn Tf Total number ears per acre. m cooo Tf CM O IO CM O ON o o >n oo co O> OO CM OO ON O ON co Tf vn ON O Tf 00 ONCO CM Tf CO 10 co HI ON ON 00 CM oo vn CM in i^ ONOO O ON ON ON VO I s - O O CM CO 00 l^ Tf 1 Number nubbins per i acre. oo HI m Tf Tf Tf ON t^ l^ CM CM CM O 10 O vo co Tf CO IOOO O ONVO HI Tf O VO t^-CO 00 O O OO O O Tf co co ^ "*" Tf S-TfV & Number good ears per acre. f^ CM CO CNOO vo VO Tf CM Sm 10 ON vo . vnvo O vO vo vo Tf CM Hi t^ ON in CO CM VO m 10 Tf Tf Tf CM VO CO HI Tf CO HI mvo m CM CO HI CM Tf O in m m oo m o moo CM CM CO CO CM CM M Average. Circum. 3 specimen cobs, in. l^ CM CO Tf Tf Tf ON CO tx 00 CO t^ ON ON 10 ON ' ro co Tf co co co CO CO CO CO CO Tf ; ; ; Circum. 3 specimen ears, in. CO CM vO t^ ^ CM Tf CM TfVO CM CM VO CM M VO . . . VO vo f^ VO vo vo VO VO vO VO vo t^ ; i : Length 3 specimen ears, in. CO C^. oo' ON ON Tf M VO HI CO Tf vo o t^. Tf CO . . . r^oo ON 00 00 CO t>.oo t^ f*OO 00 i '. ; Height butt of ear, feet. vo vn n OO CM t 1 ^ vn vo CM Tf N CO ts.cn Tf COVO CO Tf mvo Height stalks, ft. co m CM ON ON ON H, VO M 00 t^vo M 00 co t> ON M CM VO 00 ON oo ON O VO t^OO 00 00 O HI t>- t^oo 1 Of barren stalks. 00 M CO HI M t^ CM 10 HI HI O N co TfvO 00 o" CM' Tf 00 ON O HI CM CO O CM CM m Of full stand. oo t^. m OO OO 00 0^^ ON co ON f^OO t^ M Tf vo' vo Tf 00 00 00 Hi CM O OC 00 00 ss% Kernels germinating in field. Tf O Tf OO CO l^ RSvi? M VO M 00 00 00 t^oo c^ CO 00 00 M t^ 10 ON 00 00 : : : Kernels germinating in apparatus. ON ON ON CO t>.VO vO Tf co ON ON ON : : : vo ON co ONOO ON SSS, | . . . ! . : : 1 : : : I : : : i : : : i : : : M ' E ' _, 00 p OO M.g.M.b.M.g. ON ' " G ^!li 111! rf SS "u QJ V * 5 T, ' ^ > > > 344 BULLETIN NO. 31 [March, Ears. Stalks. M vo O m fC CO CO CO CO CO 00 00 CO t^OO CO Date of ripening. Per cent of bar- ren stalks. VO <^ MVO O HOOVOOO O^ HNNNMM O O N ^J- in Hi ^Tj- Per cent of full stand of stalks. O> N t^OO MVO HI O lOfOONO ^-iOO ^N f^vO N PO OOO ui in ro O CO O O Ov CTiOO CTv Oi O C^OO O ON O CT> O\ OiOO OiOO O>00 OO Q\ O CTi O Per cent germinat'g * * * g n Geneva apparatus. Ov^ * > . . pu " 5 _sY gs|^je~ HH ?~1 p^ ^^ ^ 11 0)O D3O > "o - 5 ' 8? < . aj 5 | : " M 9 - E >-< rt : :w : : ' ^ 4sT . 0) . cu - X g-w : E iJ &8 VJ3 o^ O J3 fe : : : s i V,' T3 <1) :^J3^ . o o ~5. :a :a^- ^ S 6 8 E & i~= 1894-] FIELD EXPERIMENTS WITH CORN, 1893. 345 ooo r-^vo w N c\o o t^ N co Ovo ^- vr> M woo o ** ^ t-^vo ^-IONOO M PO u">vo r^vo HOO N in u-> P<") U"> W oo o o a* o & -c^a^cri ooo o o^ o a> o o av a\*o o o TJ 'O.g^.... rQ .Q***<****.. rQ .... * I " * ' ^ " *c ' i-^ * ' " S C3 "S Q ..p. ....... * ^ ^~ '- 1 -' _! in- 1 ".;; !( _^X"".2" I O M^cnOQSOHHM^U < M a a a---* .2 ::::::: :.2 :::::: : ::::::::: :.2 : ' : c ::::::: '.% :::::::::::::::: :c/5 : : : : fl G ....g.... 0) g ' * 6 ::::.::: 6 :::::::.:;::::::: g :::: *- 'C ...; ,_ -.... S. ' "! ' C i|^llSlftlll!|l|lll H u 5ssw-g 'g wSfl Q W !gQ - -.f s il*:i*l4-lli^;,^,,, ^0 ^03 ^ H ? J P ffi S H^-^M H O ffl A Z ^.^u ^^ ^. J S o ^ : : ^ : " : .2 1 : ai : a 1 : : : ^ i j 5 ? r/5 r- ft/) ^H X *-* *^ S I : I : | :g S 8 gS-i^S :o-. SS:S f | 3j| 3|| | | |1||| MOU^5ouM>H03U><>HS>oo OO M N co^j-invo t^.oo OO M N rn^i-mvo t^oo OO 01 ro^invo t^. cs M mrofOpnroporomro-^--4-'ij--^-'^-Tj-^-Tj-Tj--O t^vo t^vo vo O vO oo vO vo nvO m - N ro N vo oo oo t^ oinrorororoiou~>ninmioinro - tl D-. O co ro r~~ n M t^ ro m u~>vo t-^ n t^co rn TJ- rj-co vo M Per cent of full stand of stalks. N M (S M Per cent germinat'g n Geneva apparatus. OVO a> a> CO N >H N M O corj- ^OO Total OOGO -<1- -t- C OO O VO O WO ^i"VO N O VD OO *+ M T*-OO O C O O O ^-oo o 04 c* m o i^o (-tcnwrxMOfN-OO r^oo o oo w vo o rt r^cic^co fxo c^cioo oi o\ c ^oo vo* ^oo rxoo" ci o^ o" ^ tx^cfvo o o. Nubbins. oooooooooooooooooooooooooo -+ * O ThN-1-WOvO O O CJ *45 W -* ^-oo NOOOOOOOO oo TJ- N o i\ o c^oo ^xvo N cooo c^ rx o o o o^oo ^t- -^-so oo o^o M 0) 6 2 Good ears. |l||t|.l|||l|yis||l|||||i Plat. 3,58-&&?,g:5 g S3- o"8 &? g>2 = S =>?>S tS 9 a Av. ears. M w Tt--3-mu">M -ri-N C^OO moo M oo i-i ts. moo tx os^o oo m M vo M ** s mNix.oorxtxNOO ^oooNtx^-oooiONino>oommNtx 8 Nubbins. OOiNoocoNcoONTj-WoOThOOcow^-OcoOcotxoo^mtxmO Good ears. 0) Total ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo -t O O O Tt-O O O O 00 N Tj-OO OOOO T)-(S NOOOOOOO ^-NOOOO N N-o-u-iMoocoO^M mw M N OOO O> O\ txoo CTi co co Tl-O * * M o oc in o rt 0, M txco ^ 0^=0 txoo 0> 0^ 0, 0> m 0,0 tx 0, txoo m Nubbins. il>II.IIS.IIIIII,llU4ll.IMI rt O O^ -^ moo co tx ino O OO ino tx fx tx rt- tx O"ioo O ** in fxO O O m co 9 o' Good ears. ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo O N -*^-O * TI- N ^t-o ** N -*O OOO Tl-O * O OO OO N O O ^-O O tx OiO Oooo O MOO MOO txoo co rx * mo m -^- *- N o o^O ^x co m Plat. OOO o'o'.o'o O~O o'txfxtxfxtxtxtxfxtx txoo OO X XX XX X C\ ,d si Av. ears. rt Wf*aM jj Good ears. 9**S9 > 9**1*S,3*S,X3.9.'mSKX***!aO Z ] O N co rt- mo rxoo ^ O M N co TJ- mo Jxoo c^ O M N co ^- mo txoo O\ en" Av. ears. ONOmNMOOOOO CTlO tx * N O> COOO ONOOO^MCOMOOOONNin COCOCOCOCOTj-COTj-M N COCOCOCON COCOCOCOCON Tl-COCI CON COTfTh rt ... 8 N NCONNCONNNCOCONNO.C,CONCN N NNNNNNN W Good ears. oo oo co ino ooooooooOocoOcoOOinMco coo O coo co m O tx m tx O inTj-in-^-min-^--^-m ino m m mo tx in m m ino m -^- m m ino m OJ o rt Total. rh^-N ri-O NOOOOOO * S-N"N 8o?OO 8 N OO GO OR 1 | > n o. i-t vs Loss drying. i ^ 3 4 6 8 9 10 ii 12 J 3 M '5 16 J 7 18 !9 20 21 22 23 2 4 25 26 27 28 29 30 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 4i 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 5i 52 ^3 Learning sf-5 31-2 34 4 18.1 25 18.2 24.2 24.2 19 27.6 31-8 23 4 21.9 28 25-6 32.4 21.6 27.6 24 7 22 28.3 27.8 24-5 31-3 265 31-5 22.4 28.4 27.9 26.1 31 28.9 31-5 19 30.2 23 7 29.7 29-5 27.8 29.2 21.9 24-4 29.2 26 26.3 22 6 29.2 22.9 27 22.1 26.2 2420 1250 1540 2370 3200 4160 3240 2520 1840 2300 3600 3290 2950 3520 2690 2710 3480 2670 3200 3200 2250 2630 2240 2IOO 3590 1530 2050 2370 3290 2850 2040 I9OO 2040 1760 1670 1470 1870 2260 2730 2300 2880 2390 2890 3110 2580 2570 2440 2850 3390 2770 3250 28^0 66.4 76 74.7 74.1 67.8 77.5 72.3 80.2 80.2 73.1 71.8 76.6 72.2 73-5 75-2 74:4 76 70.9 74 72.5 68.1 77-5 75-3 80.6 78.1 73 71.7 73-1 72.7 76.1 74-7 75-6 77-3 85.5 68.7 71.8 72 68.5 71.2 68.9 74-9 69.2 71.1 78.4 72.2 71.6 69.2 67.8 72 73-2 71-5 74.4 78.8 107.8 96.2 100.4 73-7 92 78.6 94.1 94-4 81 88.2 100 83.8 83.8 93.1 89.1 100 80.4 90.9 85.8 77 .6 96.3 92.6 95.2 IOI.I 88.4 93-2 83.7 90.4 93-4 89.9 97-4 96.7 in. 4 75.6 9i-3 83.9 86.9 89.8 84.9 94.1 78.9 83.8 98.4 86.9 86.5 79-5 85-1 83.1 89.1 8i.3 80.6 36.4 16.4 20. 6 32 47-2 53-7 44.8 3i.4 22.9 3i-5 50.1 42-9 40.9 47-9 35-8 36.4 45.8 37-6 43-2 44.1 33-i 33-9 29.7 26.1 46 20.9 28.6 32.4 45-3 37-4 27.3 25.1 26.4 20. 6 24-3 20.5 26 33 38.3 33-4 38.4 34-5 40.7 39-7 35-7 35-9 35-2 42.1 47.1 37.8 45-4 18.3 30.7 ii. 6 16 23-6 43-4 45-2 41.2 26.8 J 9-5 28.4 40.8 32.9 35.2 42 28.9 30.4 34-8 33-2 35-2 37-3 29 27.3 24.2 22 35-5 17-3 22 28.3 36.4 30.5 22.7 19.5 21. 1 I 5 .8 22.1 I6.I 22.3 26 30.4 27.1 30.6 30.3 34-5 31-6 29.7 29-7 30-7 33-5 40.8 3i.i 40 IT. 8 5-7 4-8 4.6 8.4 3-8 8.5 3-6 4.6 3-4 3.1 9-3 10 5-7 5.9 6-9 6 ii 4-4 8 6.8 4-i 6.6 5-5 4.1 10.5 3-6 6.6 4-1 8.9 6.9 4.6 5-6 5-3 4.8 2.2 4-4 3-7 7 7-9 6.3 7.8 4.2 6.2 8.1 6 6.2 4-5 8.6 6.3 6.7 5-4 6.<;. Helms improved Piasa cjueoii Piasa king. Murdock Blue River Fisk's white Ohio white dent . \Vhite variety (no name) Dunlap's white Hess white Boone county white . Burr's white. Champion white pearl Ivory dent \Vhite variety (no name) White beauty ... Mills county white White variety (no name) Champion white pearl Farmers' interest Star corn Prentice corn . .... Woodhull Pride of Kansas Chester county mammoth Champaign county prolific Early mastodon Golden beauty Cloud's early ... Leg cabin Fisk's yellow Bickerdike's early mammoth Clark 1 s favorite Clarage Eclipse Yellow variety (no name) Baker's yellow .... . California yellow Yellow variety (no name) Munns Yellow variety (no name) .... . Hughes Steward's improved Learning Clark's Iroquois Murdock Burr Oaks Learning Short stalk B O E Ensilage Learning. . 35 BULLETIN NO. 31 [ March, VARIETY TESTS, YIELD, 1893 Continued. 2 p" Nams of variety. Per ct. water in shelled corn as husked. P (D ^ ? D s-l P o 3 r p* eg 11 CLX3 ' % o- e 82.1 72.5 70.6 7 1 64-4 73 73.5 69.4 7i 72.5 70.8 67.2 70.3 72.4 77-3 67-5 66.2 69.5 72.4 66.1 68.3 62.2 74-3 70 67.9 72.4 65.6 74-7 73-9 69.7 78.3 76.6 69-3 69.2 77-9 78.2 72.6 68.1 68.7 69-5 68.3 67.6 77 73 70.7 68.5 69 69.8 76.3 74.7 78.4 77 8 g-8 II ?l ^o ^ 3 P ?r CD Bu. shelled corn per acre. > w w cr L nT p. > M" CU- 3 i w a, ^ 5' c 1 CO (A j> I c/) p p-*8 ^^ i. cr CL Cu *! s cr ' 1 I ^ 5' OQ a 3 C of in Thomas 28 3 2610 72 89 4 36 2Q 2 7 I TT? Learning. . ?6 8 2970 70 7 86 i 42 24 c 7 c Murdock 20 3 7T Cn 67 7 ne i o j 7 28 4 30 114 Roone rountv white 30 4*3620 8l 7 I O4 6 44 ^ Q 6 115 Burr's white 3T 8 3O30 7T 8 93 6 S4 8 42 12 8 1 16 Self-husking i 16 V ;8o 68 o 73 4 8 4 7 Q c 117 Golden dew drop 17 7 1010 68 70 7 MQ jo n T t ll8t CD *"t ^ cl c 7 ?r H i : x- CD CO, CD d. D CL, I May 6 Sept. 16 86 3 i 3548 50.7 i6. 7 70 73-4 47-4 2. " 13 " 17 8118 3512 51.4 16.9 68.3 73-2 48 3 " 20 " 18 8181 3035 43.4 i8. 4 70 76.3 39-8 4 " 27 " 19 7920 2844 39-6 18 7 1.8 77-9 36.5 5 June 3 Oct. 6 6300 2792 38.4 21.4 72.7 82.4 33-9 6 " 10 " 10 773* 3172 44-2 23.9 71.8 83-9 37-8 7 " 17 " i5 6219 1899 25-8 25.8 73-6 88.3 21-5 AVERAGE HEIGHTS TAKEN WEEKLY IN INCHES TO TIP OF TASSEL AND LEAF, 1893. June 13 June 20 June 27 July 4 July 12 July 18 July 25 Aug. I Aug. 8 Aug. 23 Aug. 30 Sept 19 j Leaf. . . | Tassel 16.5 3i 44-5 61 7 6 85.5 92.5 88 93 qi . 5 92 QI 9i.5 8q ; 90.5 80 5 88 QO 5 ( Leaf.... / Tassel . . 14.5 29 43-5 58 73-5 82.5 93-5 86.5 95 93-5 95-5 94. ^ 94-5 92. 5 95 Q2 . S 90 92 ( Leaf. . . . } Tassel 9.5 20 34 46 63.5 72 81.5 76 5 84 81 86 84 84.5 83 5 8 5 83 5 81.5 8 1 s j Leaf. . . . "j Tassel . 7 M 28 37 49-5 60 70 74 73 78 7Q 77-5 78 77-5 77 75 77 j Leaf. . . . ( Tassel . . 3-5 IO 20.5 32.5 4 I -5 5i.5 60 66.5 56 72 68.5 75-5 75 75 75 73-5 75 j Leaf . . 6 14 23 ac 47 5 en 66 5 74 $ 78 5 78 5 78 5 "j Tassel 62 71 7Q S 80 5 80 ( Leaf. . . 7 12 23 a^ 4O 46 54 5 66 5 60 67 I Tassel.. 65.5 68 67.5 RESULTS WITH CORN FROM PLANTINGS AT DIFFERENT DATES, 1888 1893. Dates. Bu. air-dry corn per acre. j 1888. 1889. 1890. I8 9 I. 1892. 1893- Av. April 22 25 April 27 May 2 80 D* f\n 5 1 D 1 O fi-7 fi May 4 9 87 44 07 5 .Q 7 2 Ft? a " ii 16 7 86 5 1 -ft 7 1 4 7 f\0 47 .0 O2.3 ^T " 19 23 QM 5 75 5 & 3 f.C 40 G 3 fir " 26 June i 7 82 5 7 1 5 2 4 June i 8 3 Q, 55 74 f\i 34 59 fiR 37 57 " 813 5 f\n 37 34 _Q 55-2 " 17 20 5 5 J 9 49 30 3 8 22 44-5 26 i8 9 4-] FIELD EXPERIMENTS WITH CORN, 1893. 353 less time than required by either earlier or later planting. This, together with the fact that the first three plantings reached their maximum height about the same time, shows the more rapid growth of corn planted later in the season when the ground is warm, over that planted earlier when the ground is cold. By very early planting, if a good stand is secured and the corn kept equally free from weeds, we may expect as large yields as from later planting. But for this locality the extra labor required*to remove the weeds and the risk of a poor stand, will not justify planting earlier than about May ist. Experiment No. 4. Corn, Depth of Planting. May 24, 1893, six rows, each 220 ft. in length, were planted with Burr's white corn, four kernels a hill, the hills and rows each being 3 ft. 8 in. apart. Row one was planted one inch deep, and each succeeding row one inch deeper than the preceding. The land was adjacent to that used for Experiment No. 5, and was in every way treated the same. As in former years, the shallow planting gave best results. From the table giving results for five years, it will be seen that the average num- ber of ears per acre uniformly decreases from the shallowest to the deepest planting, and that, in general, the bushels per acre also de- creased. RESULTS WITH CORN FROM PLANTINGS AT DIFFERENT DEPTHS. Ears per acre. Bushels per acr.e. Ears in a bushel. 1888. 11,070 9,630 10,440 9,630 8,280 5,940 1889. 10,530 10,080 8,190 9,540 8,820 10,440 1890. 9,608 9,385 9,831 7,485 8,491 8,389 1892. 8,280 8.640 8,910 9,450 7,020 7.290 5,130 1893. 8,316 7,9S2 6,750 7,236 5,886 4,590 Av. 9o6i 9,145 8,824 8,668; 7,699 7,330 5.I30 1 1888. 109.7 88.4 100.8 88 73-1 60.3 g oo 'a? tnoo'oo o> 1890. "77^8 72.8 70.3 58.4 62.3 60.3 1892. 1893. 51-3 48.7 40.7 40 33-4 29 Av. 1888. IOI 109 104 109 "3 98 1889. 1890. 124 129 140 128 136 139 1892. 126 133 142 135 124 125 127 1893. 162 164 166 181 176 158 Av. 128 131 143 133 132 127 127 65.8 64.7 62.7 70.3 56.5 58.5 40.5 77-~5 65' i 68.7 61.3 60 40.5 127 121 161 no 109 "3 Experiment No. 5. Corn, Thickness of Planting. The land used was in clover in 1891 and 1892 and was treated with barnyard manure, at the rate of about 30 loads an acre, just before plow- ing. The plowing was done about two weeks before planting. May 24th, twenty rows, each 220 ft. in length, were planted with the vary- ing number of kernels a hill and at the distance shown in the table. In general, the ratio of stalks harvested to kernels planted, and the ratio of ears to stalks, increases as the thickness of planting decreases. The noticeably larger yield by the row having one kernel every three inches, was due to the fact that no corn was planted next to it till June 1 7th. This gave it a more favorable exposure. Excepting with this row the number of kernels a hill, from one to four, seemed to have little influence on the yield, the difference being due to the number of plants on a given area. The yield of stover is greatest for the thickest rate of planting, but the bushels of corn is greater for thinner rates. Taking the average for 354 BULLETIN NO. 31 [March, five years, there seems to be but little difference between planting any- where from 1 1, 880 to 23,760 kernels per acre. If grown chiefly for the grain, the fewer the ears required to make the maximum yield the less the work in harvesting; but if much value is attached to the stover, the larger amount obtained by planting thicker might more than pay for the extra labor required to harvest the grain. If stover and corn are to be fed together, then it is pretty certainly better to plant thickly. This RESULTS WITH CORN FROM PLANTINGS AT DIFFERENT RATES OF THICKNESS, 1893. Kernels in a hill. a o er S" I er Per acre. Ratio of stalks harvested to kernels planted. \< * \ 100 stalks. r. L. Ears harvested Bu. per acre air-dry corn. CD 2- 5T P* a & ES er P 1 \ CO er P 1 p. | 5 CD 3 8 n C/J 8 E ?r C/3 oo CO CO 00 vO . to CO VO U) P CD i 2 3 4 Av. i 2 3 4 3 6 9 12 47520 47520 47520 47520 353i6 34074 34020 3348o 17550 8802 7344 7722 6507 6237 6426 6345 3726 1377 . 1174 1444 74 .72 .72 .73 .727 .78 .76 .80 73 16 18 19 19 21 16 16 19 50 26 22 23 73 87.4 81.7 76.5 79-6 88.5 87.3 75-2 81.3 46.4 46.2 53.5 45-3 24-4 23.2 23.1 21 .2 105.3 84.1 87 97.7 45.3 16.7 14.3 17.5 23.5 27.6 27.6 32.5 30.9 58.9 5L5 5L9 51-6 6 12 18 24 47520 23760 23760 23760 23760 34222 18522 17982 17388 10354 8478 8424 9882 8856 6378.75 4698 4739 5252 5062 1930.2 2241 2241 2646 2511 18 25 26 27 29 18 26 27 27 28 30 4 6 47 52 47.8 68.8 74 70.4 76.4 22.9 39-9 4L5 43.9 43-6 93.5 90.9 98.6 103.3 100.8 53-5 63.1 65.8 65.1 66.6 AT. i 2 3 4 9 18 27 36 12 24 36 48 23760 15840 15840 15840 15840 18252 10692 12150 8910 6480 9018 8802 9342 4937-7 3294 4590 4509 4428 2409.7 2525 3645 3321 3821 .767 .68 .77 73 75 27 38 39 37 27 39 40 38 41 49 % 76 79 83 84.4 76 75.6 81.7 72.4 78.7 81.9 78.8 71.4 42.2 49.8 50.2 45-3 45.7 98.4 87.2 89.4 82.5 89.5 29.6 32.1 46.3 42.2 48.5 65.2 66.4 68.8 64-9 67.4 Av i i. Av i 2 3 4 Av i 2 3 4 15840 11880 11880 11880 11880 11583 9936 8856 9936 9936 8410 7884 7452 7398 8424 4205.2 2673 3483 3780 3328 3537 305 1 3915 .732 .84 75 .84 .84 36 30 36 38 40 45 4i 47 4 8 73 79 84 85 79-4 81.7 79-5 76 70.4 77-7 74-4 81.5 77-9 80.6 47-7 60.7 61.4 57-1 60.7 87.1 80 76.1 86.6 86 42.3 44.9 38.7 44-6 49-7 66.9 68.3 67.4 68.4 69.5 15 30 45 60 Av Av Av Av 11880 9504 9504 9504 9504 9504 21701 21701 21701 21701 9666 9866 9126 8478 8154 7789 7344 5832 6588 6048 3263.7 4320 4064 3875 2957 3503.2 4172 3875 3024 .817 1.04 .96 .89 .86 937 .82 79 .80 .78 34 44 45 46 36 43 29 31 33 32 45 57 53 59 50 81 74 64 78 74 76.9 71.9 61.7 57-9 78.6 67.2 69.6 72.8 59-9 57-6 54-9 58.9 82.2 75-2 72.3 75-4 72.3 73-8 87.7 84 . i 87 89.3 44-5 53 39-6 49-2 38.4 45.i 39.4 38 42.1 41.9 68.4 65 59.6 62.8 55-3 60.7 64.1 63.5 63.8 64 8906 16866 16438 16632 16168 6453 9547 7906 8003 8078 3804 4388 446i 4709 4514 3547.5 3240 2687 2905 2943 55 38 35 37 37 73 62 59 60 62 63.8 79-9 78.4 73-3 77-5 ,69.8 67.1 70.6 70.7 68.4 57-1 46.5 46.2 45-7 42.8 FIELD EXPERIMENTS WITH CORN, 1893. 355 experiment would indicate that, as corn is ordinarily planted, there is less danger of getting too many plants than of getting too few. One chief reason why smaller yields are obtained from corn planted thickly is probably because many small ears are not husked. Experiment No. 6. Corn, Planting in Hills or Drills. The land used consisted of seven half acre plats. It was plowed in early May and planted May I2th to i8th with Burr's white corn. The corn was dropped by hand and covered with a hoe. The west half of each plat was planted four kernels per hill, 3 ft. 8 in. apart each way, and the east half, one kernel every 1 1 in., in rows 3 ft. 8 in. apart. The cultivation was the same on both parts, each being cultivated three times, and the weeds remaining were removed with a hoe. Sept. 6th to Oct. 23d the corn was cut and shocked. Oct. cist to 28th the corn was husked and the yield ascertained. The stover was weighed as fed dur- ing November, December, and January. The accompanying table gives the yield per acre for each plat. As to the difference in the yields of corn, two plats are slightly in favor of drills and the other five in favor of hills, while the average is 1.6 bushels in favor of hills. The average yield of stover is slightly in favor of drills. This experiment, like No. 5, both for this and previous years,seems to indicate that there is practically no difference between hills and drills, so far as yields are concerned. RESULTS WITH CORN PLANTED IN HILLS AND DRILLS, 1893. T3 5T Yield per acre. (75 Ib. per bu.) Yield per acre, Ib. stover. Hills. Drills. Hills. Drills. i 2 3 4 5 9 10 25.9 19.7 23.7 28.6 33.9 43-2 50.9 22.1 18.9 19.7 30.7 34-4 40.8 48.3 3104 1640 2240 1808 2120 2408 2I2O 22O6 3040 1944 1920 1784 2312 2592 2276 Av. 32.3 30.7 2267 Experiment No. 8. Corn, Frequency of Cultivation. The land used for experiments No. 8, 9, and 10 was in clover dur- ing 1892, and was plowed, harrowed, and marked during the latter part of May. June 2d it was planted with Burr's white corn, four kernels a hill, the hills being 3 ft. 8 in. apart each way. The tract was divided into eleven plats, each 6 by 25 hills in area, which were cultivated as follows: Plats i and 7 had the weeds removed by scraping the surface lightly with a hoe and without other disturbance of the soil; 2 and 8 were cul- tivated shallow, ordinary; 3 and 9 deep, ordinary; 4 and 10 shallow, fre- 356 BULLETIN NO. 31. \_March) quent; 5 and 11 deep, frequent, and 6 had no cultivation, the weeds being allowed to grow. The shallow cultivation was done with the "Tower" and the deep with a one-horse double shovel. For dates and frequency of cultivation see table. The number of ears and the bushels per acre are given in the table for each mode of cultivation. In both shallow and deep cultivation, ordinary frequency gave better results than did very frequent cultivation. RESULTS WITH CORN FROM SHALLOW AND DEEP CULTIVATED PLATS, 1893. Kind of cultivation. Yield per acre. No ears. Bu. corn Av. bu. forsyr. None scraped with a hos (2 plats) 8881.6 9108.9 8938.4 8881.6 7616.8 None. 28.7 36.3 33-6 35-9 30.6 None. 68.3 70.3 66.7 72.8 64.5 Shallow ordinary Deeo " " Shallow, frequent Deep, " " None, weeds allowed to grow Frequent (average 4 plats) 8249.2 9023.6 33-2 34-9 68.6 68.5 Ordinary " " Shallow (average 4 plats) . . 8995 . 2 8277.6 36.1 32.1 7i.5 65.6 Deep " " CULTIVATION OF PLATS. Date, 1893. Plats i and 7. Plats 2 and 8. Plats 3 and 9. Plats 4 and 10. Plats 5 and n. June is Shallow Shallow 17 .... *Deeo Deeo Shallow 4-Deeo 22 Scraped Shallow Shallow Deep 26 Deep . Shallow Deep 29 .... Shallow Shallow Deep Tulv ^ Deeo Shallow Deep " ii Shallow Deeo Shallow Deep ' ' 17 Shallow Deep "2O ... Scraped *Plat No. ii only. fPlat No. 5 only. Experiment No. 9. Corn, Depth of Cultivation. For care of crop see report on Experiment No. S. By consulting the table in the same report it will be seen that shallow cultivation gave four bushels per acre more than deep. Contrary to results in former years, scraping the surface to kill the weeds failed to give as large yields as did deep cultivation. No cultivation, allowing the weeds to grow at will, failed to produce any corn, excepting two small cobs, having one kernel each. Taking the average of live years, shallow cultivation produced 5 9 bu. per acre more than deep, and scraping the surface 2.7 bu. more than deep. 1 894.] FIELD EXPERIMENTS WITH CORN, 1893. 357 Experiment NO..IO. Corn, Effect of Root-pruning. Every other row of 6 rows running across the west end of the 1 1 plats used in Experiments No. S and 9 was root-pruned four inches deep. The pruning was done three times June 23d, July nth, and 24th by placing a frame 12 inches square on the outside, over each hill, and drawing a guaged knife around the edge of it. When husked, the number and pounds of ears for each row of each plat were ascer- tained. The table gives 30 weights, involving 15 comparisons. In 12 of these, the unpruned gave larger yields than the pruned. Taking the total yield of each row running across the eleven plats, every compari- son gives the largest yield for the unpruned, and the sum of the pruned and unpruned is in favor of unpruned for each of the five sets of two plats. The average yield per acre is 7.2 bu. greater for the unpruned rows. These experiments and similar ones in previous years suggest that shallow culture is better than deep; that the injury to the roots, which necessarily results from deep culture, reduces the yield; that good crops may be secured in this soil without other cultivation than scraping the surface to destroy weeds, and that the gain from unusually frequent cul- tivation usually does not equal the extra cost of such cultivation. RESULTS WITH CORN IN PRUNED AND UNPRUNED Rows, 1893. Row. Yield of ear corn, pounds. Plats i & 7 Plats 2 &8 Plats 3&9 Plats 4 & 10 Plats 5 & ii Sum of ten plats. Yield per acre bu. No. ears. Lb. ears. 3 4 5 6 8 Unpruned . . . 5.87 5.87 8.25 6.25 9-75 6.37 12 8.25 14-75 8.75 15 11.75 5-62 6.87 8.25 8.87 11.62 9-25 ii. 5 10.12 14-25 9-37 14.87 9-25 8.5 7-5 10.75 7-75 ii ii 132 121 158 118 176 M5 43-5 38.62 56.25 4i 62.25 47-62 26.9 23-9 34-8 25-4 38.6 29-5 Pruned Unpruned Pruned Unpruned Pruned T , ( Unpruned al \ Pruned 23-87 18.49 41-75 28.75 2 5.49 24-99 40.62 28.74 30.25 26.25 466 384 162 127.24 100.3 78.8 Experiment No. 23. Continuous Corn Cropping- contrasted with a Rotation of Crops. For eighteen years tests have been made of the yields of corn on half acre plats. On three of these corn has been grown contin- uously; on one it has alternated with oats; and on six, to which no manure or commercial fertilizer has been applied, it has been grown for two successive years in a six years' rotation. On one of the plats continuously in corn, barnyard manure has been applied annually at 358 BULLETIN NO. 31, c" Stover, Ib. &a| o TT ~ ~ =H Crop. O O rt rt ^-i O OUOOCJCJ 13 ^ 1 - r. Stover, Ib. in . * O N * ^. . vo en -t m O O ^OO en ~B E c u 6 "- Grain, bu. . * N en VO 00 U-) ' * 5 CH u ' -J CJ tj Crop. Z-i O O i- rt OCJUOOO nj "o u i a :^ Stover, Ib. mil! comm 0' 2 - Grain, bu. a CTI oo : :sS S5-8 1 ure or i. Crop. >V 2 12 s i. o o ca ca 'O O U U O O o man vd Stover. Ib. m in o ^*vo O ^O O O u"J fO\O *S S t? f?*N 5 2 | flj 2 r- Grain, bu. . .30 10 ID oo envo tx Tj- rl-u->n I ~ -tti SH Crop. i2 "> "> e P ^2 rt ^,ZM o O rt OUOUCJO | U^ Stover, Ib. >D O O O O O ^ 5 o. 5 N OO en M M N s c d s, r: Grain, bu. . . .VO M oo" tv. 4- =- Crop. |>>> OUOUOCJ tn 1| 4- Stovar, Ib. RKenSSg ?, D- 5? S ^"S eg S'fi ' C " Z 4-* bu. O^ rx TJ- ro IX o\ Tt- en u-> en en (S cT i Crop. C tn C S tn C C w C C y o ca o o rt o UOUOOU n hri o CTjcg t? N N M 1 _ Z: 5 O M VO ^ 5=$.^ S 5 ra > ' ^i'Ss -T)~ ^3 <" Q Stover, Ib. : sM ^ s 22^ S ac A n; i Grain, bu. S 1^K33 tt 1 s SK 5^:>3| X X =C 30 2C 00 the rate of 24 two-horse wagon loads an acre ; on one commercial fertilizers of differ- ent kinds have been applied ; and on one no fertilizing material of any kind has been applied. The corn has been cut, and the stalks removed each year. The table gives the yields of the ten plats for the last six years. In general, the yields from the plat manured with barnyard manure are larger than those from the plats in rotation with- out manuring; but the yield from this plat in 1893 was much smaller than that from the rotation plats. A like result was recorded in the exceptionally dry year of 1887. The yields from the plat to which no fertilizers were applied have practically equalled those from that to which commercial manures have been ap- plied ; but they fall far short of those from the rotation plats, and somewhat below those from the plat on which the corn was grown in rotation with oats. Experiment No. 71. Corn, Effect of Time of Harvesting. Experiments to test the effect of time of harvesting on yield of both corn and stover have been conducted for each of five years. The harvesting has usually been done at three stages of maturity,, the early cutting being when the grain was mostly in the roasting ear stage, with husks and leaves all green; the medium cutting when the kernels were mostly glazed and a few of the leaves and husks becoming dry; and the late cutting when the corn was fully ripe, the leaves and husks being practically all dead. The crop has always been shocked in the usual manner at the time of cutting and allowed to remain until well cured,, before the husking and weighing. In t8 94 .] FIELD EXPERIMENTS WITH CORN, 1893. 359 addition to the results given in the table, for several years, the chemical composition and feeding value have been ascertained and will be given at some future time. From the table we see that the yield of grain increases with late- ness of harvesting in a marked degree, the average yields being to each other as 65, 83.5, and 100 forthe early, medium, and late cuttings, respec- tively. The yield of stover has always been least for the medium cut- ting, and in three out of four cases greatest for the early cutting, the average yields being to each other as 100, 87.5, and 97 for the three cuttings, early, medium, and late, respectively. YIELD PER ACRE FROM CORN CUT AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF RIPENESS. Pounds ear corn per acre. 1888 1889 1890 1891 i893 Average. Cut early Corn mostly in roasting \ ear stage, husks and leaves green, f 200 1 3081 3025 2216 2280 2521 Cut medium Ears mostly glazed, a / few husks and leaves becoming dry \ 350i 3160 4257 2640 2600 3232 Cut late Fully ripe, leaves and husks \ usually all dry \ 4240 3696 4752 3322 336o 3874 Pounds stover per acre. Cut early . . 4006 361^ 2485 S24O S436 Cut medium 34154 3482 2I3O 2Q5O 3004 Cut late 4051 3717 2447 3080 3324 Experiment No. 89. Corn, Cross-fertilization. In 1893, ten of the most promising of the crosses grown in 1892 were planted on plats of considerable size and at such a distance from each other as to prevent much pollen being carried from one plat to another. There was some diversity in elevation and drainage and prob- ably also in the fertility of the soil, so that not much importance was attached to the comparative yields. Three plats from self-fertilized ears (ears that were fertilized with pollen from the stalks on which they grew) were planted adjacent to three plats of the same size and from the same cross, but from ears cross-fertilized (fertilized with pollen from stalks other than those on which they grew). In every instance the cross-fertilized ear produced the larger yield, and the stalks were visibly larger. Naturally the corn from the self-fertilized ears was more uni- form in character than that from the cross-fertilized ones. The greater the difference of the parent varieties the more variable was the product. It is thought that after some years of careful selection, after crossing, corn fairly uniform can be produced. For methods of crossing, see bulletin No. 25, p. 199. Besides the above, five plats were planted, each from a different cross- bred ear, and four plats each from the first year's product of a different 3 6 BULLETIN NO. 3! cross-bred ear. The former failed to produce a stand, the seed having been injured by weevils and the plats were planted later with Murdock. These plats were planted in Experiment No. i. The accompanying table gives the number of ears and bushels an acre for the four plats of cross-bred corn as compared with the individual and average yield of the parent varieties. The first named variety is, in each case, the female parent. In three out of the four cases the yield from the cross is greater than the average from the parent varieties, the average increase being 2.3 bu. an acre in favor of the crosses. In 1892 five crosses gave in every instance a larger yield than the average of the parent varieties, the average increase being 9.5 bu. an acre. It seems that cross-bred corn gives larger yields at least for the first and second years after crossing than an average of the parent varieties, but how long this greater fruitfulness will last is undetermined. Farmers can produce cross-bred seed in considerable quantities in the following manner: Plant with one variety in one planter box and another variety in the other. Remove the tassels of one variety before they begin to shed pollen and the shoots of the same will be fertilized with pollen from the other variety, thus producing a direct cross. The seed should be selected from the rows from which the tassels have been removed. RESULTS FROM CROSS-BRED CORN. Yield p :r acre. Plat. Variety. No. of ears. Bu. air-dry corn. c Champion white pearl 7680 07 a 13 & 115 Burr's white IO2OO 38.6 Average 8040 ^8 92 Champion white pearl Burr's white cross. . . . 7080 28. 4 Learning (average 4 plats) . . 8070 M6 13 & 115 Burr's white. IO2OO 38 6 Average . QTO = 36 6 94 Learning Burrs' white cross Q48o 41 7 58 & 98^ Kdmonds 774O 28.1 Murdock (average 4 plats) Q6oO 3 C 7 867O 32 95 Edmonds Murdock cross 9840 41.4 58 & 98 Edmonds .... 7740 28 3 13 & 115 Burr's white I02OO 38.6 Average 8Q7O 33 . C 99 Edmonds Burr's white cross Q36O 37.8 G. E. MORROW, A.M., Agriculturist. F. D. GARDNER, B.S., Assistant Agriculturist. 1894-] FIELD EXPERIMENTS WITH CORN, 1893. 361 RATE OF GROWTH AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE CORN PLANT. Experiment No. go. Corn, Rate of Growth. This article gives a record of observations on the rate of growth in height and weight and on the chemical composition of the corn plant, as well as on the rainfall and temperature at this Station during four seasons from May to October. The field work and the weather observations have been in charge of the agricultural department of the Station. The writer is responsible for the chemical analyses in 1890, 1891, and 1892, and the writing of this report from the observations on record. The work has already been briefly discussed in bulletins Nos. 13, 20, and 25 of this Station. It is quite well known that experienced corn growers have an un- written knowledge of what is good and bad corn weather. They have learned by their own observations through a number of years the climatic or meteorological conditions that are favorable or unfavorable to grow- ing corn. This information has been gained without measuring a single corn plant or recording the amount of rain and heat from year to year. It is not uncommon to hear the remark that a certain shower is worth more to the corn than two inches of rain at a given time, and that the corn needs two days of soaking rain is another statement that may be frequently heard sometimes. But, although the weather of the future seasons can- not be accurately predicted, it is of interest to note what has been in the past the relation between the development of the corn plant and the weather. This has been done by actually measuring and weighing corn plants every week of their growth and noting the rainfall and tempera- ture during the same time. A record of such observations has been made at this Station through the corn growing season of four years r 1889, 1890, 1891, and 1892. PLAN OF THE EXPERIMENT. Each season, when the corn plants were about ten inches high,, measuring from the ground to the tip of the upstretched leaves, a num- ber of hills of nearly uniform size, with three plants in each, were selec- ted and numbered. Each week through the season the height of these plants was measured and two or three hills (of three plants each) were cut off close to the ground, taken to the laboratory and analyzed. Thus a weekly record was obtained of the increase in height and weight of the corn plant and also of some of the changes in composition. The changes in weight and composition of the plants through the season 362 BULLETIN NO. 31. [March, were necessarily obtained from different plants each week. They could not be weighed and then left to grow again, as is done with animals in an experiment. The only thing possible was to begin with an even lot of plants and assume that those which were cut and analyzed each week were a fair sample of the whole and represented the general growth and development. Measurements of the height from the ground to the tip of the tallest leaf and to the top of the tassel,when present, were made of each plant. The number measured each week varied from 6 to 225 during the different years. The weight and composition per plant was obtained by analyzing the three plants in one hill as one sample. Ex- cepting the first year, three hills of three plants each, making three sam- ples, were cut and analyzed every week. From these analyses, including nine plants, the average composition per plant was calculated. Very complete meteorological observations have been made daily at this Station since August, 1888. They are taken at 7 a. m., 2 p. m. and 9 p. m., and include the maximum, minimum, and mean tempera- ture, height of barometer, direction and force of the wind, weather, as clear, fair, or cloudy, rainfall, and humidity. Some of these observa- tions, particularly the temperature and rainfall, are given in this report for the purpose of comparing these meteorological conditions with the rate of growth of the corn during the different years. THE SOIL. The soil in which the corn was grown is the uniform black prairie soil of the University farm, tile drained. A different plat was used each of the four years the experiment was made. The land used in 1889 had produced a crop of corn in 1888, with no manure; corn in 1887, with barnyard manure; and clover in 1886. The plat used in 1890 had produced crops of oats in 1888 and 1889. The corn of 1891 was planted on land which had raised a crop of corn in 1890, wheat in 1889, and clover in 1888, no manure. A plat of grass land which had produced a crop of hay in 1891, 1890, and 1889, was used for this experiment in 1892. TIME OF PLANTING AND VARIETY OF CORN. May 4th, 1889, Edmonds, yellow dent, was planted; May^th, 1890, Burr's white; May 9th, 1891, Learning; June 3d, 1892, Burr's white. The influence of the soil and the variety of corn on the variations in the rate of growth during these four years cannot be exactly measured. The same variety of corn was planted in the two years 1890 and 1892. The varieties planted the other two years were similar, Edmonds being somewhat smaller and earlier. The weekly observations giving the growth in height and weight, each year show that there was not the same rate of growth in any two 1894-] GROWTH AND COMPOSITION OF THE CORN PLANT. 363 years, but quite similar in some years and very different in others. The greatest variation is noticed between the two years when the same vari- ety of corn was planted, and this suggests than the rain and heat were more influential on the rate of growth, than the difference in the variety of corn, as there was a great contrast in the weather of these tw<5 years, 1890 and 1892. MEASUREMENTS AND ANALYSES MADE OF THE PLANTS. The measurements made of the plants included the height of each from the soil to the tip of the tallest upstretched leaf, and to the tip of the tassel when present. The analysis included the determination of dry matter only in 1889. In 1890, 1891, and 1892, each of the three samples of corn cut weekly was analyzed more completely. An estimation was made of the dry matter, mineral matter or ash, protein or flesh-forming, nitrogenous matter, fiber, nitrogen-free extract which includes the starch, sugars, gums, etc., and ether extract that contains the fats and oils. In addition to this, an estimation of water was made in the corn plants cut in 1892. June 10, 1889, fifteen pairs of hills were selected and numbered con- secutively. The corn in one pair of these selected hills, was measured and cut weekly, and the amount of dry matter determined in each of these two samples, which contained three plants each. June 2, 1890, sixty-three hills, as nearly alike as it was possible to find, were selected. They were numbered and divided off into 21 lots, of three hills each. One lot of three hills was measured and cut as in 1889. June 12, 1891, seventy-five hills were divided into 15 lots of five hills each. Four of these hills were cut every week. Chemical anal- yses were made of each of three hills, so that during the growing season these analyses were made of triplicate samples taken each week. The fifth hill in each lot was left to grow, and was measured each week dur- ing the season. Each plant in the 75 hills was measured every week until it was cut, making a total of 3,159 measurements that year. The spring of 1892 was very wet, hence the planting of corn was about one month late. This year weekly observations were made of the growth of the corn from the time it was planted. One hundred plants, drilled about 18 inches apart in a row, were selected for measur- ing. They were not cut for analysis. The same analyses as in previous years were made weekly of three hills of corn in this same plat and very near to the plants measured. DETAILS RECORDED IN THE TABLES AND CHARTS. The tables show for each year the variety of corn planted, date of planting, number of plants measured each week, with the extremes and average height per plant; the weight of dry matter per plant each week, 364 BULLETIN NO. 31. \March^ RATE OF GROWTH OF FIELD CORN, AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Edmonds yellow dent corn, planted May 4, 1889. Week ending. Plants measured. Height of plants, in. Pu 1 H 13 n> f 3 P CtT 1 P 5' P" 5* Av. daily temp., F. Percentage composition of dry matter. Extremes. Average. i B Maximum. g 5' 3 40 46 52 48 52 63 50 54 49 50 49 45 47 35 v> cr Protein. Crude fiber. CD n *< Ether, extract. June 10 17 24 July i o 15 22 29 Aug. 5 12 19 26 Sept. 2 9 16 6 6 6 6 . 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6-9^ 24-28 37-44 46 58 69-87 73-100 95-109 110-119 102-117 96-120 106-124 96-117 106-114 91-140 7 14 27 53 78 92 103 in no no in 107 108 108 (?) (*) .2 .8 3-4 ii. 3 25-1 66. 107.6 136 196.3 227.2 316.5 302.1 344-8 392 1.56 2.44 2.69 '!o6 2.31 .78 2.66 .6 1-3 58 62 67 73 75 72 68 69 67 67 70 53 77 78 86 88 89 90 90 88 83 84 84 89 87 88 73 Burr's white dent corn, planted May 5, i8go. June 2 i^-i 1 } 14 7 I . 12 68 87 42 10 j * j 2027 T 1 23 / 2.8 OS 72 / 88 T ei 17 4 27 Q 3 6 17 9 32-43 *j 38 .... 10 " J 2.41 r m 68 84 J A 47 A / **r 14.4 / - V 24-5 21.3 36.4 J v 3-4 24 9 57-68 6! .... 32.3 i-34 74 90 62 14-7 17.7 25.2 40.1 2-3 July i 9 73-92 87 5 8.1 81 96 64 14.9 I 5 .8 34-6 33-3 1-3 8 9 90-105 9 8 '(*')' 136 .... 72 94 45 9-8 II.4 28.8 49 15 9 95-120 III 179 2.04 73 97 5 8.2 II.4 29-9 49-2 3 22 9 104-123 119 .... 229 .... 72 94 55 7-9 IO 30 51.2 .2 29 9 103-126 H4 .... 289.6 -79 72 97 5i 6-5 8-5 27.9 56.2 Aug. 5 9 100-130 112 .... 298 .07 76 96 50 6.4 8.6 28.3 55-4 4 12 9 89-124 109 293 i. 08 68 92 47 6.6 8.6 24-5 58.6 .6 19 9 96-112 108 w 344-6 -38 68 88 45 6-4 7-3 22.1 62.1 2. I 26 9 97-128 117 393 4 63 85 39 5-7 7-5 25-9 58.8 2. I Sept. 2 9 99-126 114 "(<)' 385 31 7i 89 46 5-7 7-i 21.5 63.8 1-9 9 9 105-122 H3 w 421 -5i 59 78 33 5-3 7-3 19.9 64-9 2-5 16 9 94-120 106 (') 344 57 78 35 5-8 7.8 22.6 61.5 2-3 23 9 100-118 114 .... 349 -37 54 75 33 4-9 7.5 22.7 62.6 2-3 30 9 99-123 112 442 i-4 60 75 46 3-7 6.7 20.2 66.8 2.6 FIELD NOTES, 1889. ( a } Tassels showing. ( e ) Passed milk. (b) All in tassel, bloom and silk. (/) All glazed. (c) Silks dead. (g) Milk to ripe. (d) Soft milk stage. (A) All ripe. FIELD NOTES, 1890. (a) Full tassel. (b) Milk stage. (c) Dented, husks drying. ( d) One-half leaves dry. (e) Ripe. 1894-.] GROWTH AND COMPOSITION OF THE CORN PLANT. 365 RATE OF GROWTH OF FIELD CORN AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION Continued. Learning corn, planted May q, a Height of Av. daily Percentage composition 1 plants, in. JTJ ^3 & temp. F. of dry matter. Week c/r CD" B P 5' ending. P M X > D o (TO 3 (D 1 P g ^) O g i? z CD .. en C 3 3 J-t P oT Cfl P 2 5' a X |' ET ' tr n O CD" CD CD ^^ % CD cn 3 .3 B' 1 !? June 10 225 11-26 16 _ 66 90 22 5 23-43 4.5 .23 70 92 49 II. 2 27.6 23.3 35.7 2.2 24 213 32-64 47 20 1.02 74 92 58 ii. 8 24.1 25.4 36.7 9 July i 201 50-84 65 .... 30.4 -33 75 93 53 ii -5 19.1 28.1 39.4 9 8 189 57-91 73 .... 50 .07 69 89 47 10.5 19.1 29.2 39.5 .6 15 177 59-102 84 .... H4.3 .38 93 45 9 15.7 30.6 4 2.8 -9 22 165 64-111 96 (a) 161.6 .13 70 93 52 7-9 12. I 29.1 49.3 .6 29 153 81-115 98 (&) 161.2 .83 69 93 42 7.1 11.3 28.1 4 Aug. 5 82-116 93 (0 215.1 .01 93 6 10.826.7 54.6 .8 12 129 82-118 98 165.4 i-35 74 99 54 6.9 10.8 28.6 51 2 5 19 117 82-118 97 (d) 257 1.28 75 96 64 6.2 10.3 27-5 53-9 2 26 i5 82-115 97 ( e ) 295 .22 62 83 40 5-7 9-3 24.7 57-6 2.6 Sept. 2 93 81-114 97 (/) 349-5 -35! 63 90 4 1 5-1 8.5 21.7 6! 7 2.9 9 81 81-114 96 ... 320 64 88 8.9 20.4 62.8 3 16 69 81-113 93 (g) 290 .... 76 95 55 5-2 9-7 19.7 62.5 2.8 23 324 .06 72 96 46 4-4 9 18.6 64-9 3-1 Burr's white corn, planted June j, 1892. June 10 IOO 2 3O 66 82 42 | 17 IOO 2-17 II O^ .18 T\ ' 62 T 4O 1 24 IOO 7-24 17 1.7 4.02 I O 75 84 T 37 17-4 26.3 18.4 35-9 July i 99 10-34 24 3-3 .86 68 80 49 13-4 24.4 21.6 34-5 8 98 12-43 33 9-1 1.32 66 84 49 14.1 22.8 25-3 33-9 3-7 15 97 25-67 5i .... 20.8 .09 73 9i 52 H.4 2O. I 26.5 38.3 3-6 22 96 36-90 68 .... 49 .82 78 94 58 8-5 17-3 28.3 42.5 3-4 29 94 40-110 86 .... 90.8 .27 77 90 5i 7-3 12.2 28.8 48 3-7 Aug. 5 94 50-119 95 to I4I-4 1-93 61 82 46 6.6 10.8 29.8 49.6 3-2 12 94 52-119 99 171 42 74 90 61 6 9-5 29 52-9 2-5 19 94 54-"9 IOO .... 221 .... 7i 92 5i 5-9 9-i 27.7 54-t 2.4 26 93 53-H9 89 .... 274.7 .08 68 96 30 6.6 9-526.9 54-8 2.2 Sept. 2 92 51-124 86 .... 300.4 -19 72 93 54 5-7 7.923-8 59-7 2-7 9 92 51-125 88 .... 329.7 74 62 94 56 5-7 8.7)22.9 60 2.6 16 .... .... 425.5 74 90 53 5-2 8.2 20.862.8 2.9 23 .... .... 417.5 .... 66 90 47 4-9 7.8 19.364.9 3 30 .... .... 422.3 . . . 61 73 42 4-7 6-7 21 64.7 2.8 Oct. 7 412 16 4.2 8 20.7 64 3 FIELD NOTES, 1891. (a) Full tassel. (e) Denting. (b] Silk all out. (/) Husks turning brown. (c) Silk dead. (g) -50 per cent. dead. (d] Roasting ear stage. FIELD NOTES, 1892. (a) Full tassel. 366 BULLETIN NO. 3! \March, ^ & O /// J.H9/7M 'C7//M/ WJLH9/7H 894-] GROWTH AND COMPOSITION OF THE CORN PLANT. 367 t . -e *! i 3 68 BULLETIN NO. 31. \_March, RELATION OF TEMPERATURE AND RAINFALL TO INCREASE IN HEIGHT AND DRY MATTER OF THE CORN PLANT. 1889. 1890. Temp. F. Rain, in. Per cent, of total ht. Per cent of total wt. Temp. F. Rain, in. Per cent. of total ht. Per cent, of total wt. April, ist week 45 50 I . IO 2 d " cc OS 54 i .4 3 d " 57 , 54 48 4th " C2 O2 C4 i 61 Sum 61 4. II May. ist week 57 5 45 ad " 66 38 54 i 62 3 d " 66 12 56 .27 4th " :i 5 O2 68 1. 12 12 Sum . . 5C2 3 44 12 June, ist week 58 i 56 6 3 72 O5 7. 5 o 6 2d " 62 2 44 6 3 O 2 68 2 41 12 6 I 7 3d " 71 2 60 II 7 O ^ 74 I 34 19 3 52 4th " ... 6? 12 6 2 8l 21 8 6 i Sum 6 6q ^6 Q 2 7 3.8 6l 2 13 6 July, ist week 70 06 10 8 3E 72 Q 2 18 s 2 d " 7c 2 21 22 * IO 4 74 2.O4 IO 9 IO 2 3 d " 72 .78 12 6 IO S 73 6.7 12 4 th " 71 2 66 IO 7 5 72 70 14 5 Sum .. s 81 fie Q OT Q 2 8^ 26 8 c c 2 August, ist week 68 72 JC ? 76 .07 2 2d " 69 6 8 68 I. 08 3d " 67 3 e 68 .38 IO.9 4 th " 7i 19 2 63 .4 3.8 Sum 6 72 46 I 93 16 7 September, ist week 67 i .3 72 .31 2d " 7 7.2 59 .51 14 .5 3d " ca 12 2 C7 4th - s6 I 44 c c 37 Sum 2-74 1 19.4 I.I9 14.5 iS 94 .] GROWTH AND COMPOSITION OF THE CORN PLANT. 3 6 9 RELATION OF TEMPERATURE AND RAINFALL TO INCREASE IN HEIGHT AND DRY MATTER OF THE CORN PLANT. Continued. 1891. 1892. Temp. F. Rain, in. Per cent of total ht. Per cent, of total wt. Temp F. Rain, in. Per cent of total ht. Per cent, of total wt. April, ist week 36 I c 56 3 II 2 d " 52 1.87 37 .83 3d " 63 I 47 47 73 4th " 58 1C 52 1.78 Sum 3.6 4 6.45 May. ist week CI 63 I 34 2d " 50 46 53 1 .21 3d " 62 43 55 2. 19 4th " 61 12 60 3 12 Sum 80 12 7 86 June, ist week 66 c 7 66 . 3 2 ad " 71 .23 13 i . i 73 .18 8 3d " 74 I O2 17 4 6 75 4 O2 7 4th " 75 03 IQ 2 8 68 86 7 3 Sum 2 08 56 8 5 5.36 24 7 July, ist week 6q 7 e 7 67 I 32 I 4 2d " .. 71 ^8 IO 18 3 73 OQ 18 2 8 3 d " 71 1 3 1 1 13 ^ 78 82 17 6.6 4th " 69 8l 2 77 .27 IQ IO Sum 2O4 02 37 *? 2 5 63 20 8 August, ist week . 72 OI 1C e 62 I 90 8 ii 8 2d " 74 I oc. 74 .42 7 3d " .'..-.. 75 I 28 12 71 i ii. 8 4 th " 63 22 II 69 .08 12 . 5 Sum .... 2 86 ^8 c. 2 43 13 43 I September, ist week 63 35 IS "5 72 . 19 6.1 2d " 6s 62 74 7 3d " .... 76 74 22 . 3 4 th " 72 06 66 Sum i .41 15-5 93 35-4 37 BULLETIN NO. 31. [March, COMPARISONS OF OBSERVATIONS ON TEMPERATURE. 1889. 1890. 1891. 1892. April. A gradual increase in temperature up to the last week, which was cooler than the two pre- vious weeks. Extremes, 25-75 April. Average tempera- ture, higher than in 1889. The third week, the coolest in the month. Extremes, 29-8o April. Unusually cold the first week, but grew warmer each week. Third week, warmer than usual for April. Extremes, 22-8i April. Unusually warm the first week and cold the second and third weeks, with an average tempera- ture in the last week. Extremes, 26-7o May. First week, average temperature; sec- ond and third weeks, above aver- age; last week, un- usually cold. Extremes, 28-9i May. First week, aver- age temperature; second and third weeks, cool; last week, warm. Extremes, 33-87 May. First week, below average. Some hot days in last three weeks, with about an average mean. Extremes, 24-9i May. First week, warm. The remainder of the month cold. Highest in last week, 80. Extremes, 37-94 June. The whole month a little cooler than June of the other three years. Extremes, 4O-88 June. First week, warm; second and third weeks, about aver- age temperature; last week, hot, tem- perature up 96. Extremes, 47 -g6 June. The weather was warm, but not ex- cessively so. Extremes, 49-93 June. Second week was warmest, and the last rather cool. Extremes, 49-94 July. Average tempera- ture for July, warm- er in second than last week. Extremes, 5O-go July. Temperature reach- ed 97 in both second and third weeks. Extremes, 45-97 July. Cool first week and a mean tempera- ture, a little below average, with some hot days. Extremes, 42-93 July. Cool the first week, very hot the third and fourth weeks, with an average temperature of 78. Extremes, 46-97 August. A little below av- erage temperature, except last week. Extremes, 5o -8g August. First week hot, with average of 76. Re- mainder of the month about aver- age temperature. Extremes, 39-96 August. Very hot in second and third weeks, but cool in last week to a mean temperature of 62. Extremes, 4o-99 August. Mean temperature a little below aver- age in first week, but above during remainder of the month. Extremes, 47-94 September. First week, aver- age temperature; second week, warm; last two weeks, cooler. Extremes, 32-88 September. First week, warm; but cooler the re- mainder of the month. Extremes, 33-89 September. First two weeks, about average tem- perature; the third and fourth weeks, very hot. Extremes, 4i-96 September. Temperature did not go to either ex- treme throughout the month. Extremes, 35-73 1894*] GROWTH AND COMPOSITION OF THE CORN PLANT. 371 COMPARISON OF RAINFALL AND HUMIDITY. 1889. 1890. 1891. 1892. April. Clear and dry; one- half inch rain in third week only. *Humidity decreas- ing from first of month. April. Average amount of rain, about i l / 2 in. per week, except third week clear and dry. Humidity de- creased. April. Average amount rain, but nearly all fell in two middle weeks. Humidity high. April. . Very wet, especi- ally in first and last weeks, 3 in. first week and 2 in. fourth week. Hu- midity high. May. No rain in the first three weeks, but in fourth week the largest rain in any one week of this record. May. Average amount rain. The greatest fall, 1.6 in., during Second week. Hu- midity high first week and decreased to low last week. May. Very dry, less than i in. rain during the month. Low humidity in second week, but about average in other weeks. Ma^ Very wet, over i in. rain every week, with 2 and 3 in. during last two weeks. Very high humidity second and third weeks. June. Very wet except last week. No rain. High humidity sec- ond week and about average the rest of the month. June. No rain first and fourth weeks, but considerable in the second and third weeks. Very low humidity in first week, about aver- age the remainder of the month. June. Rather small a- mount of rain, about 2 in. quite evenly distributed through the month. Humi- dity high first week, low fourth, and average second and third weeks. June. Very little rain first and second weeks, but a great deal in third, and average amount in last. Humidity high first week, av- erage through the rest of the month. July. No rain first week, but 2 and 3 in. in second and fourth weeks. Humidity about average for some years, though not high. July. No rain in first and third weeks, 2 in. second, i in. fourth week. Rather un- der the average hu- midity, but quite uniform through the whole month. July. Almost no rain, ex- cept i in. during fourth week. Hu- midity low in second week, but high in fourth week. July. i% in- rain in first week, and i in. in third week, but dry in second and fourth weeks. Hu- midity average in first and fourth weeks, high in sec- ond and low in third. August. Only Yz in. rain during the month, in second week Average humidity through the whole month. August. About. 2 in. rain, mostly in second week of month. Hu- midity rather low, except the last week. August. About 2 in. rain in second and third weeks. Humidity low in first week and high in third week, with average during second and fourth weeks. August. Two in. rain first week, Yt in. second week, and none in last two weeks. Hu- midity above aver- age in first and fourth weeks. September. One-half in. rain first and fourth weeks. Second and third weeks dry. Humidity above av- erage, especially in fourth week. September. Nearly Y* in. rain in each, first, sec- ond, and fourth weeks, but none in third. Humidity about average for September. September. Less than ^ in. rain during the whole month. Hu- midity very low. Septemher. Less than i in. rain during first and second weeks, and none in third and fourth weeks. Humidity high in second and average the rest of the month. *Humidity is the per cent of moisture in the air when rain equals 100 per cent. 372 BULLETIN NO. 31. together with the chemical composition of this dry matter. This shows the amount of ash, protein, fiber, nitrogen-free extract, and ether extract in 100 Ibs. of dry matter of the plant each week of its growth. The tables also show the inches of rainfall, with the extremes and mean tem- perature observed every week, and some field notes made of stage of growth of the plant at various times in the season. These field notes were made by a different person each year, which fact accounts for the lack of uniformity in the number and wording of these observa- tions. A short summary of the weather in each of the six months of the four seasons isgiven on pp. 370-1. This affords an opportunity of com- paring the temperature and rainfall of the same month in different years and of the different months of each year, and shows when sudden changes of temperature or rainfall occurred, the weather at the corre- sponding time in other years, and what influence it seemed to have on the corn plant, thus supplying evidence for judging the effect on corn growth of similar meteorological conditions in the future. A summary of both weather and corn growth observations is given on page below. Also the temperature and rainfall for April as well as the corn growing months, the per cent of the total growth in height made each week, and the percentage of increase of dry matter gained by the plant every week. SUMMARY OF WEATHER AND CORN GROWTH. 1889. The month of April was cool and dry; only about one-half an inch of rain fell. The corn was planted the first week in May. There was no rain, and about average temperature in May, until the last week, when it was unusually cool and 5 in. of rain fell. This was the largest rain- fall in any one week of this four years' record. It so checked the corn growth that although seed had been planted four weeks the plants were only about 7 inches high on June loth. The whole month of June was rather cool and very wet, except the last week. During June the plants reached a height of 41 in., which was about 37 per cent of their total height. At this time they contained but about 3 per cent of their total growth in dry matter. No extremes of temperature occurred in July, but nearly 6 in. of rain fell. The plants grew about 56 per cent of their total height and gained 32 per cent of their total dry weight. The weather in August was rather cool and dry, with only one-half an inch of rain. The corn reached its total growth in height the first week in August, when it grew 7 per cent of its total height. The increase in weight of dry matter amounted to 46 per cent of its total dry weight. September had about the average temperature and rainfall for that month. The corn plant reached its greatest weight of dry matter in the third week of September, the increase being during the month 19 per cent of its total weight of dry matter. 1894-] GROWTH AND COMPOSITION OF THE CORN PLANT. 373 Briefly stated, the season of 1889 was cool and dry before planting, cold and wet just after planting, with nearly average meteorological conditions the remainder of the season. The corn plant reached its greatest height the first week in August, making about one-third this growth in June and two-thirds in July. It continued to increase in weight of dry matter until the last week in September, gaining about 3 per cent of it in June, 32 per cent in July, 46 per cent in August, and 10 per cent the first week in September. 1890. The rain in April and May was quite evenly distributed through the months. The temperature was warmer than in 1889. Corn was planted the first week in May, as in 1889, but it had reached a height of 23 in. June loth, while in 1889 it was only 7 in. tall at this date. The \veather in June, 1890, was hot and the rainfall nearly 4 in. Corn grew 6 1 per cent of its total height and gained nearly 14 per cent of its dry weight, as compared with 37 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively, in 1 889, although the seed had been in the ground the same number of days each of the two years. In July there was some very hot weather and about 3 in. of rain. The corn plant reached its maximum height the third week in July and grew about 27 per cent of its total height during the first three weeks of this month. It increased each week in dry weight 10 to 18 per cent, making a growth of about 55 per cent of its total weight of dry matter in July. August and September were hot and dry. There was a gain of about 17 per cent of dry matter in the corn plant in August and 15 per cent in September. The maximum weight of dry matter was reached the second week in September. 1891. In rainfall and temperature during the corn growing season, 1891 resembled 1890. Corn was planted May 9th. The temperature was about the average for May, but less than i in. rain fell during the month. Through June, July, and August rain was quite evenly dis- tributed, amounting to 2 in. each in June and July, and 3 in. in August. No extremes in temperature were observed until the second and third weeks of August when 99 F. was recorded. A much greater number of corn plants was measured each week in this season than any other. The plants were 16 in. tall June loth. They got 56 per cent of their total growth in height in June, 32 per cent in July, and reached their maximum height August ist. They continued to grow in weight of dry matter until the second week of September. When the corn plant had reached its maximum growth in height, it had attained only 46 per cent of its total growth in dry matter. During the excessively hot August, with about 3 in. rain, the plants gained 38.5 per cent of their total growth in dry weight. 374 BULLETIN NO. 31. 1892. The months of April and May were excessively wet. Nearly three- eighths the annual rainfall, 141^ in., came in these two months. June was also very wet; 5^ in. rain fell. This caused a very late planting of corn, so that June loth plants were only 2 in. tall, while in 1890 they were 23 in. high on this date. In June, 1892, the plants grew 24 per cent of their total height, while in June, 1890, plants of the same vari- ety of corn made a growth of 61 per cent of their total height. The temperature and rainfall were very favorable for corn growth in July r 1892, and the plants gained 63 per cent of their total growth in height, reaching their maximum height the second week in August, which was only one week later than former years, although there was a difference of four weeks in the date of planting seed. The plants also reached their maximum growth in dry weight the third week in September,, which was no later than in 1889, and only one week later than in 1890; but the greater part of this growth was made in August and September, while in former years a much larger proportion of the growth in dry weight was made in July. GROWTH AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT. The tables give data by which the growth of corn and the weather conditions for any week in the season can be compared with those of the corresponding week of the other three years. The plants were at such different stages of development, especially in the early months of the seasons, that in the discussion of the relation between weather and rate of growth of the corn plant, each year may be divided into two parts: First, before, and second, after, corn is one foot high. Climate and soil conditions have a great influence in accelerating or retarding the sprout- ing and start of corn. Assuming that the plants are on an equal footing when they have reached a certain height, we can trace from this second point the influence of meteorological conditions. The corn was planted the first week in May in 1889, 1890, 189 i r but not until June 3, in 1892, because of the great amount of rain in both April and May of that year. Between the date of planting and the time when the corn was one foot high there elapsed in 1 889, 6 weeks ; in 1890, 4 weeks; in 1891, 31^ weeks; and in 1892, two weeks. This shows that corn may reach one foot in height from 2 to 6 weeks after planting. The slow growth for six weeks in 1889 was evidently caused by the extreme dryness in April and three weeks in May, with a change to the greatest rainfall and lowest mean temperature recorded during the four years in the last week of May and three weeks in June. Both extreme drought and rain retarded the starting of the corn this year. In 1890 and 1891 corn made almost exactly the same start each year. About the average amount of rain fell in April of each year and in May of 1890, but May, 1891, was rather dry, though apparently not dry enough to affect the corn that month. About the average mean iS 94 .] GROWTH AND COMPOSITION OF THE CORN PLANT. 375 temperature was also observed in April and May of these two years. Corn reached one foot in height two weeks after planting in 1892. The soil had been previously soaked with rain, but the seed and young plant had a much higher temperature in which to grow than had been the case in any other year, and there was very little rain for two weeks after planting. These seemed to be ideal conditions for the sprouting and early growth of this plant. The table shows, however, that when the corn was one foot high it contained less than 0.5 per cent of its total growth in dry matter, although it had attained 10 to 12 per cent of its total height. Beginning when the plants were about one foot high, regardless of the date, and tracing their growth in both height and weight, each week of the seasons gives the following figures: PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL GROWTH IN HEIGHT AND IN DRY MATTER IN THE CORN PLANT MADE EACH WEEK AFTER THE PLANT WAS 12 INCHES HIGH.. RAIN- FALL AND MEAN DAILY TEMPERATURE FOR SAME PERIODS. Week. i 2 I 3 | 4 | 5 6 7 8 9 10 ii 12 13 14 15 Percentage of growth in height. 1889 T? 6 ii .7 T? 6 10.8 22 . 5 T? 6 IO 7 2 1800 12 7 5 12 6 IQ 3 21 8 92 IO Q 6 7 1891 12 7 13 17 IQ 9 IO II 2 1802 IO 7 7 q 18 17 IQ 8 \ Average. . . ii. 6 8-3 ii. 3 14 20.3 12 12.7 8.2 Percentage of increase in dry matter. 1889 1890 .2 :3 2 i -7 3-5 C 2 10.4 6. i 10.5 T 8 5 7-5 IO 2 15.3 12 8 14 . 5 3-5 2 19 o IO.9 7.2 3 8 12.2 O 14.5 1801 T T 4 6 2 8 57 18 3 I a c o 1C C o 12 1 1 IS S o 1802 3 i 4 2 8 6 6 IO ii 8 ii 8 12 5 6 i 7 22 3 1 Average. . . .... .6 2.1 3 2 6.2 13-5 10.3 10 II. 2 4-3 II 7 8. 4 8.6 Rainfall, inches. 1889 2.4 2.7 .06 2-3 .8 2.7 .6 1-3 i.4 1890 I.I .05 2.4 1.3 .... 2.04 .8 .07 i. 08 4 4 .3 1891 .... -5 23 I .02 33 .07 4 13 .8 .01 1.35 1.28 .22 35 1892 2 4 . 02 .86 1-32 .09 .8 3 1-9 4 .... .08 , 2 74 . . . . Mean daily temperature, F. 1889 6? 71 67 73 75 7? 7T 68 69 67 71 67 70 53 5 i8qo 68 72 68 74 81 72 74 72 76 68 68 63 72 SO 1801 . 66 71 74 75 6q 71 71 6q 72 74 75 63 63 65 76 1892 73 75 68 67 77 78 77 62 74 71 69 72 6? 74 66 This shows that there was quite a uniformity in the proportional part of the total height attained each week during the years 1889, 1890,. 376 BULLETIN NO. 31. 1891. In 1892 a greater percentage of the growth was made later in the season than in the other years. Comparing the growth in- height in three years, 1889, 1890, and 1891, with the rainfall during the same time shows that in the second week of 1889 corn grew 4 per cent more in height than in 1890 and 1891 and that there was 2 in. more rain. No rain fell in the fourth week of 1889 and the plants were 6 and 8 per cent behind those of 1890 and 1891, which had over one inch rain that week. The record of the eighth week shows that the corn of 1891 made greater growth, but did not have much more rain than in the other two years. The table also shows that the third week after the plants were one foot high in both 1889 and 1891 there was about the same growth in height and amotmt of rainfall, but the mean temperature for this week was 7 degrees higher, and there was double the increase of dry matter in the plants in 1891 as compared with 1889. In the fourth week the plants grew 10 in. more in height in 1890 than in 1892- There was about the same rainfall, but the mean temperature was 7 degrees higher in 1890 than in 1892. Other comparisons also show that the higher the temperature the better the corn growth, and that according to the observations made heat seemed to be more beneficial than rain. The most rapid growth in height was made when the corn was between 3 and 6 ft. tall. It grew 2 ft. per week for two weeks in succession the last of June, 1890. The excessive rain of April, May, and June, 1892, prevented the same growth of corn as in the previous years during these months, but about 3 in. in height per day was made in the last week in July, 1892. The table shows that in the first three years the corn reached its maximum height eight weeks after it was one foot high, but in 1892 it kept on increasing in height for ten weeks from this time. No uniform relation between growth of plant and meteorological conditions can be exactly traced from these figures, which cover a period of four years of observations. One important reason for this is the fact already mentioned, that, unlike animals, plants cannot be weighed each week and then allowed to grow again. All these weights were necessarily made of different plants. The average figures show the general rate of growth in height and weight, and uniformly indicate that when a corn plant has reached its total growth in height it has attained only about one-half the weight of dry substance it will gain if left to grow to maturity. COMPOSITION OF GREEN CORN PLANT. The per cent of water and the composition of the fresh samples of corn cut weekly were determined only one year, but analyses were made of three samples taken weekly and the results doubtless represent the average composition of plants which are of the heights given, although they may attain these heights at different times in the different years. i8 94 .] GROWTH AND COMPOSITION OF THE CORN PLANT. 377 This table is given especially to show the per cent of water in the plant from week to week. This changes from 90 to 55 from begin- ning to the end of the season, but, as before stated, it represents the general composition of corn plants of these heights rather than at the dates mentioned, because this particular season was about one month later in the spring. ANALYSES OF GREEN CORN PLANTS. Average. Chemical composition percentages. Date when cut. Height, Wei h '. Water. Ash. Protein. Fiber Starch, Ether n. oz. etc. extract. June 10 2 81.6 " T 7 12 85 " 24 23 7 89.95 .84 2.78 i-93 3-73 -54 July i 28 i.i 88.86 .48 2 .69 2.37 3-9 .69 8 35 3-2 89.94 44 2.3 2-55 3-39 37 " 15 48 8.2 91.64 94 .68 2.2 3.24 29 " 22 67 12. I 86.82 . 12 .29 3-76 5-55 4.6 " 2 9 95 24.7 87.31 93 54 3-66 6.09 46 Aug. 5 IOO 29.4 82.76 .13 85 5-14 8.55 56 12 103 35-3 82.72 .04 .64 5 9.15 43 11 19 in 41 80.78 13 .73 5-34 10.54 .46 " 26 1 08 44 78.41 41 2.04 5-78 11.87 47 Sept. 2 in 39-3 73-32 52 2.12 6.38 15.92 73 " 9 107 4i 71.65 .63 2. 4 8 6-49 17.01 73 " 16 108 47 57-68 .68 2.6 4 6-73 20.32 93 " 23 105 4i 63.72 77 2.8l 7 23-57 i. n ' 30 no 37 59.96 .88 2.7 8.37 25-93 ?*$ Oct. 7 107 33 56.02 .85 3-51 9.i 28.17 i-34 This table shows that the plants reached their total growth in height August i9th. There was an increase in the weight of water in the plant every week up to August 26th, when it reached its maximum, and then gradually decreased as the plant dried. The growth of the plant did not cease, however, at the time it stopped growing in height, or when it had accumulated the greatest weight of water. The gain of dry matter continued every week up to September i6th, four weeks after reaching its greatest height. The weight of dry matter in the plant after September i6th remained about the same up to October yth. The slight difference is probably caused by loss of dried portions of the plant which may have been blown away by the wind. The increase in weight of the ash, protein, etc., of the plant all fol- lowed the same course of the dry matter. They increased in amount up to the last of September. When the plant had reached its greatest height, 9 ft. 3 in., it contained 33 oz. water and 7.8 oz. dry matter. This dry matter contained about ^ oz. ash, y oz. protein, 2^ bz. fiber, 41^ oz. nitrogen-free extract, and 1-5 oz. ether extract. After this time the plant continued to grow in weight until its maximum weight of dry matter was 15 oz., containing ash, i oz.; protein, 1 1^ oz.; fiber, 3 oz.; nitrogen-free extract, 9*^ oz.; and ether extract, y oz. 378 BULLETIN NO. 31. [March, The analysis of the fresh samples shows that a given quantity ( 100 Ib.) of young corn plants 2 ft. high contained as much protein and ash as the same quantity of fully mature corn, although the young corn plant has 90 and the ripe plant only 60 per cent of water. This does not hold true of the other constituents, however. The fiber, starch, etc., in 100 Ib. of the ripe plant is nearly 10 times that in the young corn. The re- lation between the nitrogenous (protein) and carbonaceous (fiber, starch, etc.) constituents is as i to 3 in the young plant and as i to 13 in the ripe corn plant in September and October. 100 Ib. corn 2 ft. high contained i.Slb. ash, 2.8 Ib. nitrogenous mat- ter, 6.2 Ib. carbonaceous, and 89.2 Ib. water. 100 Ib. ripe corn 9 ft. high contained 1.8 Ib. ash, 2.8 Ib. nitrogenous matter, 35.4 Ib. carbonaceous, and 60 Ib. water. LENGTH OF THE GROWING SEASON. The five months from May to September, inclusive, comprise the corn growing season. Some changes probably occur in the plant after September in certain seasons, but as a rule, corn gets its growth by the first of October. The temperature and rainfall in April have consider- able influence on the time of planting corn in the spring, hence the con- sideration of the April weather is important when comparisons are made of the corn growth in different years. In 1889, 1890, and 1891 it was four and one-half months from the time the corn was planted until the plant had reached its maximum weight of dry substance. The heavy rains in April and May of 1892 made the corn growing season of that year one month shorter than in the three previous years. The plants attained their weight of dry mat- ter by the middle of September, as in the previous years. A compari- son of the different years shows that corn was planted, reached its max- imum height and gross weight of dry substance per plant at the fol- lowing dates: 1889. 1890. 1891. 1892. Planted. . . May 4. May 5. May 9. June 3. Tallest Aug. 5-111 in July 22-119 in July 28-98 in. Aug. 19-100 in. Heaviest.. Sept. 16-13.8 oz. Sept. 9-14.8 oz. Sept. 2-12.3 oz. Sept. 16-14.8 oz. Analyses of the corn plants were made up to the first week in October, but, from loss of leaves which dried and broke off, there was not so much dry matter in the plants as was found about the middle of September. There may be changes going on in the plant after this date, but during these four years no further increase in weight was observed. COMPOSITION OF THE DRY MATTER OF THE CORN PLANT. The average maximum weight of dry matter per corn plant and dates when this was reached each year were as follows, 1889, 14 oz., i8 94 .] GROWTH AND COMPOSITION OF THE CORN PLANT. 379 third week in September; 1890, 15 oz., second week in September; 1891, 12.5 oz., first week in September; 1892, 15 oz., third week in September; average 14 oz. The composition of this dry matter as found by analyses made in the three years 1890, 1891, and 1892 was as follows: COMPOSITION OF MAXIMUM WEIGHT OF DRY MATTER, PERCENTAGES. Ash. Protein. Fiber. Nitrogen- free extract. Ether extract. 1800 C 7 7 3 IQ q 64 Q 1801 S I 8.5 21 7 6l 7 2 Q 1802 . 5 .2 8.2 20. 8 62 8 2 Q Average 5-2 8 20.8 63.2 2.8 Assuming that there are 10,000 plants per acre, these analyses show that an acre of such corn, grown to maturity would contain about 8,750 Ib. dry substance, composed of 455 Ib. ash, 700 Ib. protein and 7,595 Ib. carbohydrates, including fiber, starch, sugar, etc. When the plants were about 18 in. high, their water free substance contained about 17 percent mineral matter, 27 per cent protein, 35 per cent nitrogen-free extract, and 20 per cent fiber. As the plant matured the percentages of ash and protein decreased, and the fiber, starch, sugar, gums, etc., increased. This change was most marked from the time when plants were a foot high until they reached the roasting ear stage, when the water free substance of the plant contained about 6 per cent mineral matter, 9 per cent protein, 58 per cent nitrogen-free extract, and 25 per cent fiber. After this time there was not so great a change in the proportion of these constituents. The analyses of the corn plants through the three years show the same kind of a change each year in the composition of the dry matter of the plant at the same stage of its growth. All the analyses were made of the whole corn plant. No attempt was made to separate the ear, stalk and leaves, but the whole plant was chopped fine and the mixture analyzed. COMPOSITION OF DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CORN PLANT PERCENTAGES. Water. Ash. Protein. Fiber. Nitrog'n free extract. Ether extract. Ears fresh 42 8l QQ 3 Cl C 1C 45 I 2 44 Water-free . . I 74 6.13 9.01 78 86 4 26 Stalks fresh 74-4S .84 .62 8.84 14 82 42 Water-free a 27 2 41 34 62 eg 03 I 67 Leaves and husks fresh .... Water-free ... 57-89 4-4 10.45 1-93 4 5Q 12.47 2Q 62 22.24 52 8 1.07 2 54 3 8o BULLETIN NO. 31, [March* The composition of the different parts of the plant, when the husks were dry and the kernels could be indented by the thumb nail with dif- ficulty, is shown by the foregoing figures taken from Bulletin No. 4, p. 91 of this Station variety, Burr's white. Loss OF DRY MATTER BY SPROUTING OF CORN SEEDS. When seeds sprout, a certain amount of their own substance is necessarily used to sustain the developing life until the plant can assimi- late from other sources the necessary material for growth. The following experiment was made to trace the gain and loss of material that occurred in the first stages of development of the corn plant. April, 1892, the amount of water and dry matter was determined in a sample of seed corn. These results were used for estimating the weight of water and dry matter in the kernels which were taken from the same sample and sprouted. The first trial was made by placing six kernels in damp cotton where they were left to sprout in the dark for nine days. Four of these kernels partly sprouted, then moulded, failing to develop further. An analysis showed that they lost in this partial sprouting process 9 to 18 per cent of the dry matter in the original seed. Each one of the four was analyzed separately, and the adhering shell of the kernel was included in the estimated dry matter. Two of the six kernels sprouted and developed a corn plant. The root and stem of these plants each measured two to three inches, and their weight was from three to three and one-half times that of the original kernel. It was found, however, that when the water was dried out of these young plants the dry matter in them was 20 to 31 per cent less than the seed contained. DETAILS OF WEIGHTS IN GRAMS. Weight of seed before sprouting Dry matter. Water. Total. o 271 187 o o 042 747 0.313 0.934 Plant with seed attached after 9 days sprout- ing in damp cotton Gain or loss of plant over seed o 3i 19 084 80 +o 705 +0.621 + 198 4- 2 39 Per cent gain and loss was of weight in seed Duplicate Irial gave This shows that in sprouting the white plant had taken up a large amount of water but lost about one-fourth of the dry matter in the seed. This experiment was repeated June 3, 1892, by sprouting the seed in the soil of a corn field instead of in cotton. Each kernel planted was weighed and the young plants dug up, weighed, and measured. The details of these weights are given in the table. 1894-] GROWTH AND COMPOSITION OF THE CORN PLANT. 381 COMPARISON OF DRY MATTER IN SEED AND IN YOUNG PLANT. - 1 z p Weight in grams. Measurement of plant, in. Dry matter. Seed. Green Plant. - H tn o 1 II 1 In plant, grams. Per cent of that in seed. Dry matter. Total. Plant and root, one week from planting. I I .416 479 1.64 4 2 5 331 79 2 i -357 .412 1.45 4X2 2 5 .210 59 3 -347 450 i-55 & 2 4 273 78 4 -393 457 i-45 & 3K 4 .310 78 Plant above ground, two weeks from planting. s .378 437 3.23 14 493 130.4 6 .346 . ^ 1 .79 gy 2 .3 86.7 * JT" 7-3QC 4S6 2 47 n'A 43C IIO I 8 404 466 2 6l ii 348 86.1 9 -424 49 3-54 12 437 103 Plant above ground, three weeks from planting. IO ^48 402 16 6 2I> 1.82 ^24.6 II 4'3 477 18.6 i 20^ 2.04 45'4 One week after planting the plants were dug up. They were from one to four inches above ground and each had two green leaves. The shell of the kernel still clung to the plant. The root was about 5 in. long, making a total length of about 10 in. from tip of leaf to end of root. The weight of these green plants (leaf and root) was about four times that of the seed planted, but when the water was dried out they contained less dry matter than the seed, from 58 to 79 per cent only of that in the original seed. Two weeks after the seed was planted, five plants were cut at the surface of the soil and the weights and measurements of each plant above ground were compared with the weight of its seed. The table shows that these corn plants, having a height of 10 to 14 in. above ground, weighed when fresh 4 to 8 times as much as their seed, but that this increase of weight came almost entirely from the water absorbed. The dry matter in some of these plants was less than that in the kernels planted. The table also shows that a plant 20 inches high weighed over forty times as much as the seed but contained only about five times as much dry matter. E. H. FARRINGTON, M. S., Chemist. BULLETIN NO. 31 EXPERIMENTS WITH OATS, 1893. This article reports results of the following experiments with oats conducted in 1893: No. 12. Oats, quantity of seed per acre. No. 14. Oats, time of sowing. No. 15. Oats, depth of sowing. No. 128. Oats, effect of time and manner of harvesting upon yield and chemical composition. SUMMARY. The trials were all made on the fertile, dark colored prairie soil of the Station grounds. The rainfall during April and May was large; in June, unusually small. For July the rainfall was .59 inches and the average temperature 74 .6 Q F. RAINFALL AND TEMPERATURE. 18 89. 18 ?o. i8( ?i- i8< ?2- 18 33- B M 5" 5' Temper- ature. g F 5* 1$ c 3 n >T3 CD o> n D 5' tf c 3 (3 1? i X) OB B" 3* it'S c 3 3 1 H g 5" a i-j P a c 3 ?| April o 61 52 4. II 52 3 3 54 52 8 6 45 48 6 7 68 49 3 May c . c;2 SQ 2 3 56 58.3 o.8q 58 4 7.86 S7 Q 4 8^ C7 4 Tune 6.81 6<5 5 3 8 74 6 2.08 72 5.36 7O 6 I SS 70 s 12.94 11.47 6.51 19.67 14.06 Unforeseen circumstances affected the tests made with a large num- ber of varieties to such an extent that it was thought that the results might be misleading rather than helpful, and they are not reported. In no other case did the experiments in the year 1893 materially modify the results obtained in former years, and the general suggested conclu- sions concerning oat culture may be restated in the following extract from bulletin No. 23, the only change being in the number of years the experiments have continued: " The results of all the experiments with oats tried at this Station for the last six years suggest that on the fertile soil of central eastern Illinois, with simple methods, we may expect in a series of years an average yield an acre of a little over 50 bushels of grain and about one and one-half tons of straw, the oats weighing rather less than more than the standard weight of 32 Ib. a bushel; that it is not advisable to plow the land in the spring if the crop follows corn, the use of the disk har 1894-] FIELD EXPERIMENTS WITH OATS, 1893. 383 row giving better results; that the seed should be sown near the last of March or first of April; that if sown broadcast it is better to sow from two and one-half to three and one-half bushels per acre, covering the seed not more than 'one or two inches deep; that there is no one variety greatly superior to all others, so that it is not wise to put full credence in the claims often made for new varieties; that some varieties are, how- ever, distinctly better than some others; that neither color nor plump- ness of kernels, weight per bushel, nor the form of the head certainly determines value; but that, generally, varieties with long, slender, com- paratively light kernels have the smallest percentage of husk and, prob- ably, the greatest feeding value; that early maturing varieties are to be preferred to those ripening later; that it is desirable to harvest the crop before it has fully ripened ; and that binding and shocking the sheaves at once is an advantage rather than a disadvantage, if the grain is in fit condition for cutting." Experiment No. 12. Oats, Quantity of Seed per Acre. The land used for this experiment was in corn in 1892, and the stalks had been removed. April 3, 1893, a series of seven plats, each one-fortieth of an acre, was sown broadcast with Pringle's progress oats, at the varying rates of i, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, and 4 bu. (32 Ib. ) per acre. The plats were disked twice with a light two-horse disk before sowing, and twice after, then harrowed once lightly, seeded with clover and timothy and again harrowed. Slightly the largest yield of grain was from sowing 2^ bu. Con- trary to the usual results, the yield from sowing one bu. was nearly as large. The largest yield of straw was from sowing 3 bu., but with lit- tle variation from sowing 2^, 3, or 31^ bu. The yield of straw was the largest from sowing 2^ bu. The average of the results from six years' trials show largest yield from sowing 2^ bu., with nearly as large from sowing 3 bu., and no important difference in yield whether 2^, 3, 3}^ or 4 bu. were sown. The average yield of straw was slightly largest from sowing 3 bu. per acre. The yields of both grain and straw varied greatly in the different years, but the average is satisfactory over 50 bushels of grain and not far from 3,000 Ib. straw per acre. Experiment No. 14. Oats, Time of Sowing. The land used for this experiment was in corn in 1892, and the stalks were removed. March 3ist, the land was disked and staked out in 12 plats, each one-twentieth of an acre in area. Plats i to 6, inclusive, were sown each with four pounds, and the remaining six each with five pounds of oats. The oats, Pringle's progress, were sown broadcast by hand and covered by disking. The plats were then harrowed, sown with timothy 384 BULLETIN xo. 31. \^March, YIELD OF OATS FROM DIFFERENT RATES OF SEEDING, 1893. Yield p sr acre. Seed Stubs Wt 100 Per cent Plat No. per acre, bu. per sq. ft. berries, grams. kernel in berries. Pounds per bu. Straw, Grain, Ib. bu. i i 19 2.17 73 2 36.5 2330 62.2 2 i-5 21 1.79 76 38 2190 52.8 3 2 41 2.25 70.4 38.25 2110 54-1 4 2-5 33 2.10 74-3 34 2630 62.8 5 3 40 2.O7 77 36 2580 55-6 6 3.5 47 2.13 67 37 2080 50 7 4 47 2 72.2 33-75 2395 55-8 YIELD OF OATS FROM DIFFERENT RATES OF SEEDING, 1888 to 1893. * Seed per acre, bu. 1888. 1889. 1890. 1891. 1892. 1893. Average. Straw per acre, pounds. i i-5 2 2-5 3 3-5 4 3820 4400 4540 4860 5220 4400 4260 4600 3800 4000 3000 4400 4100 3200 2820 1740 1800 2460 1960 2OOO 2O2O 1275 1970 2748 2638 2790 3060 3110 1742 1980 1832 1935 2IOO 1952 2377 2330 2190 2110 2630 2 5 80 2080 2395 2764 2680 2838 2920 3192 2932 2894 Grain per acre, bushels. i 'i-5 2 2-5 3 3-5 4 52.5 59-4 61.4 63.8 61 .9 62.5 60.6 36.3 33-1 42-5 43-8 47.2 52-1 50.6 25.3 21.6 J 7-5 29.1 27-5 24.7 21.9 36.7 56.9 74.8 72.6 76.6 79-7 76.3 4.5 43-5 43-3 44-5 44-3 42.4 43-2 62.2 52.8 54- 1 62.8 55-6 50 55-8 42.2 44-5 48.9 52.8- 52.2- 51.9 51-4 Pounds per bushel. i i-5 2 2-5 3 3-5 4 25-5 25 28 28 29 29-5 29-5 26 26.5 24 29 29 28 29 28.5 3i 31-5 32 32.5 32 32 25.5 27-5 28 28 28 28.7 29.2 36.5 38 38.25 34 36 37 33-75 ; 28.4 29.6 30 30.2 30.9 3i 30.7 lS 94-] FIELD EXPERIMENTS WITH OATS, 1893. 385 and clover, and again harrowed. The following table gives the dates of sowing and ripening, yield of both straw and grain, pounds per bushel, and per cent of kernel in berries for each plat, also the average for each sown at the same dater A mistake made in harvesting prevents giving the separate yields of plats 2 and 3. In general, the yield of both straw and grain, pounds per bushel and per cent of kernel decrease with the lateness of sowing. The second table, giving the average for five years, shows the largest yields to be from the earlier sowings, with quite a uniform de- crease in yield as the season advances. YIELD OF OATS FROM SOWING AT DIFFERENT TIMES, 1893. Yield Yield Average. s per acre. CD" per acre. c? Yield CD o gfl V p* B S? cr per acre. r B-? 5' X 0) 3 O 5' cr c P'l p CO 3 a' 1 cr c R f o 0) P O 3. cr T cr II cr P SL D* cr e CD cr cr c '1 Mar. 31 18 I 2040 51-3 35 73 7 2235 58.9 34 75 21.37 55-i|34-5 74 Apr. 8 " 17 19 20 3! 1930 49-7 34 72 8 9 2225 1680 56.7 38.8 35 33 73 66 2077 1805 53-2 44.2 34-5 33-5 7 2 -5 69 May 3 26 4 2155 46.4 28.5 70 10 1490 27.2 30 72 1822 36.829.3 71 3 26 5 1555 27.7 30 69 ii 1410 24.7 30 64 1482 26.2 30 66.5 " 10 28 6 1280 15 27 66 12 1355 15-2 27 57 1317 i5-i 27 6!. 5 YIELD OF OATS FROM SOWING AT DIFFERENT TIMES, 1888 1893. I CD O ? ^ 5' 3TQ 1888 1889 1890 1892 1893 Average. Yield per acre. r P* * n D* d Yield per acre. f i cr Yield per acre. a "- cr a Yield per acre. r 1 cr 1 cr a Yield per acre. r p- 'O CD >-t U" c Yi per; C/3 | cr sld icre. i o g. a cr c 03 P ^ & O 2. 3' o* a C/) 5 cr O 3 _5' cr c 03 I i? O t P _5' cr c W >-t P jS? o* O P 5' cr c O) S o^ O V a' "r Mar. 14 " 22 Mar. 28-31 Apr. 4-8 Apr. 11-17 Apr. 18-21 Apr. 25-28 May 3-4 May 10 28.5 28 28.5 26.5 25 22 21 3600 4600 5200 4000 4000 4100 3700 48.1 41-5 4i 3 36.3 33-1 25 9-4 31-8 3i 27 27-3 26.8 26.8 3MO 3390 2890 3020 2740 2540 44.1 45-i 36.5 30 28.1 19-6 299 30.5 28.8 28 24.7 20.9 24.2 3870 3124 3H3 3057 3303 3186 1489 42.8 46.8 47 42.3 35 9 30.2 27-7 28 27-5 26.5 ~5 15 19 1767 1520 1442 1332 1482 1325 46 424 47-7 41-7 42.4 23-9 346 34-5 334 2137 2077 1805 55.1 53-^ 44.2 5080 5O20 5040 502O 66.3 56-5 4 8.8 49-4 29.6 27 1652 1317 3i 5 15 i 3 86 BULLETIN NO. 3! [ March^ Experiment No. 75. Oats, Depth of Sowing. April 6, 1893, sixty selected kernels were planted in each of twelve rows 10 ft. long. Rows i and 2 were covered one inch deep, and each succeeding two rows one inch deeper, rows n and 12 being covered six inches deep. There was an extra row on either side. The table gives the number of plants started, number of panicles harvested, weight of grain, and weight of ico kernels for each row. In general there is a decrease from the shallowest to the deepest planting. YIELD OF OATS FROM SOWING AT DIFFERENT DEPTHS, 1893. Depth sow- ing, inches. Row No. No. panicles harvested. Wt. straw, ounces. Wt. grain, ounces. Wt. 100 kernels, grams. i i i?5 13-25 7-75 2.14 i 2 196 15-75 8.5 2.27 2 3 165 13-5 8 2.3 2 4 133 10 5-75 2.28 3 5 no 8.5 4-5 2.17 3 6 133 10.5 5-5 2.32 4 7 142 ii 6 2.25 4 8 154 ii. 5 6 2.07 5 9 9i 9-25 4 2.2 5 10 56 5 2.25 2.04 6 ii 13 75 *5 I .80 6 12 21 1-5 75 \ Uy YIELD OF OATS FROM SOWING AT DIFFERENT DEPTHS, 1888 to 1893. Depth of sowing, inches. 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 Average. * 2 2.o o__ ' s.1 CD J13 5. CD o] to *> ji sr CD o' " a 2. to - -cf r CD 13 ll o^ ' * CD ^ S ?. CD i 2 3 4 5 6 566 495 465 469 481 445 90 80 IOO 95 80 55 407 424 434 439 81 69 76 IOO 362 312 307 269 75 IOO 76 65 65 29 12 205 192 1 88 136 69 IOO 49 55 18 179.5 161 146.5 I7L5 177.5 155-5 IOO 94 85 77 51 63 185.5 149 121. 5 I 4 8 73-5 17 IOO 85 62 74 38 6 318 313 278 281 210 157 90 8 4 73 78 45 3i The foregoing table giving results for each of six years shows the average relative yield to be in favor of covering one inch deep, with a decrease in yield for each succeeding inch, excepting four inches deep. Experiment 128. Oats, Time and Manner of Harvesting. Effect upon J'ield and Chemical Composition. [The first paragraph and table following are from Bulletin No. 23.] "For each of the years 1891 and 1892, trials were made to deter- mine the effect of time and manner of harvesting oats. In the table is given for each year the average results from six plats harvested early, 1894.] FIELD EXPERIMENTS WITH CORN, 1893. 387 six when medium ripe, six when fully ripe, and of six plats which were bound and shocked soon after cutting, six cut and allowed to dry thor- oughly in the swath before being bound, and of six where the heads were cut off, leaving most of the stalk standing. There are no very striking differences shown, except in the case of the plats cut late in 1892. This result was in part due to the fact that some of these plats were not so favorably situated as some of the others in the experiment. In each year the best results were obtained where the sheaves were bound and shocked soon after cutting. The explanation is not readily given, but the facts seem to show that this ordinary practice is a good one. Striking differences in the yield in the two years are shown, and equally striking differences in the weight per bushel. The variety was not the same. In 1891, welcome oats were used; in 1892, Pringle's progress." EFFECT OF TIME AND MANNER OF HARVESTING OATS AT DATES AND UNDER CONDITIONS GIVEN. Date. Stage of Ripeness. Yield per acre. 1? rt ? fa o-?J 3 3 " 8'" ." 5' 2. Straw, Ib. Grain, bu. 1891, July 6. " ii. " 17. Stems green, ^ leaves green, kernels mostly in milk 2887 2619 2179 3180 3i79 1307 64.4 63-9 59-4 63.1 56.5 65.4 34 34-7 34-5 34 34-7 34-5 2.31 2-43 2.46 2.46 2.38 2-39 69.8 71-3 71.2 70.8 71.7 69.8 Kernels mostly in dough, some hard. . Fully ripe Bound and shocked in ordinary man- ner Loose till dry, then bound and shock'd Heads removed 1892. July 16. " 22. 30. Stems green, % leaves green, kernels mostly in dough, some in milk Oats mostly hard, some in dough Fully ripe 1656 1740 1284 1892 1770 1020 45-i 45-9 33 45-5 42.8 35-6 26.25 25.7 25-4 26.5 25-9 25-9 2.31 2.22 2.25 2.27 2.27 2.22 67.58 66.7 66 67.6 66 66.6 Bound and shocked in ordinary man- ner Loose till dry, then bound and shock'd Heads removed EFFECT UPON CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. In addition to the above a chemical analysis was made of the grain of each of the plats for each year, also an analysis of the straw for each for 1892, and an analysis of the stubble from the plats that were headed. Duplicate analyses were made for each plat and the average taken. The tables give the average composition of six plats cut early, six plats cut medium ripe, six plats cut fully ripe, and six plats which were bound and shocked soon after cutting, six cut and allowed to dry in the swath before binding and shocking, and six having the heads 388 BULLETIN NO. 3! i8 94 . removed leaving most of the straw standing; also the average of three plats of stubble. For 1891, there seems to be no difference in compo- sition worthy of mention, due either to time or manner of harvesting. In 1892, the protein and fat are slightly higher for the early curing and for those bound and shocked. As to the straw, it also shows a higher per cent of protein and fat for the earlier cutting than for either the medium or late. As to manner of harvesting, the small quantity of straw from the plats that were headed was slightly better, while the stubble from the same plats was slightly poorer in protein than was the straw from the plats harvested by other methods. There is quite a difference in the composition of the grain for the two years. That for 1891 has considerably the higher per cent of fat and protein, and consequently a higher feeding value. This better compo- sition of the oats of 1891 may be due to the fact that it was the more favorable season for oats, or that thev were of a different variety. It suggests that it might be profitable to study more carefully the compo- sition of different varieties as grown under different conditions. ANALYSES OF GRAIN, STRAW, AND STUBBLE OF OATS HARVESTED AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF RIPENING, 1891-2. Analyses of Grain, i8gi. Ash. Pro- tein. Fiber. Nitro- gen-free extract. Ether, extract. July 6. Stems green, y, leaves green, kernels mostly in milk 3 .40 MQ4 12 . 52 162.05 6 20 July ii. Kernels mostly in dough; some hard July 17 Fully ripe 3-4 1 3 36 15.01 I 5 25 11-95 12 06 63.73 63 4.0 5-90 5Q3 Bound and shocked in ordinary manner. . Loose till dry, then bound and shocked. . Heads removed 3-45 3-35 3-39 15 15.15 15.05 12.54 n-93 12.05 63 63-7 1 63-38 6.03 5-86 6.13 Analyses of Grain, 1892. July 16. Stems green, */ leaves green, ker- nels mostly in dough; some in milk. July 22. Oats mostly hard, some in dough. . July 30 Fully ripe 3-51 3-75 l 81 13.30 13.22 12 56 12.79 12.58 I ^ OQ 65.73 66.37 66 4.66 4.08 454 Bound and shocked in ordinary manner.. Loose till dry, then bound and shocked. . Heads removed. . ... 3-73 3.6 4 3 69 13.24 12. 80 13 O5 12. 6O 13.05 12 8l 66.38 65.86 65 81 4-05 4-65 4 ^8 Analyses of Straw, 1892. July 16. Stems green, % leaves green, ker- nels mostly in dough, some in milk. July 22. Oats mostly hard, some in dough. . . July 30 Fully ripe 8-93 8.66 7 7Q 4-05 3-69 3 CH 42.M 44-75 45 58 4Z.80 40.85 4O QQ 2.07 2.04 I 71 Bound and shocked in ordinary manner. . Loose till dry, then bound and shocked. . Heads removed 8-93 8.27 8 17 3-77 3.66 4 22 44.46 44-31 A? CQ 40.79 41.81 42 O2 2.05 1.94 i 8q Analysis of stubble, i8g2, av. j plats 8-77 3.58 45-64 39.86 2.15 G. E. MORROW, A. M., Agriculturist. F. D. GARDNER B. S., Assistant Agriculturist. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBAN*