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PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
AMERICAN SOCIETY
OF AGRONOMY
VOLUME 2
1910
PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY
191 1
OFFICERS.
1 907- 1 908.
President M. A. Carleton.
First Vice-President C. P. Bull.
Second Vice-President J- F. Duggar.
Secretary • T. Lyttleton Lyon.
Treasurer E. G. Montgomery.
1909.
President G. N. Coffey.
First Vice-President J- F. Duggar.
Second Vice-President J. G. Lipman.
Secretary T. Lyttleton Lyon.
Treasurer E. G. Montgomery.
1910.
President A. M. Ten Eyck.
First Vice-President A. R. Whitson.
Second Vice-President C. A. Zavitz.
Secretary Carleton R. Ball.
Treasurer Louie H. Smith.
1911.
President H. J. Wheeler.
First Vice-President C. A. Zavitz.
Second Vice-President R. W. Thatcher.
Secretary Carleton R. Ball.
Treasurer Lyman Carrier.
Press cf
The New era Printing Company
Lancaster. Pa.
CONTENTS.
g Page.
§ Preface 7
y Mark Alfred Carleton (biographical sketch) 8
^ Thomas Lyttleton Lyon (biographical sketch) II
u
^ Business Section.
' Report of the Secretary 13
Minutes of the Society for 1910 13
Minutes previous to the meeting 13
Minutes of the annual meeting 1 3
First session 13
Second session 14
Third session 15
Business session 15
Minutes subsequent to the meeting 16
]\Iembership of the Society 1 7
Accessions to membership 17
New members of 1908 17
New members of 1909 1 8
New members of 1910 18
New members of 1911, to date 19
Summary of accessions and removals 1 9
List of present members with addresses 19
Committees of the Society for 191 1 23
Executive Committee 23
Committee on Program 23
Committee on Affiliation 23
Committee on Soil Classification and Mapping 23
Committee on Publication 24
Committee on Standardization of Experiments 24
Committee on Terminology 24
Committee on Constitution 24
Report of the Treasurer 24
Certificate of Deposit 25
Auditing Committee's Statement 25
Reports of Committees 26
Reports included elsewhere 26
Committee on Publication 26
Committee on Affiliation 27
History of the Affiliation Movement 27
" A proposed affiliation " ' 28
Resolution and agreement 28
Constitution 29
529149
4 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
Page
Some advantages of affiliation
Recommendations ^,1
Scientific Section.
Ten Eyck, A. M. — The Affiliation of American Agricultural Societies.
(Presidential Address)
Lyon, T. Lyttleton. — A Test of Planting Plats with the Same Ears of
Corn to Secure Greater Uniformity in Yield
Lyon, T. Lyttleton. — ^A Comparison of the Error in Yields of Wheat
from Plats and from Single Rows in Multiple Series ^8
Waldron, L. R. — Analysis of Yield in Cereals
Spragg, Frank A. — Method of Keeping Crop Records at Michigan Station
Ball, Bert. — The Work of the Committee on Seed Improvement of the
Council of North American Grain Exchanges. (By invitation) .... 55
Montgomery, E. G. — Methods for Testing the Seed Value of Light and
Heavy Kernels in Cereals
Piper, ' C. V., and Stevenson, W. H. — Standardization of Field Experi-
mental Methods in Agronomy yo
Johnson, Edw. C. — Methods in Breeding Cereals for Rust Resistance 76
BoLLEY, H. L. — Interpretations of Results noted in Experiments upon
Cereal Cropping Methods after Soil Sterilization 81
Ball, Carleton R. — Technical Terms in Agronomy 86
Harris, Frank S. — Long versus Short Periods of Transpiration in Plants
Used as Indicators of Soil Fertility
Cameron, Frank K. — The Theory of Soil Management 102
Fippin, Elmer O, — Some Causes of Soil Granulation 106
Buckman, H. O. — Moisture and Nitrate Relations in Dry-Land Agri-
culture 121
Briggs, Lyman J., and McLane, J. W. — " Moisture Equivalent " Deter-
minations and their Application 138
Index to Volume i 148
Index to Volume 2 152
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Plates.
Page.
Plate I. Portrait of Mark Alfred Carleton ■ 8
II. Portrait of Thomas Lyttleton Lyon II
III. Fig. I. — Note-taking on Michigan centgener wheats, 1909. Fig.
2. — Obtaining green weights of individual alfalfa plants with
spring dial scale, June, 1909 52
IV. Series of hundredth-acre wheat plats in foreground, and twen-
tieth-acre oat plats in background, 1909
V. Fig. I. — Method of isolating plats of open-fertilized crops to
prevent cross pollination. Fig. 2. — Field of pedigreed cowpeas
No. 60901, crop of 1909
VI. Fig. I. — Centrifugal apparatus for determining the moisture
equivalents of soils. The soil cups are held in the cylinder
mounted on the motor shaft, and the speed of the motor is
shown by the indicator at the side. Fig. 2. — Showing the
interior of the centrifugal head and the square soil cups. One
of the cups is displaced to show the channels in the inner
surface of the cylinder 141
Text Figures.
Fig. I. Specimen page of Michigan number book ^6
2. Specimen page of Michigan number book
3. Specimen page of Michigan oat-breeding register 48
4. Specimen page of Michigan oat-breeding register 49
5. Specimen page of Michigan alfalfa-breeding register 48
6. Specimen page of Michigan alfalfa-breeding register 4.9
7. Specimen page of Michigan alfalfa-breeding register 50
8. Specimen page of Michigan individual alfalfa register 51
9. Specimen page of Michigan individual clover register 51
10. Diagram of yields of wheat variety series, 1910 53
Ti. Curve showing percentage composition of Dunkirk clay subsoil 109
12. Effect of alternate drying and wetting on granulation, in terms
of force necessary for penetration 1 12
13. Effect of repeated freezing on granulation, in terms of penetra-
tion force 114
14. Effect on granulation of adding different percentages of sand •• 115
15. Effect on granulation of adding muck and muck extract 116
16. Effect on granulation of adding solid lime I18
17. Effect on granulation of adding dissolved lime I18
18. Effect on granulation of adding acids ng
5
PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
Page.
19. Moisture and nitrate contents in the first foot of continuously
cropped and range land, Forsythe, Mont 1 27
20. Moisture and nitrate contents in the first foot of cultivated and
uncultivated fallow, Forsythe, Mont I^O
21. Moisture and nitrate contents in the first foot of cultivated fal-
low, cropped, and uncultivated fallow, cropped, Forsythe, Mont, -5
22. Moisture and nitrate contents in the first foot of land cropped to
potatoes and to corn, Forsythe, Mont 1^6
PREFACE.
The American Society of Agronomy was organized on December 31, 1907.
Five scientific meetings have already been held, namely, Chicago, 111., December
31, 1907-January I, 1908; Ithaca, N. Y., July 9-1 1, 1908; Washington, D. C,
November 17-18, 1908; Omaha, Nebr., December 7-8, 1909, and Washington,
D. C, November 14-15, 1910. At the Omaha meeting the printing of the pro-
ceedings was authorized and a Publication Committee appointed.
Volume I of the Proceedings covered the years 1907-1909, inclusive. It con-
tained thirty-nine of the sixty-nine papers presented at the first four meetings,
seventeen having been otherwise published and thirteen withdrawn for vari-
ous reasons.
The present volume covers the year 1910. It includes fifteen of the twenty
papers presented at the Washington meeting and also two papers subsequently
submitted for publication, making a total of seventeen contributions. The
remaining five papers, presented by Messrs. Briggs and Shantz, Carrier,
Harper, Lipman, and Roberts, have been withdrawn, mostly for publication
elsewhere.
A new feature of this volume is the inclusion of portraits and brief bio-
graphical sketches of M. A. Carleton and T. L. Lyon, respectively the first
president and first secretary of this Society. No index was prepared for
volume one. Separate indices for both volumes are included in volume two.
It is hoped that this will result in making volume one more usable.
The minutes and reports in the current volume are presented in full.
Especial attention is called to the list of members with their addresses and to
the report of the committee on affiliation which contains a comprehensive
plan for accomplishing this end.
The need of a suitable medium for the prompt publication of papers relating
to American agronomy is becoming increasingly evident. The time is now
ripe for our Society to consider the founding of a high-class journal which
shall adequately meet this need. As a first step let us all strive to build a
sufficient, supporting constituency by largely increasing our membership.
The labor of editing this volume has devolved almost wholly upon the
Secretary. It is hoped that errors and omissions may be few.
Respectfully submitted for the Committee on Publication,
Carleton R. Ball,
Secretary.
7
MARK ALFRED CARLETON.
President, American Society of Agronomy 1907-1908.
Mark Alfred Carleton was born March 7, 1866, near Jerusalem, in Monroe
County, Ohio, the son of Louis D. Carleton, whose father, Abner G. Carleton,
of English descent, migrated to Ohio from Pennsylvania. His mother, whose
maiden name was Lydia J. Mann, is of Dutch ancestry. There are now a
number of Carleton families in Pennsylvania and in Maryland near Washington
who appear, from certain indications, to be descended from the same ancestors
of a century and a half ago.
In 1876, when he was ten years of age, his family moved to a farm in Cloud
County, Kansas. His early education was obtained in the rural schools of Ohio
and Kansas. In 1884 he entered the sophomore class of the Kansas Agricul-
cultural College at Manhattan, completing his course and also a year of special
work in biology and chemistry, and graduating with the degree of Bachelor of
Science in 1887. He became Professor of Natural History in Garfield Uni-
versity (now Friends University) at Wichita, Kans., during 1890-91. During
1891-92 he taught natural history in Wichita University, and during 1892-93
took a post-graduate course in botany and horticulture at the Kansas Agri-
cultural College, receiving the degree of Master of Science. During 1893
was Assistant Botanist at the Kansas Experiment Station, his time being
devoted chiefly to plant pathology and particularly to the rusts of cereals.
While teaching in Wichita, three years of Latin and one year of Greek were
taken under private teachers.
In March, 1894, Professor Carleton began his service in the United States
Department of Agriculture by appointment as Assistant Pathologist in the
Division of Vegetable Physiology and Pathology, giving special attention to
cereal diseases. During his seven years of service in pathological work he
established the physiological relationships of nearly all the cereal rusts of this
country and demonstrated the distinctness of the different forms of the same
species of these rusts adapted to the same hosts, traced the yearly cycle of the
orange leaf-rust of wheat, and showed that durum wheats, emmers, einkorns,
and some other wheats are more or less resistant to rust.
Since 1901 he has been Cerealist in Charge of Grain Investigations in the
Bureau of Plant Industry. In this position his work has included the intro-
duction of new varieties adapted to this country ; thorough trials at numerous
experiment farms of these varieties and others produced by hybridization and
selection; the breeding of small grains, about one hundred hybrids being now
under experiment; direction of field and chemical experiments to determine the
effect of environment on the composition of cereals ; the direction of investi-
gations in cereal diseases; personal studies of the characteristics of numerous
varieties of wheat, oats and grain millets ; study of practical farm methods
in cultivation, rotations, etc. ; particularly in dry-land districts ; taking part in
grain expositions, farmers' institutes, agricultural congresses, judging exhibits,
etc.
8
PLATE I
Mark Alfred Carleton
President, 1907-1908.
MARK ALFRED CARLETON.
9
Some of the more permanent results of his cereal investigations have been
the introduction of durum wheat into this country where it is now an estab-
lished crop, yielding 60,000,000 bushels of wheat annually; the establishing of
the Swedish Select oat, which now furnishes 40,000,000 bushels of the annual
oat crop ; the direction of investigations establishing the Sixty Day oat, now
the most popular variety as a " general purpose" oat in this country; the intro-
duction of hardier strains of the Turkey or Crimean group of wheats, includ-
ing the Kharkov, which yields now about 10,000,000 bushels of the wheat crop
of this country; the introduction of Black Winter emmer, a very hardy cereal
for stock food; introduction of the cultivation of winter barley into the
Middle Western States, thus permitting a large increase in the acre-yields of
the barley crop ; experiments showing the pronounced effect of the presence
of water in the deterioration of the gluten content of wheat, and the inaugura-
tion and direction of experiments in the Texas Panhandle, which have had
much effect in establishing rational dry farming.
During 1898 and 1899 he was an Agricultural Explorer in eastern Europe
and Siberia, in search of rust-resisting and drought-resisting cereals. In 1900
he was Expert in charge of the grain exhibit of the United States at the
Paris Exposition. In the same year he was reappointed as Agricultural Ex-
plorer for another trip in eastern Europe in search of hardy cereals and to
increase the supply of those originally obtained. In 1904 he was Chairman of
Group VIII of the International Jury at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition,
St. Louis.
On December 29, 1897, he was married to Amanda Ehzabeth Faught, who
was born at Kingman, Kans., in 1874, the daughter of R. D. and Hannah
Faught.
Professor Carleton took an active part in the work preliminary to the organ-
ization of this Society. Probably more to him than to any other one person
belongs the credit of founding it. At the first meeting held in Chicago,
December 31, 1907, to January i, 1908, he was unanimously chosen the first
president of the infant Society. During these formative first years of its
history he had a very large share in determining its growth and development.
The chief publications from the pen of Professor Carleton are listed below.
PUBLICATIONS.
Bulletins of Kansas Experiment Station
Preliminary Report on Rusts of Grain (with Hitchcock). Bui. 38. 1893. —
Rusts of Grains II (with Hitchcock). Bui. 46. 1894.
Puh.ications in the U. S. Department of Agriculture
Division Vegetable Physiology and Pathology: Cereal Rusts in the United
States. A Physiological Investigation. Bui. 16. 1899. — Basis for the Im-
provement of American Wheats. Bui. 24. 1900.— A New Wheat Industry
for the Semiarid West. Cir. 18. 1901.
Division of Botany: Russian Cereals Adapted for Cultivation in the United
States. Bui. 23. 1900.
Bureau of Plant Industry: Macaroni Wheats. Bui. 3. 1901. — Investigations
of Rusts. Bui. 63, 1904.— The Commercial Status of Durum Wheat (with
lO PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
Chamberlain). Bill. 70. 1904. — Ten Years' Experience with the Swedish
Select Oat. Bui. 182. 1910. — Barley Culture in the Northern Great Plains,
Cir. 5. 1908.
Farmers' Bulletins: Emmer : A Grain for the Semiarid Regions. 139. 1901.
— Lessons from the Grain-Rust Epidemic of 1904. 219. 1905.
Yearbook Separates. Improvements in Wheat Culture. 1896 : 489-498. — ■
Successful Wheat-Growing in the Semiarid Districts. 1900: 529-542. — The
Future Wheat Supply of the United States. 1909: 259-272.
Principal Contributions to Journals
Second List of Kansas Parasitic Fungi (with Kellerman). Trans. Kan.
Acad. Sci. X: 88-99, 1886.— Characteristic Sand Hill Flora. Ibid. XII: 32-34,
1889. — Variations in Dominant Species of Plants. Ibid. XIII: 24-28. 1891. —
List of Plants Collected by the Garfield University Expedition of 1889.
Ibid. XIII : 50-57. 1891. — Observations on the Native Plants of Oklahoma
Territory and Adjacent Districts. Contr. Nat. Herb. I, No. 6: 220-232. 1892. —
Notes on the Occurrence and Distribution of Uredineae. Science XXII :
62-63. 1893. Studies in the Biology of the Uredineae I — Notes on Germina-
tion, Bot. Gaz. XVIII: 447-457. 1893. — Millets. Bailey's Cycl. Amer. Agric.
Vol. II, Crops. Pp. 469-474. — Report on Vegetable Food Products, Class 39,
Paris Exposition of 1900, in Rep. Com. -Gen. for U. S. to Paris Exposition,
Vol. V: 314-321. — Culture Methods with Uredineae. Jour. Appl. Micros. &
Lab. Meth. VI, No. i : 2i09-2rn;' 1902.— Development and Proper Status of
Agronomy. Proc. Am. Soc. Agrop^il : ,17-23 (1908-09). 1910. — Limitations in
Field Experiments. Proc.-\S$c.: .Protn. Agr:ic,,Spi. 1909: pp. 55-61. 1910. — The
Future Wheat Supply of the United States. Science XXXII: Pp. 161-171.
1910.
THE UBRARY
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF ItUNOIS
Thomas Lyttleton Lyon
Secretary, 1907-1909.
THOMAS LYTTLETON LYON.
Secretary American Society of Agronomy, 1907-1909.
Thomas Lyttleton Lyon was born in 1869, in Allegheny County, Pennsyl-
vania, in the suburbs of the city of Pittsburg. He was the son of James B.
and Anna M. Lyon, both descended from Scotch ancestors who settled in the
north of Ireland. William Lyon, a great grandfather on the mother's side,
settled in Pennsylvania in 1750, and his cousin, a great grandfather on the
father's side, in 1763. The former was a lieutenant in the French and Indian
war and the latter was a captain in the Revolutionary war.
Professor Lyon prepared for college at the Pittsburg High School and was
graduated from Cornell University in 1891. In that year he became in-
structor in chemistry at the University of Nebraska, giving special study to the
chemical and agricultural features of the sugar beet business.
In 1893 he went to Germany, on leave, and studied agricultural chemistry
under Professor Tollens at the University of Gottingen during two semesters.
He then returned to the University of Nebraska as instructor and also first
assistant chemist in the experiment station, involving the supervision of the
sugar beet experiments. Becoming more and more interested in field experi-
mnts, he was made agriculturist and assistant professor of agriculture in 1895,
on the death of Prof. C. I. Ingersoll, the agriculturist and director. In 1901
he became associate director.
In 1899 he was married to Miss Bertha Clark, daughter of the late John R.
Clark, a well known banker and business man of Lincoln, Neb.
During his eleven years of service in Nebraska he worked steadily for the
improvement of the crops and cropping methods of the State, publishing no
less than twenty-one station bulletins. He was especially instrumental in the
distribution and establishment of durum wheat, Kherson oat, early corn varie-
ties, and bromegrass in Nebraska.
In this period he was accorded many positions of honor and responsibility.
He was in charge of the dairy test at the Trans-Mississippi exposition at
Omaha, in 1898 ; was associated with the exhibits at the Nebraska State Fair
for several years; was one of the judges of agricultural products at the
Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis, in 1904: was a collaborator of the
U. S. Department of Agriculture in plant breeding; promoted the organiza-
tion of special agricultural trains on Nebraska railroads, and was a member
of the faculty of the Graduate School of Agriculture in 1906.
In 1906 he was called to the chair of Soil Technology at the College of
Agriculture of Cornell University. Here his time is devoted mainly to
research, no instruction being given except to graduate students. He has
designed and installed there a set of concrete tanks for soil experiments which
are said to be the most elaborate thing of the kind ever devised.
Professor Lyon is a fellow of the American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science, and a member of the American Chemical Society, American
1 1
12 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
Society of Agronomy, Society for the Promotion of Agricultural Science, and
the Sigma Xi and Phi Gamma Delta fraternities.
He was active in promoting the organization of the American Society of
Agronomy, being present at the preliminary meeting where he was made
temporary secretary, serving on the committee on permanent organization, and
was elected its first secretary on December 31, 1907, and re-elected in November,
1908. During his two years of service he was largely instrumental in adding
to the membership and shaping the destinies of the young society.
Publications.
The principal publications resulting from his investigations are listed below.
Nebraska Experiment Station Bulletins: No. 43 — The conservation of soil
moisture by means of subsoil plowing; Nos. 44, 60, 67, 73 and 81 — Experi-
ments in the culture of the sugar beet in Nebraska; No. 49 — Suggestions for
chicory culture; No. 53 — A preliminary report on experiments with forage
crops ; No. 54 — The efYect of certain methods of soil treatment upon the corn
crop ; Nos. 57 and 64 — Proceedings of agricultural students association 1898-
99 and 1899-1900; No. 58 — Annual forage plants for summer pasture; No.
61 — Hungarian Brome grass (Bromus inermis) : No. 69 — Some forage plants
for summer feed; No. 72 — The adaptation and improvement of winter wheat;
No. 78 — Macaroni wheats ; No. 82 — Kherson oats ; No. 83 — Co-operative
variety tests of corn in 1 902-1 903 ; No. 84 — Pasture, meadow and forage crops;
No. 89 — Winter wheat ; No. 91 — Experiments with corn.
U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry Bulletins: No.
59 — Pasture, meadow and forage crops in Nebraska (Lyon and Hitchcock) ;
No. 78 — Improving the quality of wheat.
Cornell Experiment Station Bulletins: Effect of steam sterilization on the
water-soluble matter of soils (Lyon and Bizzell) ; A heretofore unnoted benefit
from the growth of legumes (Lyon and Bizzell).
Prinicipal contributions to journals: Modifications in cereal crops induced
by changes in their environment, Soc. Prom. Agrl. Sci., 1907 ; Relations of
wheat to climate and soil, Am. Soc. Agron., 1907; Availability of soil nitrogen
in relation to the growth of legumes and basicity of the soil (Lyon and
Bizzell), Journ. Engineering and Industrial Chem., 1910; The relation of
certain plants to the nitrate content of soils (Lyon and Bizzell), Journal of
the Franklin Institute, 191 1.
Books: Principles of Soil Management (Lyon and Pippin), Macmillan Co.;
Examining and Grading Grains (Lyon and Montgomery), Ginn & Co.
BUSINESS SECTION.
This section of the Proceedings contains, (i) the report of the Secretary;
(2) the report of the Treasurer; (3) the reports of the Committees.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY.
It is desired to present herein a record of the business of the Society trans-
acted during the year, annual lists of new members received, an alphabetical
list of the present membership with addresses, and the personnel of all com-
mittees for 191 1.
MINUTES OF THE SOCIETY FOR 1910.
Minutes of Business Transacted Previous to the Annual Meeting
IN November.
From January to July, inclusive, the Secretary was occupied in the attempt
to obtain and edit the 69 papers which had been presented before the Society
at one or another of its meetings. Later, the reading and correction of the
proof of several hundred pages of this manuscript and the distribution and
sale of copies of the resulting volume, taxed both time and talent. The scope
and results of this labor are shown in the report of the Committee on Publica-
tion which appears further on.
In July the President of the Society appointed Mr. C. V. Piper chairman of
a committee on affiliation, to represent this Society in a conference of similar
committees of other agricultural organizations to be held in connection with
the convocation of agricultural societies at Washington, D. C, in November.
Later, Mr. G. N. Coffey and the Secretary were appointed additional members
of the committee. On request, copies of the Plan of Affiliation adopted by
this Society at its Omaha meeting, and of the plan proposed and published by
the Society for the Promotion of Agricultural Science, were sent to the
affiliation committees of some of the other Societies.
On July 29, the Program Committee, consisting of Mr. C. V. Piper and
Mr. W. H. Stevenson, notified all members of the approximate date of the
coming meeting and asked for the submission of titles for the program, sug-
gesting that papers on methods were preferred. At the same time a letter was
sent by the Secretary to all members, quoting the constitution of the Society
as to eligibility to membership, and asking aid in obtaining additional members.
During the latter part of October the Program Committee notified all mem-
bers of the place and date of the November meeting.
Minutes of the Meeting of the American Society of Agronomy, Wash-
ington, D. C, November 14-15, 1910.
First Session, Monday Afternoon, November 14.
The meeting was called to order by the Secretary at i :30 P.M., Monday,
November 14, in the lecture room of the Cosmos Club. In the absence of
13
14 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
President Ten Eyck and Vice-Presidents Whitson and Zavitz, ex-President
Coffey was requested to take the chair. At the conclusion of the first paper,
Vice-President A. R. Whitson was called to the chair.
The following papers were presented at this session :
Address of the retiring President, A. M. Ten Eyck, Experiment Substation,
Hays, Kans. (Read by the Secretary.)
" Ammonia Formation as a Measure of Decomposition Processes in the
Soil." Jacob G. Lipman, New Jersey Experiment Station.
" Theory of Soil Management." Frank K. Cameron, U. S. Dept. of Agri-
culture.
"The Keeping of Crop Records at Michigan Station." Frank A, Spragg,
Michigan Experiment Station.
" Work of the Committee on Seed Improvement of the Council of North
American Grain Exchanges." Bert. Ball, Secretary of Committee. (By
Invitation.)
" Technical Terms in Agronomy." Carleton R. Ball, U. S. Dept of Agri-
culture.
" Preventing Cross-pollination of Corn by Means of Muslin Screens."
Lyman Carrier, Virginia Experiment Station.
" Breeding Cereals for Rust Resistance." Edward C. Johnson, U. S. Dept.
of Agriculture.
The following papers were presented by title only :
" Methods of Conducting Co-operative Experiments with Farmers." J. N.
Harper, South Carolina Experiment Station.
" Field and Laboratory Methods in the Breeding of Wheat." H. F. Roberts,
Kansas Agricultural College.
" Analysis of Yield in Cereals." L. R. Waldron, Experiment Station, Dick-
inson, N. D.
A brief business session followed the reading of papers.
It was moved by Dr. Lyon that a committee of three, of which Mr. C. R.
Ball should be chairman, be appointed to consider the terminology of agronomy,
and to report at the next meeting of the Society. The motion carried. The
Chair appointed Mr. C. R. Ball, chairman. Dr. C. G. Hopkins and Prof. J. F.
Duggar as the Committee on Terminology.
It was moved by Professor Thatcher that the Chair appoint a committee of
three on nominations. The motion carried and the Chair appointed Prof. R.
W. Thatcher, chairman, Dr. T. L. Lyon and Prof. C. V. Piper.
An adjournment was then taken until 9 A. M., Tuesday morning.
Second Session, Tuesday Forenoon, November 15.
The Society convened at 9 A.M., with Vice-President Whitson in the chair.
The following papers were then presented :
" Mosture Equivalent Determinations and Their Application." Lyman J.
Briggs and J. W. McLane, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.
" Non- Available Moisture; its Determination and its Relation to the Mois-
ture Equivalent." Lyman J. Briggs and H. L. Shantz, U. S. Dept. of Agri-
culture.
"Soil Granulation." E. O. Fippin, Cornell Experiment Station.
" Long Versus Short Periods of Transpiration in Plants used as Indicators
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY ! MINUTES.
15
of Soil Fertility." Frank S. Harris, Cornell Experiment Station. (Read by
T. L. Lyon.)
Adjournment was then taken until 2 o'clock.
Third Session, Tuesday Afternoon, November 15.
The meeting was called to order at 2 P.M. by Vice-President Whitson.
The reading of papers was continued and the following were presented :
" A Test of Planting Plats with the Same Ears of Corn to Secure Greater
Uniformity in Yield." T. Lyttleton Lyon, Cornell Experiment Station.
"A Comparison of the Error in Yields of Wheat from Plats and Single
Rows in Multiple Series." T. Lyttleton Lyon, Cornell Experiment Station.
" Causes for Licreased Yields of Cereals by Soil Sterilization." H. L.
Bolley, North Dakota Experiment Station.
" Methods for Testing the Seed Value of Light and Heavy Kernels in
Cereals." E. G. Montgomery, Nebraska Experiment Station. (Read by C. V.
Piper.)
" Standardization of Field Experiments : " " Crops," C. V. Piper, U. S. De-
partment of Agriculture. " Soils," "W. H. Stevenson, Iowa Experiment Sta-
tion. (Read by title.)
It was moved by Professor Thatcher that a committee of three, of which
Professor Piper should be chairman, be appointed to consider the standardiza-
tion of field experiments and report at the next meeting of the Society. This
motion was amended to include the consideration of standardizing soil experi-
ments also. The motion carried as amended. The chairman, Professor
Duggar, referred the appointment of this committee to the new president,
Dr. Wheeler.
It was moved by Professor Piper that copies of the recommendations made
by Professor Montgomery in his paper be sent to all members with a view to
inducing the various experimenters to undertake similar experiments. The
motion carried.
Business Session, Tuesday Afternoon, November 15.
Vice-President Whitson called Prof. J. F. Duggar to the chair and the
regular business of the Society was taken up. The Committee on Soil Classi-
fication reported, through its chairman, Mr. G. N. Coffey, that considerable
progress had been made ; that the different viewpoints from which soils may
be classified had been considered, and that sub-committees would be appointed
to determine the divisions to be made from each viewpoint and present the
same to the committee for action. The report of the committee was accepted.
The Committee on Publication reported, through its secretary, Mr. C. R.
Ball, that Volume I of the Proceedings of the Society, containing 39 papers,
and covering 238 pages, had been issued in an edition of 500 copies, cloth-
bound, at a cost of approximately $1.05 per copy. The report was accepted and
the committee continued.
On motion, the Secretary was instructed to send the Proceedings of the
Society only to members not in arrears for dues.
On motion, the fixing of the price to be charged for Volume I of the Pro-
ceedings of the Society was referred to the Committee on Publication, with
power to act.
1 6 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
The report of the Treasurer, Dr. L. H. Smith, was read by the Secretary,
and accepted.
The report of the Auditing Committee was read by the chairman, Dr. L. J.
Briggs, and accepted.
On motion, it was voted that the reports of the Treasurer should include an
itemized statement of receipts and a certificate of the balance received from
the previous Treasurer.
The Committee on Nominations (R. W. Thatcher, T. L. Lyon and C. V.
Piper), through its secretary, Mr. Piper, reported the following nominees for
the offices named :
For President: H. J. Wheeler, Kingston, R. I.
For 1st Vice-President: C. A. Zavitz, Guelph, Ont.
For 2nd Vice-President: R. W. Thatcher, Pullman, Wash.
For Secretary: C. R. Ball, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.
For Treasurer: Lyman Carrier, Blacksburg, Va.
For Program Committee : L. J. Briggs and E. G. Montgomery.
On motion, the report of the Committee was adopted and the nominees
declared elected officers of the Society for 191 1.
The following item in the estimates for the Department of Agriculture for
the fiscal year 1910-1911, approved by the Secretary of Agriculture, was read:
" To enable the Secretary of Agriculture, in co-operation with the Associa-
tion of American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations, to prepare,
publish, and distribute original technical reports of the scientific investiga-
tions made by the agricultural experiment stations estabhshed in accordance
with the Act approved March second, eighteen hundred and eighty seven, and
the Acts supplementary thereto, including rent and the employment of clerks,
assistants, and other persons in the city of Washington, and elsewhere, print-
ing, illustrations, and all other necessary expenses, twenty thousand dollars,
Provided that said reports may be issued in editions not exceeding twenty-
five hundred copies and distributed without charge to libraries, colleges, sci-
entific institutions and persons actually engaged in teaching or in scientific
investigations relating to agricluture."
A resolution favoring this appropriation was introduced by Dr. L. H.
Pammel and adopted by the Society.
It was moved and carried that a committee of three be appointed to con-
sider necessary amendments to the constitution, and report at the next meeting.
The chairman of the meeting. Professor Duggar, referred the appointment of
this committee to the newly elected President, Dr. Wheeler.
On motion, the Executive Committee was authorized to fill the vacancies in
the Committee on Soil Classification caused by the expiration of the terms of
the five one-year members.
On motion, a vote of thanks was tendered the Committee on Publication
for its arduous and efficient services.
On motion, the Society adjourned subject to the call of the Executive
Committee.
A true copy, respectfully submitted,
Carleton R. Ball,
Secretary.
Minutes Subsequent to the Annual Meeting.
Pursuant to the instructions of the Society, the Secretary delivered copies
of Volume i of the Proceedings only to members not in arrears for dues.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY: MEMBERSHIP.
17
In order to prepare as quickly as possible a correct list of actual members for
inclusion in Volume 2, the Secretary, with the approval of the new Treasurer,
undertook the collection of all arrearages. After considerable personal corre-
spondence, arrearages amounting to one hundred and forty dollars ($140)
were collected and twenty-two names were dropped from the rolls because
of non-payment of dues. This left a Dona fide membership for 1910 of 167
persons. Some memberships for 1911 had also been taken before the close of
1910.
Two of the committees created at the annual meeting of the Society were
left to be appointed by the incoming President. The motion providing the
Committee on Standardization of Field Experiments named Mr. C. V. Piper
as chairman. President Wheeler appointed W. H. Stevenson and E. G. Mont-
gomery as additional members. Eor members of the Committee on Constitu-
tion the President appointed T. Lyttleton Lyon, chairman, Carleton R. Ball
and C. V. Piper. To fill the vacancy in the Committee on Publication caused
by the resignation of G. H. Failyer, W. H. Beal was appointed.
MEMBERSHIP OF THE SOCIETY.
No list of members has yet been published other than those appearing on
the backs of the programs of the different meetings. The following lists show
the new members added in each of the three years of the Society's history,
including the charter members of 1908. Then follows a statistical summary of
accessions and removals. Finally there is given in alphabetical arrangement
the present membership of the Society with full addresses. The names of a
few persons who made application for membership but never paid the neces-
sary due have appeared on the program lists. All such names are omitted
from the lists which follow :
Accessions to Membership.
Nezv Members in 1908.
Adams, G. E.
*Carrier, Lyman
Evans, M. W.
*Anderson, Leroy
*Clinton, L. A.
Ewing, E. C.
*Atkinson, Alfred
Coffey, G. N.
Failyer, G. H.
*Ball, C. R.
*Cole, J. S.
*Farrell, F. D.
*Bartlett, H. H.
Conner, S. D.
*Fippin, E. 0.
*Bell, J. M.
*Cory, V. L.
*Fisher, M. L.
*Bizzell, J. A.
*Crabb, G. A.
*Foord, J. A.
*Bolley, H. L.
*Craig, C. E.
*Gardner, F. D.
*Bowles, P. S.
*Craig, S. J.
*Gasser, G. W.
Briggs, L. J.
*Crosby, M. A.
^Gilbert, A. W.
*Brown, B. E.
Datta, D.
*Gustafson, A. F.
*Bull, C. P.
*Dodson, W. R.
*Harper, J. N.
Call, L. E.
*Duggar, J. F.
*Hays, W. M.
*Cameron, F. K.
Dynes, 0. W.
*Hoffman, J. W.
*Carleton, M. A.
Eastman, J. F.
*Holden, P. G.
* Charter members, or those paying dues before July ist, 1908. See Consti-
tution.
2
1 8 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
*Hood, S. C
*Mosier, J. G.
*Stevenson, W. H.
*Hopkins, C. G.
*Nash, C. W.
*Stoddart, C. W.
*Humbert, E. P.
*Nelson, J. W.
*Stone, J. L.
*Hunt, T. F.
*Norgord, C. P.
*Squires, J. H.
*Hurd, W. D.
*Oakley, R. A.
Taliaferro, W. T. L.
*Hyslop, R. E.
*01son, Otto
*Taylor, F. W.
*Jacobs, W. S.
*Pammel, L. H.
Ten Eyck, A. M.
Jardine, W. M.
*Patten, H. E.
*Thatcher, R. W.
*Jenkins, J. M.
^Patterson, H. J.
^Thompson, O. A.
*Jones, M. P.
Piper, C. V.
*Tinsley, J. D.
*Keyser, Alvin
*Quick, W. J.
*Tong, Y. H.
*Kidder, A. F.
Riley, H. W.
*Tracy, S. M.
Krauss, F, G.
^Roberts, H. F.
*Tracy, W. W, Jr.
*Lipman, J, G.
*Robinson, W. 0.
*Veitch, F. P.
Love, H. H.
*Ross, J. F.
*Voorhees, E. B.
Lynde, C. J.
*Schrader, W. B.
*Waldron, L. R.
*Lyon, T. L.
*Schreiner, Oswald
*Warren, G. F.
*McCall, A. G.
*Scudder, H. D.
*Westgate, J. M.
*Miller, M. F.
*Shantz, H. L.
*Wheeler, H. J.
*Mmns, E. R.
*Shaw, C. F.
*Whitson, A. R.
*Montgomery, E. G.
*Shoesmith, V. M.
*Wiancko, A. T.
'•'Mooers, L. A.
* C* J TT
^Snyder, Harry
*Williams, C. G.
*Moore, R. A.
*Smith, L. H. "
*Woods, C. D.
*Moorhouse, L. A.
*Spillman, W. J.
*Worthen, E. L.
*Morgan, J. 0.
*Spragg, F. A.
Zavitz, C. A.
*Mosher, M. L.
New Members igog.
Allen, E. R.
Chilcott, E. F.
LeCIerc, J. A.
Alway, F. J.
Derr, H. B.
Loughridge, R. H.
Babcock, F. R.
Drake, J. A.
Merrill, L. A.
Ball, E. D.
Fletcher, S. W.
Pugsley, C. W.
Bracken, John
Free, E. E.
bneppera, J. H.
Brodie, D. A.
Grantham, A. E.
Thorne, C. E.
Caine, T. A.
Johnson, E. C.
Umberger, H. J. C
Chambliss, C. E.
Kilgore, B. W.
Willis, Clifford
Chatter jee, B. M.
Klinck, L. S.
New Members igio.
Aicher, L. C.
Conn, H. J.
Harris, F. S.
Bennett, H. H.
Cron, A. B.
Hsieh, E. L.
Bonns, W. W.
Cunningham, C. C.
Hutchinson, Geo. S.
Bouyoucos, G. J.
Cutler, G. H.
Kiesselbach, T. A.
Buckman, H. 0.
Day, W. H.
Lipman, I. B.
Burgess, J. L.
Dillman, A. C
Lumbrick, A.
Butler, O.
Ellett, W. B.
Mackie, W. W.
Cardon, P. V.
Fraps, G. S.
Marbut, C. F.
Carlyle, Alex.
Frazier, W. H.
Morse, W. J.
Center, 0. D.
Fung, H. K.
Musback, F. L.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY I
MEMBERSHIP,
19
Nelson, Martin
Orton, W. A.
Pettit, J. H.
Potter, H. B.
Salmon, Cecil
Schmitz, Nickolas
Selvig, C. G.
Shutt, F. T.
Sinha, S.
Slate, W. L., Jr.
Summerby, R.
Thompson, M. J.
Vinall, H. N.
Whiting, A. L.
Wood, M. W.
Woods, A. F.
Neiv Members, igii (March sist).
Boss, Andrew, Fitz, L. A. Reid, F. R.
Champlin, Manley, Leidigh, A. H. Scofield, C. S.
Clark, Chas. F. McKee, Roland Skinner, J. J.
Summary of Accessions and Removals.
Accessions.
Charter members 102
1
, . 121
New members 19
New members, 1909 26
New members, 1910 46
New members, 1911 (March 31st) 9
Total 202
Removals.
By nonpayment of 1909 dues 17
By death, 1909 i
By resignation, 1910 3
By nonpayment of 1910 dues 5
Total (March 31, 1911) 26
176
List of Present Members, with Addresses.
Adams, G. E., Experiment Station, Kingston, R. L
Aicher, L. C, Experiment Substation, Caldwell, Idaho.
Allen, Edward R., 112 Stewart Ave., Ithaca, N. Y.
Alway, F. J., Experiment Station, Lincoln, Nebr.
Anderson, Leroy, University of California, Berkeley, Cal,
Atkinson, Alfred, Experiment Station, Bozeman, Mont.
Babcock, F. R., Experiment Farm, Williston, N. Dak.
Ball, Carleton R., B. P. I., U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Ball, Elmer D., Experiment Station, Logan, Utah.
Bartlett, Hartley Harris, B. P. I., Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Bell, James M., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N. C.
Bennett, Hugh H., Bu. Soils, Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Bizzell, James A., Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.
Bolley, H. L., Experiment Station, Agricultural College, N. Dak.
Bonns, W. W., High Moor Farms, Monmouth, Maine.
Boss, Andrew, Experiment Station, University Farm, St. Paul, Minn.
Bouyoucos, G. J., Cornell University, Ithaca, N, Y.
20 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
Bracken, John, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Briggs, Lyman J., B. P. I., U. S. Dept. Agr., Washington, D. C.
Brodie, D. A, B. P. I., U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Brown, B. E., Experiment Station, State College, Pa.
Buckman, H. O., Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.
Bull, C. P., Experiment Station, University Farm, St. Paul, Minn.
Burgess, James L., State Dept. of Agriculture, Raleigh, N. C.
Butler, Ormond R., University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.
Call, L. E., Experiment Station, Manhattan, Kans.
Cameron, Frank K., Bu. Soils, U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Cardon, P. V., Experiment Substation, Nephi, Utah.
Carleton, M. A., B. P. I., U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Carlyle, Alex., Box 341, Pullman, Wash.
Carrier, Lyman, Experiment Station, Blacksburg, Va.
Center, O. D., College of Agriculture, Urbana, 111.
Chambliss, Chas. E., B. P. I., U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Champlin, Manley, Experiment Farm, Highmore, S. D.
Chilcott, E. F., Experiment Farm, Garden City, Kans.
Clark, Chas. F., B. P. I., Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Clinton, L. A., Agricultural College, Storrs, Conn.
Coffey, G. N,, State University, Columbus, Ohio.
Cole, John S., Majestic Bldg., Denver, Colo.
Conn, H. J., Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.
Conner, S. D., Purdue University, Lafayette, Ind.
Cory, Victor L., Experiment Farm, Amarillo, Texas.
Crabb, Geo. A., Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.
Craig, C. E., Purdue University, Lafayette, Ind.
Cron, A. B., B. P. I, U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Crosby, M. A., B. P. I., U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Cunningham, C. C, Branch Experiment Station, Hays, Kans.
Cutler, G. H., Macdonald College, Macdonald College, Quebec, Canada.
Day, Wm. H., Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Derr, H. B., B. P. I., U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Dillman, A. C, B. P. I., U. S. Dept., of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Dodson, W. R., Experiment Station, Baton Rouge, La.
Drake, J. A., Ada, Ohio.
Duggar, J. F., Experiment Station, Auburn, Ala.
Dynes, O. W., 32 Thurston Ave., Ithaca, N. Y.
Eastman, J. F., State School of Agriculture, Morrisville, N. Y.
Ellett, W. B., Experiment Station, Blacksburg, Va.
Evans, M. W., B. P. I., U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Ewing, E. C, Experiment Station, Agricultural College, Miss.
Farrell, F. D., B. P. I., U. S. Dept. Agr. Washington, D. C.
Fippin, E. O., Experiment Station, Ithaca, N. Y.
Fisher, M. L., Purdue University, Lafayette, Ind.
Fitz, L. A., Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kans.
Fletcher, S. W., Experiment Station, Blacksburg, Va.
Foord, James A., Agricultural College, Amherst, Mass.
Fraps, G. S., Experiment Station, College Station, Tex.
Frazier, W. H., Experiment Station, University Farm, St. Paul, Minn.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY: MEMBERSHIP.
21
Free, E. E., Bu. Soils, U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Fung, H. K., Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.
Gardner, F. D., Experiment Station, State College, Pa.
Gilbert, Arthur W., Experiment Station, Ithaca, N. Y.
Grantham, A. E., Experiment Station, Newark, Del.
Gustafson, A. F., University of Illinois, Urbana, 111.
Harris, F. S., Experiment Station, Logan, Utah.
Hays, W. M., U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.
Holden, P. G., Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa.
Hopkins, Cyril G., University of Illinois, Urbana, 111.
Hsieh, E. L., Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.
Humbert, Eugene P., Experiment Station, Orono, Maine.
Hunt, Thomas F., Experiment Station, State College, Pa.
Hurd, Wm. D., Agricultural College, Amherst, Mass.
Hutchinson, Geo. S., Care The Albert Dickinson Co., Chicago, 111.
Hyslop, R. E., Moscow, Idaho.
Jardine, W. M., Experiment Station, Manhattan, Kans.
Jenkins, J. Mitchell, Rice Experiment Station, Crowley, La.
Johnson, Edw. C, B. P. I., U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.
Keyser, Alvin, Experiment Station, Fort Collins, Colo.
Kidder, A. F., Louisiana Agricultural College, Baton Rouge, La.
Kiesselbach, T. A., Experiment Station, Lincoln, Nebr.
Kilgore, B. W., State Dept. of Agriculture, Raleigh, N. C.
Klinck, L. S., Macdonald College, Quebec, Canada.
Krauss, F. G., Experiment Station, Honolulu, H. I.
LeClerc, J. A., Bu, Chemistry, U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Leidigh, A. H., Experiment Station, Manhattan, Kans.
Lipman, I. B., 414 Cascadilla Bldg., Ithaca, N. Y.
Lipman, Jacob G., Experiment Station, New Brunswick, N. J.
Loughridge, R. H., University of California, Berkeley, Cal.
Lumbrick, A., College of Agriculture, Urbana, 111.
Lynde, C. J., Macdonald College, Quebec, Canada.
Lyon, T. Lyttleton, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.
McCall, Arthur G., Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
McKee, Roland, B. P. 1., U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Mackie, W. W., Esperanza, Sonora, Mex.
Marbut, C. F., 3555 nth St., N. W., Washington, D. C.
Merrill, L. A., Salt Lake City, Utah.
Miller, M. F., Experiment Station, Columbia, Mo.
Minns, Edward R., Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.
Montgomery, E. G., Experiment Station, Lincoln, Nebr.
Mooers, Chas. A., Experiment Station, Knoxville, Tenn.
Moore, R. A., University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.
Moorhouse, L. A., 203 Majestic Bldg., Denver, Colo.
Morgan, J. O., Experiment Station, Agricultural College, Miss.
Morse, W. J., 121 V St., N. W., Washington, D. C.
Mosher, M. L., Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa.
Mosier, J. G., Experiment Station, Urbana, 111.
Musback, Fred L., University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.
Nash, C. W., Experiment Station, Manhattan, Kans.
22 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
Nelson, Martin, Experiment Station, Fayetteville, Ark.
Oakley, R. A., B. P. I., U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Orton, W. A., B. P. I., U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Patten, Harrison E., Bu. Soils, U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Patterson, H. J., Experiment Station, College Park, Md.
Pettit, J. H., College of Agriculture, Urbana, 111.
Piper, C. v., B. P. I., U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Potter, Harry B., care of Farm and Fireside, Springfield, Ohio.
Pugsley, C. W., Experiment Station, Lincoln, Nebr.
Reid, F. R., Bu. Soils, U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Roberts, H. F., Experiment Station, Manhattan, Kans.
Ross, John F., Experiment Farm, Amarillo, Texas.
Salmon, Cecil, Bellefourche Experiment Farm, Newell, S. Dak.
Schmitz, Nickolas, Experiment Station, College Park, Md.
Schreiner, Oswald, Bu. Soils, U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Scofield, C. S., B. P. I., U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Scudder, H. D., Experiment Station, Corvallis, Oregon.
Selvig, C. G., Northwest Experiment Station, Crookston, Minn.
Shantz, H. L., B. P. I., U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Shaw, Chas. F., Experiment Station, State College, Pa.
Shepperd, J. H., Experiment Station, Agricultural College, N. Dak.
Shoesmith, V. M., Experiment Station, East Lansing, Mich.
Shutt, Frank T., Experimental Farm, Ottawa, Canada.
Sinha, Satyasaran, 908 West Illinois St., Urbana, 111.
Skinner, Joshua J., Bu. Soils, U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Slate, W. L., Jr., Experiment Station, Durham, N. H.
Smith, L. H., College of Agriculture, Urbana, 111.
Snyder, Harry, 2020 Commonwealth Ave., St. Paul, Minn.
Spillman, W. J., B. P. I., U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Spragg, F. A., Experiment Station, East Lansing, Mich.
Squires, J. H., Experiment Station, Agricultural College, N. M.
Stevenson, W. H., Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa.
Stoddard, Chas. W., State College, Pa.
Stone, J. L., Experiment Station, Ithaca, N. Y.
Summerby, R., Macdonald College, Macdonald College, Quebec, Canada.
Taliaferro, W. T. L., Agricultural College, College Park, Md.
Taylor, F. W., Experiment Station, Durham, N. H.
Ten Eyck, A. M., Branch Experiment Station, Hays, Kans.
Thatcher, R. W., Experiment Station, Pullman, Wash.
Thompson, M. J., University Farm, St. Paul, Minn.
Thorne, Chas. E., Experiment Station, Wooster, Ohio.
Tinsley, J. D., 902 So. Second St., Albuquerque, N. M.
Tracy, S. M., Biloxi, Miss.
Umberger, H. J. C, Experiment Substation, Moro, Ore.
Veitch, F. P., Bu. Chemistry, U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Vinall, Harry N., B. P. I., U. S. Dept., of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Waldron, L. R., Experiment Substation, Dickinson, N. Dak.
Warren, G. F., Cornell Experiment Station, Ithaca, N. Y.
Westgate, J. M., B. P. I., U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C.
Wheeler, H. J., Experiment Station, Kingston, R. I.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY ! COMMITTEES.
23
Whiting, Arthur L., University of IlHnois, Urbana, 111.
Whitson, A. R., Experiment Station, Madison, Wis.
Wiancko, A. T., Experiment Station, Lafayette, Ind.
Williams, C. G., Experiment Station, Wooster, Ohio.
Wood, M. W., Boise, Idaho.
Woods, A. F., Experiment Station, University Farm, St. Paul, Minn.
Woods, Chas. D., Experiment Station, Orono, Maine.
Worthen, E. L., State Board of Agriculture, Raleigh, N. C
Zavitz, C. A., Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, Ont.
COMMITTEES OF THE SOCIETY FOR 1911.
The executive committee is composed, under the constitution, of the officers
of the Society ex officio. The program committee of two members, elected
annually, has been a feature of the Society since its organization. A committee
on affiliation of agricultural societies w^as provided for at the first meeting
and the v^ork then committed to the executive committee but later to a separate
committee on affiliation. The committees on soil classification and mapping
and on publication v^ere created in 1909. Committees on standardizing experi-
ments and on terminology were created at the 1910 meeting and have been
appointed since. A new committee on constitution was provided for also at
that meeting. The personnel of these committees is given below. The ad-
dresses of committeemen may be found in the list of members of the Society.
Executive Committee.
President H. J. Wheeler, Chairman,
Secretary Carleton R. Ball, Secretary,
First Vice-President C. A. Zavitz,
Second Vice-President R. W. Thatcher,
Treasurer Lyman Carrier.
Program Committee.
Lyman J. Briggs, E. G. Montgomery.
Committee on Affiliation.
C. V. Piper, Chairman, Carleton R. Ball, G. N. Coffey.
Committee on Soil Classification and Mapping.
Term of Service, 1910 and igii.
R. H. Loughridge, W. W. Mackie, C. F. Marbut,
C. A. Mooers, J. G. Mosier.
Term of Service. 19 10 to 1912, inclusive.
G. N. Coffey, Chairman, F. T. Shutt, C. E. Thorne,
H. J. Wheeler, A. R. Whitson.
Term of Service, 1911 to 1913, inclusive.
W. H. Day, E. O. Pippin, G. S. Fraps,
Alvin Keyser, B. W. Kilgore.
24 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
Committee on Publication.
C. V. Piper, Chairman, G. N. Coffey,
Carleton R. Ball, Secretary, L. H. Smith.
Committee on Standardization of Experiments.
C. V. Piper, Chairman, W. H. Stevenson, E. G. Montgomery.
Committee on Terminology.
Carleton R. Ball, Chairman, C. G. Hopkins, J. F. Duggar.
Committee on Constitution.
T. Lyttleton Lyon, Chairman, C. V. Piper, Carleton R. Ball.
REPORT OF THE TREASURER.
Champaign, III.,
December 23, 1910.
I have the honor to submit the following report of receipts and disburse-
ments for the year 1910.
Receipts.
From E. G. Montgomery, former Treasurer $378.78
Dues for 1910 from 94 members, per list 188.00
Total $566.78
Disbursements.
Apr. II, 1910, Carleton R. Ball (Voucher i).
Postage $1.00
Express 35
Postage 2.00
Stationary 1.87 $5.22
May 4, 1910, L. H. Smith (Voucher 2).
Receipt books 40
Express 25 .65
May 4, 1910, W. H. Munhall (Voucher 3).
Printing filing cards $2.40
Aug. 8, 1910, Carleton R. Ball (Voucher 4).
Express i.oo
Express i.oo
Express 50
Envelopes 70
Circular letters 2.00
Application blanks 1.50
Stamps 3-00
Clerical help 50 $10.20
REPORT OF THE TREASURER.
25
Nov. 12, 1910, Carleton R. Ball (Voucher 5).
Envelopes 2.00
Postage i.oo
Clerical help 2.00
Postage 1.50
Envelopes 70 $7-20
Nov. 12, 1910, Judd & Detweiler (Voucher 6).
Printmg programs $11.00
Nov. 22, 1910, L. H. Smith (Voucher 7).
Stamps 2.00
Stamps 2.00 $4-00
Nov. 22, 1910, Cosmos Club (Voucher 8).
Rent lecture room $20.00
Nov. 23, 1910, Biological Society of Wash. (Voucher 9).
Stereopticon 2.00
Operation 2.00 $4.00
Nov. 22, 1910, C. V. Piper (Voucher 10).
Stamps 40
Post Cards i.oo $1.40
Total expenditures $66.07 $566.78
Balance on hand $500.71
Respectfully submitted,
(Signed) L. H. Smith,
Treasurer.
BANK CERTIFICATE.
" First Natinal Bank
of Champaign, Illinois.
December 17, 1910.
American Society of Agronomy
The balance to your credit in this bank at the opening of business this morn-
ing is $500.71.
Yours truly,
(Signed) H. S. Capron,
Cashier."
AUDITING COMMITTEE'S STATEMENT.
Washington, D. C,
December 30, 191 1.
Your Auditing Committee has examined the Treasurer's Report and finds
that the account is correct and properly supported by vouchers.
Respectfully submitted,
Lyman J. Briggs ^
Y Committee.
Oswald Schreiner j
26 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
REPORTS OF COMMITTEES.
Five committees of the Society have been in existence during part or all of
the year. Two of these, the nominating and auditing committees, were ap-
pointed at the annual meeting for temporary service.
REPORTS INCLUDED ELSEWHERE.
The report of the nominating committee will be found in the minutes of the
annual meeting while that of the auditing committee follows the report of the
Treasurer.
The three standing committees are the Committee on Soil Classification and
Mapping, Committee on Publication, and Committee on Affiliation, The brief
progress-report made by the Committee on Soil Classification and Mapping will
also be found in the minutes.
The reports of the Committee on Publication and the Committee on Affilia-
tion, are given in full below. The report of the Committee on Publication
appears as it was presented to the Society, with some additions to bring it to
date. The report of the Affiliation Committee was not presented at the annual
meeting for the reasons stated therein.
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATION.
At its meeting in Omaha, in December, 1909, the Society voted to publish its
proceedings and appointed a committee on publication, with power to act with
the funds at its disposal. The personnel of this committee was as follows :
C. V. Piper, Chairman; C. R. Ball, Secretary; and Messrs. G. N. Coffey, G. H.
Failyer and L. H. Smith.
Early in January, 1910, the Secretary began to collect the 69 papers pre-
sented at the four meetings of the Society. Owing to the fact that at the time
of the first three meetings the probability of publication was not immediate,
some of these papers had been published elsewhere and some of them had been
mislaid. After seven months of work, involving a heavy correspondence, 39
of the papers were obtained, 17 were determined as having been published
through other channels, and 13 were withdrawn or missing. In a number of
cases these papers were returned to their authors by request, in order that
they might be revised. At the time the edited copy was given to the printer
(August 2) two of the papers were still in the hands of their authors.
On August 29, letters were sent by the Secretary to all authors of papers
appearing in the current volume, notifying them of the estimated cost of
separates. Twenty-five authors have asked for a total of 1820 separates.
It was very unfortunate that the secretary of the committee was absent
from the City of Washington for a period of nearly three months following
the submission of copy to the printer. This not only occasioned considerable
delay in receiving and returning proof but also prevented him from keeping
in close touch with the firm having the printing contract. It was not the
unavoidable delay in the transmission of proof but delay on the part of the
printer that prevented the issuing of the Proceedings before the date of this
meeting.
It is a pleasure to report, however, that at this moment the printing of the
volume is completed, that it is now being bound in substantial brown cloth
REPORTS OF committees: AFFILIATION.
27
covers, and that copies will be available for distribution on Thursday of the
current week. It is a volume of 238 pages, of which ten are devoted to busi-
ness matter and 222 to the scientific papers. These contain 17 pages of tabu-
lated matter, 5 pages of diagrams and figures, and 3 half-tones.
The total cost of printing the edition of 500 copies, including typesetting,
presswork, paper, half-tones, corrections and binding was five hundred and
twenty-seven dollars and seventy cents ($527.70). There are certain other
expenses entailed in distributing the volume. The actual cost per copy, to the
Society, of publishing and distributing this first volume of its Proceedings
is approximately as follows :
Cost per Copy, in Edition of 500 Copies.
Printing and binding $1,054
Wrapping, including material 02
Postage II
Storage, rubber stamp, etc 016
Total $1.20
Of the 500 copies printed, 129 will be required for those who held member-
ship during 1908 and 1909. This will leave 371 copies for sale to libraries, new
members, and others. At two dollars ($2.00) per copy, the price agreed upon
by the Committee on Publication, this reserve stock is worth 742 dollars. To
the $1.20 indicated above as the actual cost per copy must be added such sum as
may be required to properly advertise these Proceedings to prospective
purchasers.
REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON AFFILIATION OF AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETIES.*
History of the Affiliation Movement.
In the meeting at which this Society was organized it was voted to take
steps to promote an affiliation of all societies organized for the advancement
of agricultural science. The matter was placed in the hands of the Executive
Committee with power to act. A tentative " Plan of Affiliation " was presented
to the Society at the Omaha meeting in December, 1909, and was adopted.
This plan was published in Volume I of our Proceedings. In the meantime the
Society for the Promotion of Agricultural Science had created a committee
on affiliation, consisting of Messrs. H. J. Waters, T. F. Hunt, and H. J.
Wheeler. At their Portland meeting, in 1909, this committee had presented a
suggested plan of organization under which thirteen designated agricultural
societies (including the American Society of Agronomy) and " other similar
organizations" were invited to unite "in the formation of an Affiliated So-
ciety which shall include all these organizations which are working for the
promotion of agricultural science."
As a means of bringing the matter to the attention of other societies, they
adopted the following clause:
* Because the meeting of the joint committee on affiliation was held after
our Society had concluded its meeting, this report could not be submitted at
our meeting but was prepared soon thereafter. — Editor.
28 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
In order to carry out this proposed affiliation the secretary of the S. P.
A. S. is directed to forward a copy of this to each of the societies named and
to request the appointment of three delegates from each, if such have not
already been appointed, to meet with the Executive Committee of this Society
to consider the desirability of the proposed affiiliation, and to arrange a satis-
factory plan for its accomplishment. It is requested that these delegates be
given power to act for their respective organizations, and it is understood that
the outline proposed above may be changed or modified as may be wished by
a majority of the delegates present at the proposed meeting."
" It is requested that the delegates meet at the same place as, and on the day
preceding the next meeting of the A. A. A. C. and E. S. for the consideration
of this matter."
Pursuant to the above request, a committee, consisting of the undersigned
persons, was appointed, in the summer of 1910, by the President of this So-
ciety. The date for the joint meeting of the representatives of the various
societies was finally set for Tuesday evening, November fifteenth. As this
was immediately subsequent to the adjournment of the meeting of this Society,
your committee was unable, of course, to report at that meeting the results of
the joint conference. The entire committee was present at the conference,
however, and took part in shaping the plans for affiliation.
Below is given the full text of the resolution, agreement, and proposed consti-
tution, adopted by the joint committee. The agreement has been signed by
the members of your committee.
A Proposed Affiliation of Societies Organized for the Advancement of
Agricultural Science
Resolution and Agreement.
The authorized representatives of the associations and societies relating to
agricultural science present at a meeting held in Washington, D. C, November
15, adopted the following resolution and constitution:
Resolved. — That in order to promote common objects and interests there
is special need of an affiliation of the various societies in North America which
have for their objects the advancement of agriculture through scientific
research ;
That, therefore, the undersigned representatives of the Association of Ameri-
can Agricultural .Colleges and Experiment Stations, American Association of
Economic Entomologists, American Association of Farmers' Institute Workers,
American Breeders' Association, American Phytopathological Society, American
Society of Agronomy, American Society of Animal Nutrition, Association of
Dairy Instructors, Association of Horticultural Inspectors, Association of Offi-
cial Agricultural Chemists, Society of Horticultural Science, and Society for
the Promotion of Agricultural Science hereby agree to affiliate under the fol-
lowing constitution, subject to ratification at the first regular session held by the
societies mentioned subsequent to this date.
Assn. Amer. Agr. Col. and Expt. Stas.
Amer. Assn. Econ. Entomologists.
Amer. Assn. Earmers' Inst. Workers.
Amer. Breeders' Assn.
Amer. Phytopath. Soc.
Amer. Soc. Agron.
Amer. Soc. Anim. Nutrition.
REPORTS OF committees: AFFILIATION.
29
Assn. Dairy Instructors.
Assn. Hort. Inspectors.
Assn. Off. Agr. Chemists.
Soc. Hort. Sci.
Soc. Promotion Agr. Sci.
Constitution.
Article I. Name.
The name of this organization shall be the Affiliated Societies of Agricultural
Science.
Article II. Purpose.
The purpose of the affiliation shall be to promote the common interests of
the adhering societies, arrange periodically for a common place and time of
meeting, promote economy and efficiency in publications, and otherwise to en-
courage cooperation in the advancement of agriculture through scientific
research.
Article III. Membership.
The organization shall consist of national societies wiJch have for their prime
object the advancement of agriculture. The societies mentioned in the accom-
panying resolution shall be charter members. Additional societies may be ad-
mitted at any general meeting of the Affiliated Societies.
Article IV. Organisation.
The general business of the organization shall be in charge of a Council to
consist of one member elected biennially by each adhering society.
The officers of the Council shall be a president, vice-president, a secretary and
a treasurer, who shall serve for six months after their successors are elected.
These officers shall constitute the officers of the organization.
Article V. Meetings.
A general meeting of the Affiliated Societies shall be held at least biennially,
at a time and place to be determined by the Council. Any adhering Society
may hold meetings at such times and places as it may select, but so far as
practicable all should meet together biennially.
Article VI. Autonomy.
Each society shall retain its organization, and shall have entire control of the
election of its members and officers and all other matters not specifically dele-
gated by it to the Council of the Affiliated Societies.
Article VII. Annual Dues.
Each society upon becoming a member of the organization shall pay to the
treasurer of the Council a pro rata sum not to exceed one dollar for each of
its members, and a similar amount thereafter annually, the amount in each case
to be fixed by the Council. The fiscal year of the Affiliated Societies shall
coincide with the calendar year.
Article VIII. Publications.
The Proceedings of the various societies may be issued individually, but all
should conform to a uniform style of page, paper, and type, in order that they
may constitute uniform parts of a set of Transactions of the Affiliated Societies.
30 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
The Council may, upon the approval of the adhering societies, superintend
the publication of their Proceedings and employ a general editor to cooperate
with the editors of the various societies in securing uniformity, economy and
efficiency.
The Council may arrange for the periodical publication of a journal of
agricultural science, to contain reports in abstract of the meetings of the so-
cieties, brief notices, reviews, and contributions of general interest to the
members of the Affiliated Societies, and for the interchange of ideas on
important problems of the day relating to agricultural science, this journal to be
issued to members at a subscription price to be fixed by the Council.
Article IX. Amendments.
Amendments to this constitution may be made at any general session of the
affiliation upon the recommendation of the Council, provided that sixty days'
notice of the proposed amendments has been given to the president and secre-
tary of the adhering societies.
Article X. By-laws.
The Council shall formulate and adopt a set of by-laws to govern it's actions
under this constitution.
Soon after the conference, Dr. E. W. Allen, who has been elected secretary
of the joint committee on affiliation, prepared a brief statement of the advan-
tages of such an affiliation. This statement shows clearly the unfortunate con-
ditions existing during the recent gathering of agricultural societies in Wash-
ington and emphasizes the ways in which affiliation could obviate such con-
ditions in future convocations. It is so pertinent that your committee presents
it herewith as part of their report.
" Some Advantages of an Affiliation of Societies for Agricultural
Science.
"E. W. Allen.
" The gathering of experts in various branches of agriculture, at Washington
in the middle of November, was an unusually large and representative one.
At that time were held the annual meetings of eight scientific societies whose
work relates to agriculture. All of these organizations met separately, and
to a considerable extent simultaneously, but there was no attempt to spread
information as to their meeting places or programs, and there was practically
an entire absence of co-operation between the societies. Although a really
large body of men were in session and discussing matters of much import, the
sessions were so widely scattered and so distinctly separate that the impression
of a large gathering was absent, and the attention which the meetings attracted
as a whole was minimized.
" In many ways the occasion afforded an excellent illustration of the present
disconnected condition of the societies for agricultural science, and the ad-
vantages which might accrue from an affiliation of those societies having
similar purpose. The central officers of such an affiliation could have done a
great deal to further the preliminary arrangements for such a gathering and
provided common headquarters. Furthermore, they could have served as a
medium through which arrangements for joint sessions of several societies
could be arranged to consider topics of mutual interest, and by extending
publicity as to the place and time of meetings and the nature of the programs
REPORTS OF committees: AFFILIATION.
31
of the various organizations, could have prevented confusion and made the
meetings more widely profitable.
" At least eight other scientific societies whose interest centers in agriculture
have held meetings during the late fall or will meet soon. Thse meetings are
widely scattered, and little information is available as to their programs and
proceedings. Like the organizations which met in Washington last month,
they have much in common. To many the names of the various agricultural
societies are almost unknown, and they are as separate and as difficult to
follow as societies representing widely different branches of science.
" The proposed plan for affiliation does not disturb the autonomy of the
various societies in any manner, but it paves the way for two important steps
— namely, a meeting biennially of the various societies at the same place and
time, as far as practicable, and the publication of a scientific journal to meet
the common needs of the societies. This could serve as a medium for dis-
cussion, reports in abstract of the meetings of the societies, notices, reviews,
and contributions of general interest in the field of agricultural science. At
present the lack of such an organ is keenly felt. There is no place, for
example, for a general survey of the various meetings held in Washington
last month. Such a survey would be of interest not only to the stay-at-homes
and a wide public, but as well to those who were obliged to choose between
sessions held in different places at the same time.
" If the work in agricultural science is to attract the attention of scientific
men and of the public as it deserves, there must be some agency for drawing
together the various activities and the results, in place of the segregation and
isolation which have been going on of late. These various societies have
enough of common interest, in that they focus on agriculture, to serve as a
logical basis for an organization to unify and promote the common objects of
the societies of agricultural science and increase their effectiveness. The
desirability of such a step seems so evident, and the apparent interest in it so
widespread, as to give much encouragement for its realization."
The agreement concerning affiliation has been signed by all the members of
the committee representing this Society, and is now subject to ratification by
the Society at its next meeting, as stated therein. We therefore recommend
that it be adopted by the Society, as presented, and that a member of the
Council of the Affiliated Societies be elected for the ensuing biennium, as
provided in Article IV of the proposed constitution.
Recommendations.
SCIENTIFIC SECTION.
THE AFFILIATION OF AMERICAN AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETIES.
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS.
A. M. Ten Eyck,
Branch Station, Hays, Kansas.
I believe that to our worthy but modest member, Mark A. Carleton,
belongs the honor of founding and organizing this Society of which
we are all proud to be members. His fertile brain conceived the
plan, and his far-seeing mind, looking forward into the future, saw
the possibilities and heights of usefulness to which this Society will
some day attain.
When Mr. Carleton first asked my opinion regarding the organizing
of such a society, I opposed the idea and tried to persuade him to
give up the plan. I contended that there were already too many
organizations of the kind. But Mr. Carleton's ancestors came from
Germany, and the Dutch are hard to convince when they have their
minds once set.
Thus the Society was organized and I became one of its first
members, though somewhat against my will. " Who is convinced
against his will, is of the same opinion still." I have changed my
opinion thus far, however, in that I am now convinced that this Soci-
ety has a place which no other organization can fill. We need the
American Society of Agronomy ! It is very important that each
worker should meet, and become acquainted with, other workers in
his line. By conversation and discussion his mind is quickened and
his knowledge increased. This is not the age of monks and hermits.
Truth is revealed by association with our fellow workers as well as
by diligent individual study and research.
There should be an association of the agronomists of the nation, the
same as there are associations of specialists in other lines of agricul-
ture; all are useful and all are necessary. But I am still of the
opinion that there are too many independent national agricultural
societies, to several of which every professional agriculturist and
33
34 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
scientist should belong, if he wishes to keep alive to the ever advanc-
ing truth of science in his line.
If you are an " up-to-date " agriculturist, a member of three or four
national associations, two or three State associations, and several
local organizations — each of which holds its regular annual meeting,
on a different date, and at widely separated points on the earth's
surface, you have a problem on your hands to meet all these obliga-
tions and still not neglect your regular work. The present system
is exhaustive of time and money. In fact, unless his expenses are
paid by some one else and unless he has very reliable assistants with
whom he can leave his work, a man in my position or your position,
can hardly afford more than one long excursion across the continent
each year to attend the meetings of the important societies of which
he may be a member.
I would not abolish any of these useful agricultural societies ;
we need them all but we also need a great central organization which
shall include all of the others as separate auxiliaries. Once each year,
at some central point, this combined national association of societies
would hold its annual convention, consisting of a series of meetings
following each other in such order that the meetings of societies of
similar characteristics would not conflict. There would also be
several general gatherings in which visitors, workers, and laymen
could meet for business and discussion; and to listen to valuable
lectures by our foremost agriculturalists.
Under such an arrangement, we could attend the meetings of each
of the organizations of which we were members, at the greatest
economy of time and expense and such meetings would be much
better attended than at present. The annual meetings of the com-
bined societies would bring together a large number of workers in
every line of agricultural research. A large number of the more pro-
gressive farmers would also attend these great annual conventions,
so that the good accomplished would be ten-fold more than that ac-
complished under the present condition.
The power of the combined associations to attract attention and
compel action along desirable lines by the State and National gov-
ernments would be a thousand-fold greater than is at present mani-
fest. The greater educational advantages and the meeting with
numbers of practical farmers and workers in other agricultural lines,
would broaden the minds of our specialists in every avenue of
research and enthuse them for greater effort. The educational effect
upon the farmers, and the good fellowship developed in such a great
annual conclave, would result in incalculable benefit to agriculture.
LYON: PLANTING PLATS WITH THE SAME EARS OF CORN. 35
I am aware that there is a joint-committee appointed to bring about
a union of agricultural societies of the country, such as I have here
mentioned, and I have spoken only to remind you of this and of its
importance. I hope that this Society will take such action as seems
necessary to assure an early completion of the organization of a
" Combined Association of National Agricultural Societies."
A TEST OF PLANTING PLATS WITH THE SAME EARS OF
CORN TO SECURE GREATER UNIFORMITY IN YIELD.
T. Lyttleton Lyon,
Ithaca, N. Y.
(Communication from the Department of Soil Technology, Cornell
University.)
On the experiment field at Cornell University are a number of
experiment plats having an area of .01 acre. The dimensions of
these plats are 43.5 X 10 ft. As it is customary here to plant corn
in hills 3 X 3 ft. each plat contains 39 hills of corn. Each plat is dupli-
cated or triplicated, but in spite of that the limited number of plants
on a plat might lead to an error if certain individuals on one plat
differed greatly in productiveness from those on other plats, even
when all are of the same variety. In order to decrease the probabil-
ity of variation in individual productiveness the plan of planting all of
the plats in an experiment with kernels from the same ears has been
adopted. If, for instance, there are thirty plats in the experiment,
thirty small sacs are placed in a row and a kernel from the same ear
is placed in each of the sacs. This is repeated until the number of
kernels required to plant a plat is deposited in each sac. The number
of ears used is sufficiently large to prevent the possibility of any
injurious result from close breeding.
In order to ascertain whether this method of planting does actually
have any advantage over the ordinary method of planting with mixed
seed a series of plats lying on the opposite side of the roadway were
planted with mixed seed, and the comparative uniformity of the two
series is the theme of this paper.
Plats 7001 to 7034 were planted from the same ears; Plats 8001
to 8034 were planted with the mixed seed. Every third plat was a
check plat and all checks received the same treatment. A calcula^
tion of the deviation of the actual yield from the normal yield of each
of the check plats, and a comparison of the deviation in plats planted
36 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
according to the two methods already described, affords a more or
less accurate way of measuring their relative efficiency. The normal
yield of a plat is here considered to be an average of the yield of the
two adjacent plats. Thus the yield of fodder corn on Plat 7001 was
63.6 lbs. The yield in Plat 7007 was 68.0 lbs. The normal yield for
Plat 7004, which is the plat lying midway between these two checks,
would then be 65.8 lbs. Plowever, the actual yield on Plat 7004 is
73.3 lbs., and hence the deviation from the normal is 7.5 lbs. or 11.4
percent of the normal. This is a very common method of estimating
the deviation from the normal yield of any plat in field plat experi-
ments. For the purpose here intended it is probably preferable to
any method which estimates the deviation from the mean of all the
check plats, because the latter method supposes the field to be uniform
from one end of the series of plats to the other, which is seldom the
case, while the former method merely supposes the soil to vary uni-
formly between any two plats, a much more probable condition.
Unfortunately the comparisons of the deviations from normal yield
in so far as such deviation may be due to the method of planting,
must be confined to the check plats which are located on every third
plat. This probably admits of greater inaccuracy than if the plats
were contiguous. Furthermore, it must be assumed that the greater
deviations on the series of plats planted by one or the other of these
methods are due to the method of planting, while it is well known that
numerous other factors play a part in causing differences in yield on
contiguous plats even when treated as much alike in every respect as
it is possible to do. However, this source of error is common to all
field plat experiments, and the data obtained from this single experi-
ment must, like others of the kind, be repeated a number of times
before they may be considered definite.
Table I shows the actual yields and the deviations from the normal
yields for the plats planted in each of the two methods already
described. Deviations from the normal are expressed in pounds and
also in percentage of the normal.
In calculating the probable error in a series of field plats the per-
centage deviation from the normal is obviously a more accurate
measure than is the actual deviation, expressed in weight, owing to
the fact that the productivity of the field may vary greatly between
the plats at the two ends of the series, and hence the actual deviation
may be much greater at one place in the series than at another, altho
on account of the yields being greater the relative deviation may be
no larger, or may possibly be less. For this reason only the mean
percentage deviation is shown in the table. This it will be noticed is
LYON: PLANTING PLATS WITH THE SAME EARS OF CORN. 37
Table I. — Comparative Uniformity of Plats Planted from the same Ears of
Corn and from Plats Planted with Mixed Seed of the Same Variety.
Each Plat Planted from the Same Ears.
Mean deviation from the normal
[4.1
Plats Planted from Mixed Seed.
Plat No.
Vield on
Plat, Lbs.
Normal
Yield.
Deviation from
Normal.
Plat No.
Yield on
Plat, Lbs.
Normal
Yield.
Deviation from
Normal.
Lbs.
Per Cent.
Lbs.
Per Cent.
7001
63.6
8001
59.0
7004
73-3
65.8
7.5
11.4
8004
49.5
57.0
7.5
13.2
7007
68.0
78.1
lO.I
12.9
8007
55.0
46.1
8.9
19.3
7010
83.0
70.2
12.8
18.2
8010
42.7
48.0
5-3
1 1.0
7013
72.5
75.7
3-2
4.2
8013
41.0
43-1
2.1
4.9
7016
68.5
73.1
4.6
6.3
8016
43.5
35.9
7.6
21.2
7019
73.7
69.0
4-7
6.8
8019
30-9
44.6
13.7
30.7
7022
69.5
81.2
11.7
14.4
8022
45.8
39.2
6.6
16.8
7024
88.7
62.6
26.1
41.7
8024
47.5
48.4
0.9
1.8
7027
55-7
73.8
18.1
24.5
8027
5LO
47.0
4.0
8.5
7031
59.0
59.2
0.2
0.3
8031
46.6
58.0
1 1.4
19.7
7034
62.7
8034
65.0
14.7
slightly in favor of the plats planted from the same ears, but the
difference is not enough to be significant.
It is perhaps a question whether the mean deviation from the
normal, as shown above, or the average deviation, as calculated below,
expresses better the probable average error in a series of plats. The
i ^
formula E = o.6y ^^^^ may be used for calculating the prob-
able average error. In this E represents the probable error ; n is the
number of tests and ^ is the sum of the squares of the deviations of
the individual tests from the mean. Calculated in this way the prob-
able average error for the plats planted from the same ears is 1.87 and
on the plats planted with mixed seed is 1.67.
In experiments of this nature, the fact must be borne in mind that
a very great number of factors enter into the results and that these
may mask entirely the effect of those factors, the effects of which it
is desired to compare. If it were possible to equalize all of the fac-
tors influencing crop yield, except the one whose effect it is intended
to measure, accurate results could be expected from a single test, but
where differences in soil, individuality of plants, insect attacks, plant
diseases, mechanical injury, and many more known and unknown
factors, all unite to determine the yield it is evident that the only
way to reach the desired end is to repeat the tests a great number of
times. These experiments are reported, therefore, only to record a
single result in what it is hoped will be a large number of tests by
the experiment stations of this country in an effort to work out these
and similar problems in the technique of field plat experimentation.
3B PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
A COMPARISON OF THE ERROR IN YIELDS OF WHEAT FROM
PLATS AND FROM SINGLE ROWS IN MULTIPLE SERIES.
T. Lyttleton Lyon,
Ithaca, N. Y.
(Communication from the Department of Soil Technology, Cornell
University.)
As in the preceding paper, the results from the test here reported
must be considered only one of many that will be required to give
definite information on the relative accuracy of yields from field
plats.
In the summer of 1910 a series of twenty-two plats of one-tenth
acre each were in wheat. Of these plats every third one was a check
and all checks received the same treatment. The plats were 226^
ft. long and 19^4 ft. wide. The checks had all received the same
treatment for seven years. Seven of the checks are here taken from
which to calculate the deviation from the normal according to the
method used in the previous article.
At the same time there was growing on the experiment field a
variety test of wheat in rows seventeen feet long with a space of one
foot between the rows. Every tenth row was a check, and the checks
were all planted with the same variety. I am indebted to Dr. H. H.
Love for the records of yields and other necessary data from these
rows of wheat.
The number of check rows used in the variety test admits the use
of seventy rows from which to compare the probable error in the
yields with the error on the tenth-acre plats. We shall assume that
the average of ten rows is a unit and that there are seven such units.
Furthermore we shall assume that each of these ten plats is located
in the same relative position in a different series of seven plats. In
other words we will imagine that seven tests are being conducted in
a series and that the series is repeated ten times.
Table I shows the percentage deviation from the normal yield for
each of the seventy rows.
It is quite obvious that some of the individual deviations are very
large. It remains to be seen whether taking the average of ten
rows will reduce the error to a reasonable point. To ascertain this
the yields in grams for every seventh row are added and the average
found. The average yield for each ten rows thus calculated is taken
as a unit and the deviation from the normal yields for each is cal-
culated in the same manner.
LYON : COMPARISON OF THE ERROR IN YIELDS OF WHEAT.
39
Table I. — Deviations from Normal Yield {in percent) of Individual
Check Rows.
Row
Row
Row
Row
Row
Row
Row
1-7.
8-14.
15-21.
22-28.
29-35-
36-42.
43-49
50-56.
57-63.
64-70.
3-2
14.5
16.9
7.2
10.6
1.8
30.6
10.6
6.3
2
8.64
13.6
15-5
5-5
4-9
4.3
14. 1
3.6
9.4
3-9
3
7.19
14.7
23-9
0.8
136
10.2
16.7
2.8
10.9
5.6
4
5.57
10.2
II. 4
8.5
8.2
2.6
10.5
5.6
5-9
1.6
5
5-33
7.6
7.6
19. 1
11,2
27.9
4.4
7.0
2.4
6
1.03
15-3
9-4
12.3
10.5
10.4
42.8
15.8
7.6
7-3
7
5 05
13.8
3-9
6.8
9.2
10.2
21.9
40.5
17.6
Table II contains a statement of the yields and deviations from the
normal yields on the one-tenth acre plats and on each of the seven
combinations of seventeen-foot rows.
Table II. — Comparison of Yields and Deviations from Normal Yields of
. Wheat on One-Tenth Acre Plats and on Combinations of Ten
Seventeen-Foot Rows.
One-tenth Acre Plats.
Mean deviation from normal
6.5
Seventeen-foot Rows.
Plat No.
Yield on
Plat, Lbs.
Deviation from Normal.
Combina-
tion Row,
No.
Average Yield
of Combined
Rows, Grams.
Deviation from Normal.
Lbs.
Per Cent.
Grams.
Per Cent.
711
144
I
536
714
152
22
14.4
2
16
2.9
717
117
17
14.5
3
533
24
4-5
720
116
2
1-7
4
565
10
1.8
723
III
5
578
15
2.6
726
106
2
1.9
6
561
5
0.9
729
97
7
534
2 5
Judged by the mean deviation from the normal yield the error is
considerably less for the seventeen-foot rows, when ten such rows
represent a single test, than is the error for the one-tenth acre plats,
when each plat represents a different test. The value of repetition of
a test on a number of plats, even when the plats are very small, is
here strongly indicated.
The use of the formula E~o.6y^ ^^^^^ gives =b 5.09 as the
probable average error for the one-tenth acre plats and ± 4.49 for
the ten seventeen-foot rows, which is in the same order as the result
obtained when the mean deviation is taken.
The advantage from the small plats is not only in point of accuracy,
but also in the area of land required. Seven one-tenth acre plats
covered an area of 30,492 sq. ft. while seventy of the seventeen-foot
rows required only 1,190 sq. ft. The use of the row method in
variety testing is commended by the results of this test.
40 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
ANALYSIS OF YIELD IN CEREALS.
L. R. Waldron,
Experiment Substation, Dickinson, North Dakota.
One of the first things attempted by the professors of agriculture
in the early days of experimental work was the testing of varieties.
As the work of the stations became more precise and specialized,
variety testing became less and less a feature. At some stations,
however, the work is still retained, but the testing has been put into
the hands of the farmers, leaving the experiment stations to make the
arrangements and give suggestions for the tests.
With the recent development of large areas of land in the western
semi-arid districts, variety testing has been revived to a greater or less
extent. The variety work that is being done now has been carried
forward on much the same basis as it was years ago. There is one
difference, however. The Department of Agriculture has stations in
the middle west and it is also co-operating with many substations.
This has enabled the work to be more or less unified over large areas,
something which was not done in the early days.
Many valuable results have already been secured from the tests
that have been carried on and help has been extended to the plant
breeders in indicating what varieties and strains should be developed.
Variety testing as it has been conducted cannot be carried on
indefinitely with value. The plant breeder will develop the most,
promising forms, and perhaps it is possible for the agronomist to
still continue the comparative study of varieties, though by somewhat
more refined methods than have generally been used in the past.
It is apt to be the case, where yield has been made the ultimate aim
of an experiment, that the factors which go to make up the differ-
ence in yield have been more or less neglected. In short, where
yield has been the measuring stick, where the experiment has been
put on a strictly utilitarian basis, the causes which bring about the
differences in the result have received rather scant attention.
If the work is to be conducted so as to command the attention of
experimental workers in other lines, more exactness must be used in
the methods. In order to bring about exactness and allow a critical
view of the results to be obtained, plantings must be subject to more
exact control.
It is of value no doubt to obtain the purely empirical results of
yield, but it is of more basic value to ascertain the causes of differences
in yield. We should distinguish between the various stages of empir-
WALDRON : ANALYSIS OF YIELD IN CEREALS. 4 1
ical results. Step by step, the empirical results become more scientific
and it should be the constant aim of the experimenter to bring results
into more causal relations.
Aside from its scientific interest, the value of the work is evident.
If one understands the reason of difference in yield as expressed in
the morphology of the plant, then one can judge more exactly under
what conditions the variety should be grown.
The problems involved are complex and difficult, but this should
not deter us from laying lines of approach. We have a certain fund
of knowledge regarding the adaptation of certain varieties or crops
for definite soils or climatic conditions, but such knowledge is largely
traditional, based upon farming experiences. We know that certain
cereals are adapted or not adapted to certain soils, but we know
relatively little about the morphologic reactions that plants exhibit
when grown under such soils.
To put the matter more concretely, I will indicate briefly the
methods that might be used to obtain the results desired. It will be
observed that nothing new is suggested, but only a more critical
following out of things that have heretofore been only loosely con-
sidered.
We may wish to determine, for instance, how it is that the 2-rowed
barleys yield more in a certain area than the 6-rowed. The crops
under consideration may be planted in 17-foot rows as is commonly
done, the rows one foot apart. It is, of course, necessary that the
conditions of the two crops be made as uniform as possible and if
necessary, duplication should be carried far enough to insure com-
parable conditions. The following measurements ought to be made
upon the plants and upon such a number of plants that we are pretty
sure of having established reasonably accurate means for the plants
for the conditions under which they are grown. The suggested
measurements are: Height of plant, weight of plant, heads per plant,
stems per plant, length of heads, weight of grain per plant, weight of
grain per head and number of grains per head. Other points will
suggest themselves. In addition, characters other than the morpho-
logical ones should be considered as far as the experimenter is able.
In many cases, resistance to disease is a determining factor in the
comparative yields of two groups of plants.
Such a study, carefully made, should give us the " energy " of any
variety, and we ought to be able to determine also, the centers upon
which this energy " is being expended with the climatic and soil
conditions available.
The work also would form a fundamental basis for plant breeding
42 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
in determining to what extent characters are heritable. In such a
case, the observations would have to be carried thru two or more gen-
erations. There would also be obtained, the amount of annual devia-
tion from any established mean.
The work would really consist of two parts: (A) To determine
if consistent differences exist in yield between any two forms, and
concurrently with this (B) to determine how this difference is por-
trayed in morphological characters. For the beginner in this work, it
would be well to use two rather contrasting groups of plants. In
such a case it would not be necessary to enter into such a close
analysis as would be required if forms were used differing but slightly
from one another. The problem of the causes of differences in yield
between common and durum wheats, has never been properly inves-
tigated, as far as the writer is aware. We know in a general way
why durum yields more in a certain section than common wheat, but
we do not know what expression this difference in yield takes, what
characters are affected to make up the differences. We do not know
whether the characters that give durum an increased yield in one sec-
tion are the same that give it an increased yield in another section.
It is granted that the differences in yield between durum and common
wheats are more fundamental in nature than mere length of head or
amount of stooling, but we can only secure the fundamental data by
studying the less fundamental in advance. If the data suggested were
taken of the two groups of wheats, even at one station, we would be
sure to obtain much enlightening information. The same work
could be done with the 2-rowed and 6-rowed barleys, with the common
and hullless barley and with other well defined groups of plants.
In dealing with groups or strains or plants separated less obviously
than the groups indicated above, more care will be needed in regard to
the purity of the plants studied. If for instance we compare a
pedigreed form with a variety consisting of a multitude of forms, if
we compare a ''pure line" with a '' landsorten " we must, of course,
work with that fact in view, and here again the value of the work
will be apparent.
During the last few years the plant breeders have been developing
varieties of close pollinated grains from single plants so that a modern
pedigreed variety is theoretically a pure line. This has been done on
the assumption that a pure line, taken one year with another, will
yield better than a mixture of lines. I will venture to say that this is
merely an assumption, and as far as I am aware, very little critical
work has been done to show that a pure line grown alone will yield
more than a mixture of certain selected pure lines. It has been
SPRAGG: keeping crop records at MICHIGAN STATION. 43
demonstrated, indeed, that a pedigreed grain may yield more than the
old " landsorten " from which it was derived, but there is no reason to
disbelieve that a scientific mixture of certain selected pure lines will
yield more for a certain district, taken one year with another, than any
one of the pure lines if grown alone.
To determine this point would require the most careful work possi-
ble and the yield alone should not be made the sole determining factor.
In addition to the yield, a careful statistical study should be made of
enough individuals of each group, so that means can be established for
various points. Much of our plant breeding in the close pollinated
plants has been loosely carried on with not enough fundamental
knowledge of the points involved. Plant breeding should be sup-
plemented by much more careful study of the basal factors than has
yet been undertaken.
METHOD OF KEEPING CROP RECORDS AT MICHIGAN
STATION.
Frank A. Spragg,
Michigan Experiment Station, East Lansing, Mich.
In appearing before you in the general subject, the keeping of crop
records at Michigan Station, the object is to outline the general plan
and give some reasons why our methods came into use. As you are
workers in this field, you will recognize that any fit system will be
applied to new uses and change somewhat in detail as time goes on.
Our system is composite in origin, but the aim is to outline only such
methods as have established themselves. In case the steps are not
clear, the author would be pleased to answer questions, and would
also be oleased to hear whv anv point may not be workable in another
ERRATA
p. 44. line 20, for "Plate IV" read "Fig. 10."
p. 46, fig. 1, for "Michigan" read "Accession."
p. 47, fig. 2, for " Michigan " read " Accession."
p. 53, lines 4 and 5, for "Only each fifth line is shown. Four
lighter lines run between each pair." read " Only each alter-
nate line in the diagram is a plat-line or pound-line."
p. 54, line 6, for "(four between each that is given)" read "(every
other one of the lines shown)"
p. 54, line 12, insert "or" before "on"
p. 54, line 28, for "2" read " I "
Insert this slip on p. 43 of vol. 2, Proc. Amer. Soc. Agron.
42 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
in determining to what extent characters are heritable. In such a
case, the observations would have to be carried thru two or more gen-
erations. There would also be obtained, the amount of annual devia-
tion from any established mean.
The work would really consist of two parts: (A) To determine
if consistent dif¥erences exist in yield between any two forms, and
concurrently with this (B) to determine how this difference is por-
trayed in morphological characters. For the beginner in this work, it
would be well to use two rather contrasting groups of plants. In
such a case it would not be necessary to enter into such a close
analysis as would be required if forms were used differing but slightly
from one another. The problem of the causes of differences in yield
between common and durum wheats, has never been properly inves-
tigated, as far as the writer is aware. We know in a general way
why durum yields more in a certain section than common wheat, but
we do not know what expression this difference in yield takes, what
characters are afTected to make up the differences. We do not know
whether the characters that give durum an increased yield in one sec-
tion are the same that give it an increased yield in another section.
It is granted that the differences in yield between durum and common
wheats are more fundamental in nature than mere length of head or
amount of stooling, but we can only secure the fundamental data by
studying the less fundamental in advance. If the data suggested were
taken of the two groups of wheats, even at one station, we would be
sure to obtain much enlightening information. The same work
could be done with the 2-rowed and 6-rowed barleys, with the common
and hullless barley and with other well defined groups of plants.
In dealing with groups or strains or plants separated less obviously
than the groups indicated above, more care will be needed in regard to
the purity of the plants studied. If for instance we compare a
pedigreed form with a variety consisting of a multitude of forms, if
we compare a " pure line "
work with that fact in vie^
will be apparent.
During the last few year.'
varieties of close pollinated j
pedigreed variety is theoreti
the assumption that a pure
yield better than a mixture c
merely an assumption, and
work has been done to shov
more than a mixture of c
SPRAGG: keeping crop records at MICHIGAN STATION. 43
demonstrated, indeed, that a pedigreed grain may yield more than the
old " landsorten " from which it was derived, but there is no reason to
disbelieve that a scientific mixture of certain selected pure lines will
yield more for a certain district, taken one year with another, than any
one of the pure lines if grown alone.
To determine this point would require the most careful work possi-
ble and the yield alone should not be made the sole determining factor.
In addition to the yield, a careful statistical study should be made of
enough individuals of each group, so that means can be established for
various points. Much of our plant breeding in the close pollinated
plants has been loosely carried on with not enough fundamental
knowledge of the points involved. Plant breeding should be sup-
plemented by much more careful study of the basal factors than has
yet been undertaken.
METHOD OF KEEPING CROP RECORDS AT MICHIGAN
STATION.
Frank A. Spragg,
Michigan Experiment Station, East Lansing, Mich.
In appearing before you in the general subject, the keeping of crop
records at Michigan Station, the object is to outline the general plan
and give some reasons why our methods came into use. As you are
workers in this field, you will recognize that any fit system will be
applied to new uses and change somewhat in detail as time goes on.
Our system is composite in origin, but the aim is to outline only such
methods as have established themselves. In case the steps are not
clear, the author would be pleased to answer questions, and would
also be pleased to hear why any point may not be workable in another
Register, Plant and Progeny Number.
le numbers that are being used in listing the various plots of a
on, in showing their relationship, in giving individual numbers
ir various selections and in tracing a pedigreed strain throughout
inal testing of yield and quality, are all members of the same
tm.
ur register number consists of three parts; viz., the date, plot
ber, and selected plant number. Before selections are made, the
two figures are zeroes. In this form it stands for the whole plot,
example 84700 stands for the forty-seventh plot of 1908. 84715
44 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
is a single plant. It is the fifteenth selection from the above plot.
If the selections are ears of corn to be analyzed and later planted,
these numbers may follow the ears through the laboratory back to
the field, and the beauty is that they indicate the origin at all times.
Each crop has a separate series of register numbers. Some workers
are using a separate series for each variety. We have found our
accessions to be mixtures, and that several of them may contain the
same elementary species or strain. Thus the ordinary varieties over-
lap, but all of them may be included under the head of the crop. Each
crop has a new set of elements and new problems. There is no reason
therefore for including more than one crop in a series. However, we
must have the name of the crop as well as the number when any
question is asked concerning one of our pedigreed strains.
Whenever a select plant becomes the mother of a promising strain,
the individual plant number becomes the strain number. For
example, we have a cowpea 60901. An increase plot of this strain,
grown in the summer of 1909, is shown in figure 2, Plate V. As can
be seen, this strain sprang from the first selected plant of the ninth
plot of 1906. Wheat 016600, or the i66th wheat plot of 19 10, was
a member of the twentieth-acre series, shown in Plate IV, and orig-
inated in a single plant (wheat 61202) the second selection from the
twelfth plot of 1906. In our wheat register, the two numbers follow
each other on the same line. The one stands for the current year
and the other indicates the pedigree.
With perennial plants, the date in the register number refers to
the year that the plot was started from seed. Alfalfa 90800 is the
eighth row or plot in a series started in 1909.
Centgener or Progeny.
We make no distinction in meaning between the words centgener
and progeny. It may be any number of plants produced as the direct
descent of a single plant. These plots are planted in blocks or in
rows as seems best to serve the problem at hand. Selection plots in
their first year are called beds. This is the starting point from which
individual plants are selected to become mothers of centgeners or
progenies.
Working Basis.
The individual plant is the basis upon which all the work is done,
In the case of small grains, the thrashing machine has carried its gifts
around until the commercial variety means little. The testing of these
mixtures can give only general ideas. When we have enough seed
of lots that have descended from single plants to plant our variety
SPRAGG: keeping crop records at MICHIGAN STATION. 45
series, we begin to get results. Those showing poor quahty or yield
are discarded. If we have done nothing more than to pick out the
highest producing strain in one of these commercial varieties, the
yield has been increased several bushels. Hybridization is being left
largely in the background until the work of finding and testing high
producing strains indicates valuable material to work on. We know
how a small grain hybrid will break up often for generations, espe-
cially if the crossing has been complex. In the case of open-fertile
plants, we deal with hybrids from the outset.
In working with alfalfa and clover for the past four years, where
thousands of individual plants have been studied in the nurseries, the
writer has been convinced that the problem of producing pure strains
is a severe one. If we had the original corn from which man has
selected the corns of to-day, or if we had all the varieties of dent,
sweet, pop, flint, and pod corns not only mixed together but completely
intercrossed in the same field we would have a corn condition that
would approximate the ordinary red clover of to-day. The hope is
that by passing our strains through a long series of individual plants,
discarding the undesirable and unproductive of each generation and
planting only the best, we can in time obtain a clover as uniform in
character as some of the better varieties of corn to-day.
Note Books and Record Sheets.
We use the standard letter-size paper (8^^ by ii inches) in all our
note books. They have two holes near one side to fit the Welch
covers. This makes them adaptable to all the varying needs of the
often strenuous note-taking day. Portions of a number of records
can be taken to the field under one cover. Index fobs on extra
sheets may be arranged to enable one to find the subjects easily.
Blank sheets can be sandwiched into the records at any points. And
if there is a rush job on, this system allows one register to be divided
into two, at any point, allowing two classes of notes to be taken at the
same time by different persons or groups.
The horizontal lines on the two sides of a record sheet are exactly
opposite. This causes a line on one page to fit that of the next
page and allow a record to continue there.
Accession Number Book. (Figs, i and 2.)
When a lot of seed is received, it is given an accession number.
Each class of plants receives a separate series of accession numbers.
In other words, each crop has a number book. The same blank is
used for all of the crops, the name of the crop being filled in at the
46 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
top. The two sides of the sheet are printed with columns to suit the
opposite pages. The headings are: number, variety, source, date
received, amount received, date entering nurser)^, and remarks.
Hybrids produced at the station receive a new number when they
enter the nursery. In this case, the variety cohimn shows the num-
bers of the parents, written as a common fraction. The number of
the dam becomes the denominator.
Michigan Number Book.
Individual plant number and strain number have already been
explained. These follow the seed as long as it remains at the sta-
Michigan Number Book
Kind of Plant
Michigan
Numher
Name ot
Variety
Source
Date
Received
Fig. I. — Specimen page of Michigan number book.
tion. We have also used them in sending small quantities of seed to
farmers. A pedigreed strain can seldom be called by any existing
name, and our strain number is large and apt to be forgotten by
farmers. Therefore, as soon as quantities of these new produc-
tions are to be distributed, we plan to send them out under a new
series of numbers, called Michigan numbers. These will dif¥er from
the accession numbers in that the seeds descend from individual
plants at the station.
SPRAGG: keeping crop records at MICHIGAN STATION. 4/
Registers. (Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.)
Each crop has a register with columns suited to its needs. In
general, the opposite pages are used for one record. Each line takes
care of a plot. The columns on the left hand page (Figs. 3 and 5)
are suited to a description of the mother plant, and those on the right
hand page (Figs. 4 and 6) to the taking of notes on the progeny or
increase plot. The first three columns are : register number, plant or
strain number, and accession number. Others vary with the crop
in question. Where a quantity of blanks are needed, they are printed.
Others are copied on the hectograph, or small quantities with carbon
sheets. Increase and variety series are entered on the same blanks as
Michigan Number Book
Kind of Plant. ,
Amount
Received
Date ot
Entering Nursery
REMARKS
Fig. 2. — Specimen page of Michigan number book.
are used for the progenies and beds. The plot numbers run serially
throughout all these groups of plots for a season.
The register of an annual crop like oats (Figs. 3 and 4) is fully
explained by the cuts. In the case of perennial crops like alfalfa the
problem is more complex. It will be noticed that Fig. 6 is a narrower
page than Fig. 5. It is on a short leaf that when allowed to rest on
Fig. 5 will cover all the columns except the "Register No." The
second page of this short leaf is shown in Fig. 7. This is for the
notes on the second year. A second short leaf is used for the records
of the summary notes of the third and fourth years. Then we come
4^ PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
Oat Breeding Register
Michigan Experiment Station
Class Season 19,
Centgeoer
Number
1 N. Stock Number |||
Plant
dumber
S
B
-f
DESCRIPTIOM OF PLANT SELKCTEI
Straw
Heads
Grain
Number of
Stalks
1
Si
1
3
2
Color
1 Resistance %|
1 Vigor % 1
IB
go
- o
•1
j Unlformlty%|
1 Resis'tkn'ce% |
1 'spTke'lets 1
1 In single Hulls
J In double Hulls!
6
2
?
ts
f
1 oWi 1
1 1
Fig. 3. — Specimen page of Michigan oat-breeding register.
Alfalfa Bredln^iReq
nick E>^p- Su. ^
1.
s:
.0
OiSLfipilOn ''f Partnt Plant
-c:
?^
i
•T
■^^
?^
-^■^
-'^
R emar/cs
Fig. 5. — Specimen page of Michigan alfalfa-breeding register.
to a full sized page used as a yearly-average comparison sheet. This
is on the back of Fig. 5.
Individual Plant Registers. (Figs. 8 and 9.)
With annual plants we have the whole story told in the growing
plant. In the case of perennials, we need to follow the performance
SPRAGG: keeping crop records at MICHIGAN STATION. 49
Oat Breeding Register
Michigan Experiment Station
Class Season 19
PERl-OHMAXCF, RECUliU IN NURSERY PLOT 19 . .
1
Number of
i
i
11
1 Rust 1
1 Resistauce % 1
smut ^
Resistance %
11
1 Yield of Plot 1
Mtrogen % J
i:e.markm
Fig. 4. — Specimen page of Michigan oat-breeding register.
A\ia\f^ dr^^clifi^ Register
I'
Q
U 4.
Q>
t ^
^
Q ^
P[ ve-ro
QC 0/ First Ye.c
> Y- /Vohe sr T^5^a Is)
i
I
QJ
4-
c
Ola
4.
-0
OJ
X
Drv Wf.
Correoheo/ Basts.
-C
\^
4.
c
"0
<u
QJ
4-
c
4.
■C
j:
t
^ QJ
Fig. 6.— Specimen page of Michigan alfalfa-breeding register.
so PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
of individual plants throughout their lifetime and average the results
in making our final selections of hardy, healthy, vigorous mothers of
the coming generation. The plants are set in check rows. The rov^s
in one direction are progenies or beds, and are given plot numbers.
The rows in the other direction take care of the plant numbers in
each progeny. The plant numbers are designated on their row stakes
as hundredths, written as decimals. In this system, 35.92 stands for
the 92nd plant in the 35th row. When selections are made, this
Alfalfc^ Bmdin^ Register
Mich. Ef^p Std,
u e> rt Of 6?
r 3ecoj
or N
s
•1
C «
>
Is
■ ~ -J
03
+
I
9 •
HQ)
f
V
•>
V
c
C
Q)
CO
C
+
c
a
j:
> -4-
i
QO
1-
Fig. 7. — Specimen page of Michigan alfalfa-breeding register.
fits easily into our regular system by prefixing the date when the nur-
sery was set out and omitting the decimal point. We have such a
plant in an alfalfa nursery set out in 1909. If this plant should
become a mother of a new strain, it would be designated as alfalfa
93592.
The individual plant register has one or more pages given over
to a progeny. The opposite pages are duplicates. At the top of the
page is found the register number and the year that this particular
crop is grown. Each line on the page takes care of a plant. The
SPRAGG : KEEPING CROP RECORDS AT MICHIGAN STATION. 5 I
columns take care of the various notes that are taken. When the
season's work is finished, summations of these plant records are made
for each progeny and entered in the crop register. This enables us to
Individual Alfalfa Register
Year.
Row No-
Register No..
GENERAL CHARACTERS
1ST CUTTING
2ND OH SEED CUTTING
Fig. 8. — Specimen page of Michigan individual alfalfa register.
Year.
Individual Clover Register
Row No Register No.
GENERAL CHARACTERS
1ST CUTTING IF BEFOSE.
OR SEED CUTTING
Fig. 9. — Specimen page of Michigan individual clover register.
compare the progenies from year to year. The individual plant regis-
ters of the different years enables one to look up the performance
of any plant in question. The records of the more promising indi-
viduals are brought together on a summary sheet for final comparison.
52 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
Notes.
Midsummer is a busy note-taking season with little more time than
enough to carry out carefully laid plans. The notes to be taken vary
with the kind of crop. Special registers are made out in winter, and
the headings of these registers indicate the work to be done as the
season advances. Plate III, Fig. i, illustrates note-taking on cent-
gener wheats.
In the case of alfalfa and clover, we are taking individual plant
yields of hay and seed, and intend to follow the most promising of
these plants to the field variety series. In the case of alfalfa we hope
to have a %o acre series in 1911 wherein each plot has descended from
a plant at the station. In the case of the hay crop, each plant is
tagged, cut and hung up on lines in the shade to dry. Later we get
the dry weights on these plants. As no attempt was made to hang
the plants in the order in which they grew in the field, they are now
considerably mixed. For this reason, a temporary record is made on
a sheet of paper pinned to a small drawing board. The sheet is cross
ruled so as to have as many lines as there are rows in the plot, and
as many columns as there are plants in a row. A T-square enables
one to find the proper places on the paper as fast as another can
make the weights. From this sheet, the results are transferred to the
register.
Before the seed crop is ripe, a list of superior plants has been made
out from the records. Those that also prove to be good seed pro-
ducers are tagged and hung on lines near our special individual
thrasher. When dry, these are weighed and thrashed as time per-
mits. The seed is stored in envelopes, 3 by inches, open at the
end. We use this size in all of our work. The envelopes are stored
in tin boxes away from the mice.
Because of the fact that we annually make thousands of small
weighings, we use a specially ordered spring dial scale. It weighs
in grams from 2 to 800 with the pan on, or running up to 1200 grams
by taking off the pan. In the field this is hung on a tripod covered
with a sheet to keep the wind from bothering. Indoors, the scale is
often supported by a hook on the lines where plants are being
weighed.
In Plate III, Fig. 2, the scale is shown in operation in the alfalfa
nursery.
Plotting System.
The plan of the perennial nurseries has been given. In the small
grains, the first year selection plots are also in check rows with not
more than one plant in a hill, five inches each way. In variety testing,
PLATE III
Fig. I. — Note-taking on Michigan centgener wheals, 1909,
Fig. 2. — Obtaining green weights of individual alfalfa plants with spring dial
scale, June, 1909.
THE LIBRARY
OF THE
UNIVERSITY Of ILLINOIS
THE LIBRARY
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOI??
SPRAGG : KEEPING CROP RECORDS AT MICHIGAN STATION. 53
the plots are always long and narrow. A check is placed in the series
frequently, and if seed and space will permit, the series is duplicated.
The soil may seem uniform and yet the checks will show considerable
Fig. 10. — Diagram of yields of wheat variety series, 1910.
variation. Plate IV shows a portion of two series of grain plots.
The yields are corrected to a uniform basis on a piece of cross-section
paper ( Fig. 10). The vertical lines represent the various plots of a
54 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
series. The horizontal lines stand for different yields. Only each
fifth line is shown. Four lighter lines run between each pair. The
yields of the plots are now represented by small crosses properly
placed. Circles are placed around those that represent the yields of
the check plots. A broken line is drawn to connect those in circles.
This broken line gives the curve of soil fertility, as the check plots
were planted with the same lot of seed. This curve of soil fertility
appears to be very abrupt on the chart. The facts are intensified pur-
posely to obtain greater accuracy. The adjacent vertical lines are
plots (four between each that is given). The adjacent horizontal
lines are pound lines. If the units had been ten pound or bushels,
one would have found that the abruptness of the curve would have
collapsed. In selecting the land, we try to find a piece as nearly uni-
form as possible for this class of work. The accuracy of our scales
in weighing yields is usually half a pound. Therefore by using
pound lines we can place a cross halfway between two lines on a line
and proceed with as great accuracy as the scales.
An average is taken of the various yields of the check plots, and a
horizontal line is drawn to represent that average. Dots are made
on the vertical plot lines having the same relation to the line of
average checks as the crosses have to the curve. If a cross is five
pounds above the curve of soil fertility, the corresponding dot is
placed five pounds above the line of average fertility. If a cross is
below the curve the dot is placed the same distance below the line of
average check yield. When these dots have been properly placed on
all the plot lines, those representing adjacent plots are connected by
straight lines. This gives us the yield curve, where the question of
soil fertility has been taken out of consideration. Averages can now
be made between duplicate plots to still further eliminate error. Three
of these yearly averages will give us a fair comparison among the
strains in question.
Figure 2 on Plate V illustrates the way the seed plots of open-
fertile plants may be grouped to avoid danger of crossing.
Stakes and Labels.
These stakes- are two inches by a half inch and two feet long.
They are painted white freshly each year. The labels are plain white
card board, cut two by three inches. Waterproof drawing ink is
used in making them. The labels are dipped in hot paraffine to pro-
tect them from the weather. They are placed in the envelopes with
the seeds that they represent. We try to know just where each plot
is to go and the space it is to occupy before spring opens. We pick
PLATE V
Fig. I. — Method of isolating" plats of open-fertilized crops to prevent cross
pollination.
Fig. 2. — Field of pedigreed cowpeas Xo. Oo joi, crop of 1909.
THE LIBRARY
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
ball: work of the committee on seed improvement. 5 5
up an envelope of seed, and with it the label to be tacked on a stake.
The stake follows the crop to the thrasher and the label is placed in
the top of the sack of seed. A tag with the same information is tied
outside.
THE WORK OF THE COMMITTEE ON SEED IMPROVEMENT
OF THE COUNCIL OF NORTH AMERICAN
GRAIN EXCHANGES.
Bert Ball,
Secretary of the Committee, St. Louis, Mo.
(By Invitation.)
I was very glad when Mr. Carleton invited me to attend this con-
ference because it gives such an excellent opportunity to meet you
gentlemen face to face.
For the first time in history, the commercial bodies of this country
are fully aroused to the importance and necessity of a larger yield of
better grain. Heretofore, the work of organization has never been
undertaken because there seemed to be no suitable body to assume the
responsibility and to conduct the work.
Until very recently, there was no tie to bind the various interests of
the Grain Trade in one homogeneous organization. The various
interests were all working to the same end in their own way — all
doing good work, but not following the same plan and the same line.
Mr. Manning W. Cochrane, President of the St. Louis Merchants
Exchange, addressed the Council of North American Grain Ex-
changes in New York in September upon the impossibility of filling
orders for pure seed. In this paper he struck the key note — he
found the one item upon which all of the interests could unite. He
was appointed chairman of a committee, with power to act, and he
called a meeting in October, to which he invited representatives of the
United States Government, the State agronomists, the higher officials
of the railroads, the bankers, the Secretaries of the State Boards of
Agriculture, Superintendents of State Normal Schools where agricul-
ture is taught, the National Federation of Millers, the Grain Associa-
tions of the various States, the manufacturers of cereals and agricul-
tural implements, the Boards of Trade, Commercial and Civic Clubs,
the press and, in fact, every organization interested in the welfare of
the entire nation.
Although the notice of the meeting was short, forty-two represen-
56 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
tative citizens met this Committee in Chicago, every man heartily
commending the movement to unite these tremendous forces in the
proper channels, and many splendid suggestions were made.
Now you must agree that it is more important that the farmer
should put into practice that which he already knows than it is to
attempt to give him a higher scientific education until he is ready
for it, therefore, it is our first endeavor to make a platform upon
which we can all stand.
This we have endeavored to do in formulating a circular which was
drawn by this Committee and sent to the agronomists of every State
for approval or criticism. We have received much commendation for
this circular, and very little criticism, but Professor Wiancko of Pur-
due has kindly rewritten it, rounding it out and making it nearer a
standard than any of the rest of us. We have already had it ap-
proved by the Committeemen in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and some
of the other States, and will begin its distribution from all sources
at once.
I will read this circular, and will be glad to have any gentlemen
here present make suggestions concerning the phraseology and the
plan here outlined.
Seed Grain Suggestions
''Please Read and Hand to a Farmer Friend
" Have you any choice seed grain for sale, or will you need seed?
''If you have any good seed grain, you should send a sample to
your State Experiment Station, stating [name of the variety — Ed.]
how much you have and the price you want for it. Your name will
be listed and sent to those who ask for good seed.
"If you need good seed, ask the State Experiment Station where
to get it and what it will cost.
" If you produce your own seed grain, it is important to select it
early out of the best part of the crop and take good care of it.
You should never fail to use a good fanning mill, selecting only
the heaviest and plumpest kernels of good body for sowing, and
avoid planting shriveled and dwarfed kernels. Wheat, oats, barley
and rye seed may be best prepared by fanning mills, which separate
by size and by weight, by means of screens and wind blast. A good
fanning mill, properly used, will more than pay for itself in a single
season.
If your seed appears to be mixed or falling off in yield, it will pay
you to get pure bred seed of the best strain adapted to your soil and
climate. If you have any doubt as to what varieties to plant, write
ball: work of the committee on seed improvement. 57
the State Experiment Station and ask them which will do best in your
soil and climate.
"Are you testing your seed for germinating qualities? It is a
simple matter, and the State Experiment Station will send you full
directions for doing it at home.
Do not waste your time in sowing new varieties (except on a
small tract as an experiment) unless your State Experiment Station
recommends them. You cannot afford to take the chances. Let the
Experiment Station do the testing of new varieties and learn the
results from them.
" Whenever smut appears, treat the seed grain with formalin solu-
tion. Get the formula and method from the State Experiment Sta-
tion. The treatment is very simple and effective.
By attention to these rules, you can increase your crop from 4 to
10 bushels per acre, with very little extra expense. Additional atten-
tion to cultural methods and soil fertilization will add further to the
profits.
" For extra copies send to Bert Ball, Secretary of Committee, St.
Louis Merchants Exchange."
There is nothing in this which the farmer does not already know,
if you should ask him, but as a first step, we feel that every farmer
should realize that the State Experiment Station is his best friend,
that it belongs to him, that it was established for his benefit, and that
he is very foolish not to utilize it to its fullest extent.
The many plans we have for distributing this circular and driving
it home I will not present, because that is a mere matter of detail, but
suffice it to say that every interest mentioned will take an active
part.
In order to localize this campaign in every State, we propose to
hold " Grain Improvement Days " at Corn Shows and other agricul-
tural meetings, and have already formulated a program for Decem-
ber loth, at Des Moines, lov/a. I strongly urge everyone here to be
present on that occasion if possible. We intend to present this subject
from every aspect, and have the Governor and Legislature-elect at a
banquet in the evening, and will make a strong effort to commit them
to the adequate support of their State Experiment Station.
After studying the whole situation, we find that the State Agrono-
mist is at the pivotal point where this work must be brought to a focus,
as he is the only man in the State qualified to give authoritative opin-
ion upon the seed most suitable to the soil and climate of the different
parts of his State. While some of you have written us that 3^ou
have no funds and therefore can not collect the names of those who
58 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
have good seed and so inform those who have not, we feel that in that
case your state will be the sufferer and that Vv^e will not make as much
progress in that vicinity as we can where the Experiment Station is
not only in hearty sympathy but in active co-operation. Seed selec-
tion is only the first step. It is to be followed by all the other things
— seed-bed, fertilization, soil-analysis, breeding, etc., as rapidly as the
work may be digested and made applicable to the various interests.
The making of laws and scientific education may all be very well,
but the quickest way to accomplish any result is to demonstrate its
commercial value and to get the hard-headed business men of the
nation not only to commend it, but to supply whatever money is neces-
sary to carry the plan to completion. This awakening, we are glad to
say, is being accomplished.
We not only have the magnificent backing of the Grain Trade, but
we are enlisting every commercial force in this campaign. I believe
that very little can be done by wheedling or begging the farmer to do
this thing or that thing, even when it is for his own good. What we
must do is to show him, practically, the money side of it and we will
have no difficulty in bringing our supply up to the demand. I believe
we can show him, on the same basis, that it is folly to impoverish
the land, and that the farmer will not only restore to his soil what his
crop takes out of it, but will add a certain percentage for posterity,
not as a matter of sentiment, but as a matter of business.
About the only way to obtain an immediate result is for us to agree
upon a plan and put it forward by sheer force of public opinion.
Is there any gentleman here who does not agree with me? Is
there any man here who will not render his assistance? If we get our
plan right, there is unlimited money eager to be poured into the
proposition, but we must demonstrate that we have our plan and are
able and willing to work it.
" In the interest of obtaining a Larger Yield of Better Grain, by the
plans suggested, successful Grain Improvement Days have already
been held in Baltimore and Des Moines, and meetings are scheduled
for Columbia, Missouri ; Denver, Colorado and Manhattan, Kansas,
and many other States, which meetings will be attended by delegates
from Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming,
Kansas and Nebraska. There will also be a Grain Improvement Day,
under the auspices of this Committee, at Columbus, Ohio, the first
week in February, and other States have signified their intention of
holding similar meetings.
The government report gives the acreage of Wheat, Corn and
Oats harvested in 19 lO, as nearly two hundred million acres. If by
MONTGOMERY: SEED VALUE OF LIGHT AND HEAVY KERNELS. 59
the selection of proper seed the increase should be but one bushel
per acre the result would be two hundred million bushels more grain
to be marketed. When it is stated by the Agricultural Stations that
the proper selection of seed would increase the yield from four to
ten bushels per acre, the importance of the work will be appreciated
by every student of economic conditions."
(This final quotation is an extract from the annual report for 1910 of the
Committee on Seed Improvement, transmitted by Mr. Ball in January, 191 1, as
an addition to his paper. — Ed.)
METHODS FOR TESTING THE SEED VALUE OF LIGHT AND
HEAVY KERNELS IN CEREALS.
E. G. Montgomery,
Nebraska Experiment Station, Lincoln, Nebr.
During the past fifty years a number of experimenters have reported
results on the relative value of heavy and light, or large and small
seed grain. At the end of this paper is found a list of experiments
usually cited on this subject. In view of the widespread interest in
the matter, and the rather conflicting experimental data at hand, it
seems that the time is here when those interested should undertake a
well planned line of experiments, under various conditions, in order
that we may have a clear and definite answer regarding the problem.
The list of experiments referred to, while not quite complete, shows
at least 22 tests with wheat, 7 tests with oats and a number with barley
and rye, making 34 in all.
Before attempting to outline a plan for future work along this line,
it will be well to make a careful examination of methods used in
the past. Each experimenter has devised a somewhat different
method, although all have approached with the same general point of
view in mind. In order to make a comprehensive study, the fol-
lowing summary has been prepared :
Classified Summary of Various Methods used by Different
Experimenters in a Study of the Comparative Merits
OF Large and Small or Heavy and Light
Seed of Cereals.
Methods of Preparing or Selecting the Seed.
(i) Hand selection.
(a) Large plump kernels and small plump kernels from the
same head.
60 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
(b) Large plump kernels and small plump kernels from heads
of different sizes.
(c) Large plump kernels and small plump kernels from a
general sample.
(d) Plump kernels and shriveled kernels from a general
sample.
(e) Large-kerneled and small-kerneled varieties.
(/) Large-kerneled and small-kerneled pure lines within a
variety.
(2) Machine selection.
(a) Large plump and srriall plump kernels from a general
sample separated into two lots by a system of screens.
(b) Kernels of several sizes by means of a system of screens.
(c) Heavy plump vs. large and small light: Grading by means
of a combination of wind and screens as in a fanning
mill.
(3) Specific gravity selection.
(a) Kernels of high specific gravity and those of low specific
gravity, separated by means of solutions.
Portion of Original Sample Used.
(1) 5 percent to 10 percent of extremes.
(2) Sample divided into four to seven grades, according to size of
seed.
(3) Sample divided into two grades or four grades, using equal
volumes of each grade.
(4) Seed thoroughly fanned or screened, discarding only a small
percent of the poorest.
Methods of Planting.
(1) Plants spaced.
(a) Rows 8 inches to 16 inches apart and plants spaced 4
inches to 8 inches apart in the rows.
(2) Plants grown in pots (usually 6 plants in a pot).
(3) Ordinary rates of seeding.
(a) Row-plats, one row to a plat and rows from i rod to 8
rods in length.
(b) Rectangular plats, from one square rod to one-tenth acre
in size.
Quantity of Seed Planted on Unit Area.
(1) Equal numbers of all grades of seed.
(2) Equal volumes of all grades of seed.
Check Plats.
(i) Original unseparated sample used as check.
MONTGOMERY: SEED VALUE OF LIGHT AND HEAVY KERNELS. 6 1
(a) Series repeated two to five times each season.
(b) Work continued several seasons.
(2) Original unseparated sample not used.
(a) Series repeated two or more times each season.
(b) Experiment repeated with different varieties.
It appears from the above classification that at least eleven methods
were used in preparing the seed, and since the experiment might be
varied in other details it is safe to say that no two experiments were
carried out in the same way.
In the following tables the experiments have been roughly classified
into 5 groups in order to give a summarized statement of results.
A few tests conducted only a single year have been omitted where
the data seemed insufficient, and a few other cases have been omitted
because the detailed data were not available.
The data may be divided into two general classes, putting in one
group those cases where the seeds were selected by hand (Tables
I-III), and in the other by small hand screens, where great care was
exercised (Tables IV-V).
The data may also be grouped in another way, namely those cases
where large seed was directly compared with small seed (or light
seed with heavy) and those cases where the large and the small or the
light and the heavy seed were compared directly with an unseparated
sample of the original grain. While the first of those methods has
both scientific interest and practical value, the latter method is the
more desirable from a practical standpoint. What the farmer wishes
to know is whether, by some method of treatment, he can improve the
stock of seed he has, rather than the comparative merits of two
or more grades of seed which may be selected from the original
sample.
According to Table I where equal numbers of the large and small
seed were compared, there seems to be a decided advantage in favor
of the large seed.
In Table II, two cases are cited where equal numbers of seeds
were space-planted ; i. e. in the case of Cobb's work in New South
Wales, the rows were i6" apart and the plants 8" apart in the row,
while at North Dakota the plants were 4" by 8" apart. In this case
the large seed also gave the largest total yield. In the case of the
New South Wales experiment, however, the difference is almost
accounted for by the dift'erence in germination, the average germina-
tion of the larger being about 91 percent and of the shrunken seed
79 percent.
Table III gives the result of 3 pot cultures in which the smaller
62 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
I. Hand Selections : No checks used.
Table 1— Grain Sown in Plats — Usual Rate of Seeding. Equal Numbers of
Each Grade — No Checks Used.
Crop
Used.
Place.
Refer-
ence
No.
Remarks.
Duration
of Exp.,
Years.
Chai'acter of
Seed.
Yield pe
Bus
Large.
r Acre in
lels.
Small.
Winter
Guelph, Ont.
21
Hand selected
6
Lafge plump
46.90
wheat
Small plump
40. 40
Spring
( ( ( (
21
8
Large plump
21.70
wheat
Small plump
18.00
Barley
( ( a
21
( ( < (
6
Large plump
53.80
Small plump
50.40
Oats
a ((
21
7
Large plump
62.03
Small plump
46.60
Winter
Tenn.^ Exp.
17
Separated by
3
Large plump
31-23
wheat
Sta.
hand screens
Small plump
28.44
Rye
Denmark
29
4
Large plump
26.50
Next to large
26.80
Next to small
25.80
Small plump
25.60
Average
38.40
33-61
Table IL — Kernels Space-planted 6 Inches Apart or More.
Crop
Used.
Place.
Reference
No.
Remarks.
Duration
of Exp.,
Years.
Character of
Seed.
Yield per Acre in
Bushels.
Large.
Small.
Winter
wheat
Spring
wheat
New 2 South
Wales
North
Dakota
17
12
Separated by hand,
using sets of screens
Hand selection
3
4
Large plump
Small plump
Large plump
Small plump
16. 1 1
10 % inc
favor of ]
13-31.
:rease in
arge seed
Table IIL — Pot Cultures. Equal Numbers of Seed Grown in each Pot.
{Usually Six.)
Crop
Used.
Place.
srence
Remarks.
ration
Test,
ears.
Character of
Seed.
Yield per Pot
in Grams.
0)
Q 0^
Large.
Small.
Winter
wheat
Barley
Wheat
Woburn,
England
Woburn,
England
Ohio Experi-
ment Sta.
18
27
20
2 varieties from " Head "
and ' ' Tail " corn
Selected from "Head"
and " Tail " corn
Hand selected from same
head
2
Head corn
Tail corn
Head corn
Tail corn
Large kernels
Small kernels
14.91
7-30
13.21
15-34
8.30
15.68
Average
II. 81
13. II
^ Average of 2 varieties.
^ Three year average made of largest and smallest in each case from data
reported in Agr. Gazette, N. S. W.
MONTGOMERY : SEED VALUE OF LIGHT AND HEAVY KERNELS. 63
seed returned the larger yield in each case. It is mentioned in all
three reports of the pot culture experiments, that the initial growth
from the large seed was stronger, but that this apparent advantage
disappeared as growth developed, and in a few weeks was not longer
apparent.
The effect of continuous selection of large seed has been mentioned
2. Machine Selections.
Table IV. — Seed Separated by Machines. Equal Volumes of Each Grade
Sozvn at Usual Rate of Seeding. No Check Plats.
Crop
Used.
Place.
1 Reference
1 No.
Remarks.
Duration
of Test,
Years.
Character of
Seed.
Yield p
in Bu
Large.
er Acre
shels.
Small.
Winter
Ohio Exp.
20
Fanningmill and screens,
2
Largest
22.64
wheat
Station
not continuous
Smallest
21.77
Winter
Utah Exp.
5
Screens, not continuous
4
Largest
18.72
wheat
Station
Smallest
18.72
Winter
Indiana Exp.
3
Fanning mill and screens,
3
Largest
30-54
wheat
Station
not continuous
Smallest
27.97
Barley
Woburn,
27
Fanningmill and screens
I
Head corn
32. 10
England
Tail corn
36.40
Rye
Denmark
29
10
Largest
37.80
Next largest
38.50
Next smallest
39.10
Smallest
38.50
Rye
Nebraska
30
Wind blast, continuous
6
Heaviest
36.40
Exp Sta.
selection
Lightest
3350
Average
30.96
"30 85
Table V. — Seed Separated by Machines. Equal Volumes of Each Grade
Sown at Usual Rate of Seeding. Check Plats of Original Seed Used.
Crop
Used.
Winter
wheat
Winter
wheat
Winter
wheat
Oats
Oats
Winter
wheat
Place.
Ohio Exp.
Sta.
Kans.Exp.
Sta.
Nebr. Exp.
Sta.
Kans.Exp.
Sta.
Nebr.i
Exp. Sta.
Utah Exp.
Sta.
Method of
Separation.
Fanningmill
and screens
Fanningmill
and screens
Wind blast
Fanningmill
Fanningmill
Solution
Remarks
Continuous selection,
! plats duplicated
Not continuous, plats
j repeated 5 times
Continuous selection,
plats repeated — ave.
I two varieties
Continuous, plats re-
j peated 5 times
Continuous last 3
I years, plat repeated
;Not continuous
Average
Yield per Acre (Bushels).
Heaviest
or Largest.
16 25
29.15
31.80
30.90
58.80
10.81
29.60
Lightest or
Smallest.
16.50
27.60
31.40
27.50
57.60
16.30
29.50
^ Last three years unpublished.
64 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
by a number of investigators as being of greater importance than the
result of a single year's selection. However there is only one experi-
ment where continuous selection by hand has been carried long
enough to show results. In this case oats has been continuously
selected for 12 years with a constantly increasing spread in yield
between the two grades. (Rept. Ont. Dept. of Agric, 1908.)
To sum up Tables I, II and III, where the selection has been by
hand and equal numbers of each grade sown, the advantage is in favor
of the larger seed. It would have been a valuable addition to the
data had equal volumes of the two grades been sown and the selected
grades checked with an unselected sample of the original seed.
Table IV shows the result of machine selection in a number of ex-
periments where equal volumes were used. These data show no
advantage of the larger or heavier grade over the smaller or lighter
grade.
Table V shows a set of experiments where, in addition to a com-
parison of the large or heavy and small or light kernels, as separated
by the fanning mill, a test of a sample of the original seed is included.
There is no marked difference in yield in any case. Where machine
separation has been practiced, equal volumes of seed have usually
been sown, but in one case with wheat (Ohio Exp. Sta. Bulletin 165)
where equal numbers of kernels were sown for three years, no marked
difference in yield was noted.
To sum up, it appears that where equal numbers of large and small
hand-selected seed were sown the advantage was in favor of the
larger or heavier seed but no check with the original seed was included
in these cases. Where machine separation w^as practiced, no marked
variation in results has been secured.
It is not possible to draw satisfactory conclusions on all phases of
this question from the evidence at hand. Where the large seed has
been compared with the original unseparated sample, it is clear that no
marked chfferences have been secured. Where large seed has been
compared with small, in certain well-conducted experiments marked
results have been secured, while in others the variation in yields
has been well within the limits of experimental error. This varia-
tion in result is probably due to some local cause, such as soil, climate
or method of seed selection. For example, it is conceivable that in a
cold soil or poor soil large seeds might give to the young plants an
initial advantage that would last until harvest time. The problem
to be taken up now, is to discover the conditions under which the
dift'erent results may be secured. It appears that the most practical
way of approaching this problem would be the general adoption of
MONTGOMERY: SEED VALUE OF LIGHT AND HEAVY KERNELS. 6$
a standard method of making the tests so that any difference in re-
sults could be ascribed to local conditions rather than to difference
in method. This should clear up the whole mater and also place on
record data that would be valuable in many ways.
The following methods of conducting this experiment are submitted
for the consideration of the American Society of Agronomy. Two
methods are submitted and if both are acceptable the experimenter
may use either to suit his convenience.
Method No. i. Machine Separation and Field Plats.
A method for comparing the seed value of large plump kernels
versus small and light kernels.
I. Selection of seed.
The seed shall be taken as it comes from an ordinary threshing
machine. The sample or samples for separation should be kept under
uniform conditions for ten days previous to separation in order to
equalize moisture conditions. This sample shall first be put through
screens without wind blast. The screens shall be of such size as to
divide the sample into two equal parts, according to size of kernels.
The larger seed shall then be taken and again put through the fanning
mill with sufficient wind blast, to blow over one-half, thus giving a
sample of large heavy seeds and of large light seeds. Treat the
smaller seed in a similar manner, securing small seed of light weight
and of heavy weight. The treatment should result in giving 4 lots of
about equal volume. The actual weight or volume of each lot shall
be made a matter of record, also the percentage of germination. The
two intermediate grades may now be discarded, retaining for trial
the large heavy fourth and small light fourth.
(In case the original sample should be very badly shriveled, due
to unfavorable climate, or soil, so that as much as 10 percent or more
of the original seed will not grow, for this cause, then the original
sample shall first be fanned to remove this badly shrunken seed before
separation.)
2. Check seed.
The check shall be a sample of the original unseparated seed.
3. Planting.
The plats shall be not less than one-thirtieth acre in size and may
be larger. The grain may be sown with a grain drill providing it is
first carefully adjusted, the rate of seeding to be the customary rate
of seeding for field sowing. (Any other standard method for making
variety tests, and approved by the American Society of Agronomy,
will be acceptable.)
66 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
4. Standard Series.
(a) Large heavy seed. 1
(b) Check. L Equal Volumes.
(c) Small light seed. J
(d) Check.
(e) Small light seed.
in number to (a).
5. Repeating Series.
The series should be repeated three times.
6. Estimating Yield.
Comparative yields are secured by averaging the three plats of
each grade.
7. Recording Data.
(a) Original sample.
(1) Weight per bushel.
(2) Weight 1000 kernels.
(3) Name of variety.
(b) Separated samples.
(1) Weight per bushel.
(2) Weight 1000 kernels.
(3) Photograph typical samples of each grade.
(c) Grain harvested.
(1) Weight per bushel.
(2) Weight 1000 kernels.
(3) Chemical analysis if desired.
(d) Field Plats.
(1) Rate of seeding.
(la) Comparative size of plants at 4 weeks after seeding.
(2) Number of plants in a given area at harvest.
(3) Comparative stooling power.
(4) Yield of grain.
(5) Character of season during early month.
(6) Character of soil.
Method No. 2. Row Plats.
I. Preparation of Seed.
The seed may be separated as in method No. i, or may be entirely
separated with a series of screens. The smallest portion and largest
portion, however, should each represent about ^ the original sample.
3. Planting.
The row plats should be a single row at least 16 feet in length,
and the rows 10 inches apart. The rate of seeding to be the cus-
tomary rate of seeding for field conditions.
MONTGOMERY I SEED VALUE OF LIGHT AND HEAVY KERNELS. 67
4. Standard Series.
Same as in No. i.
5. Repeating Series.
The series should be repeated 20 times.
6. Estimating yield.
Comparative yields are secured by averaging the 20 plats of each
grade. (Where it is plain that a plat has been badly damaged by
outside causes, it may be discarded.)
7. Recording Data.
Same data as in No. i.
References.
Wheat.
1. 1866, Haberlandt, Jahresb. Agr. Chem., p. 298.
2. 1887, Wollny, Abstract in Centrlb. Agr. Chem.
3. 1891, Latta, Indiana Sta., Bulletin 36, p. no.
4. 1892, Sanborn, Utah Sta. Rpt., pp. 133-135.
5. 1893, Sanborn, Utah Sta. Rpt., p. 168.
6. 1893, Waters & Eeld, Penn. Rpt., p. 112.
7. 1896, Georgeson, Kansas Sta., Bulletin 59.
8. 1897, Desprez, Jour. Agr. Prat., 2, No. 37, pp. 416-420.
9. 1899, Middleton, Uni. Call, of Wales, Rpt., pp. 68-70.
10. 1900, Deherain, Ann. Agron., 26, No. i, pp. 20-23, E. S. R., XII, 233.
11. 1901, Soule & Vanatter, Tenn. Exp. Sta., Vol. XVI, No. 4, p. 77.
12. 1901, Bolley, North Dakota Exp. Sta., Rpt., p. 30.
13. 1901, Lubanski, Selsk, Khoz. i, Lyseov. 200, Mar., p. 611 (E. S. R.,
XIV, 432).
14. 1901, Hickman, Ohio Exp. Sta., Bulletin 129, p. 25.
15. 1901, Grenfall, Agr. Gazette of New South Wales, 12, No. 9, p. 1053.
16. 1902, Deherain and Dupont, Compt. Rend., 135, p. 654, E. S. R., XV, 672.
17. 1903, Cobb, Agr. Gazette of New South Wales, 14, No. 2, p. 145.
18. 1903, Voelcker, Jour. Roy. Agr. Soc. of Eng., 64, pp. 354.
19. 1903, Lyon, U. S. Bureau Plant Indus., Bulletin 78, p. 74.
20. 1905, WilHams, Ohio Exp. Sta., Bulletin 165, pp. 55-61.
21. i9o8,.Zavitz, Rept. Ont. Dept. Agr., Part I— Dept. Farmers Inst., p. 87.
22. 1908, Montgomery, Nebr. Exp. Sta., Bulletin 104.
Oats.
23- 1893, Boss, Minn. Exp. Sta., Bulletin 31, p. 213.
24. 1897, Georgeson, Kansas Exp. Sta., Bulletin 74, p. 199.
25. 1908, Zavitz, Rept. Ont. Dept. of Agr., Vol. I, p. 181. Also Ref. Nos. i,
9, 13 and 22, give data with oats.
Barley.
26. 1901, Soule, Tenn. Exp. Sta., Bulletin, Vol. XIV, No. 3, p. 3.
27. 1906, Voelcker, Jour. Roy. Agr. Soc. England, 67, pp. 282-310,
28. 1908, See Ref. No. 21.
68 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
Rye.
29. P. Nielson, Tidsaki Lanabe, Planteavl. I, pp. 1-130. E. S. R. Vol. VII, 204.
30. Unpublished data Nebr. Exp. Station.
(The paper was submitted to several agronomists for comment,
before presentation, and the following memoranda are attached.)
N. A. Cobb.
" It seems to me that no mention of this subject is complete without
a distinct reference to the fact that small grain produces small plants.
My experiments were, of course, conducted under the peculiar dry
conditions of New South Wales which has a rainfall of from twenty
to thirty inches per annum. In all the hundreds of experiments
under my charge during ten years I never saw small seed produce
plants as large as those that grow from large seed. This difference
in size was also reflected in the size of the grain in the cases where
I took the trouble to make a comparison. It was necessary, however,
to examine the seed with some care to show conclusively that it was
smaller in size on the smaller plants."
AI. A. Carleton.
" I was not present just at the time this paper was presented before
the meeting of the American Society of Agronomy or I would
have suggested a factor, which I now mention and which I think
deserves serious consideration. It has been mentioned before on
pages 5 and 6 of the reprint of my paper, " Limitations of Field
Experiments," presented before the Portland, Ore., meeting of the
Society for the Promotion of Agricultural Science.
My previous observations and experience indicate to me that the
variety factor is of great importance in tests of this kind. Even that
being true, it would not be so serious a matter, however, if we were
confronted simply with ordinary variations that might be expected
because of the difference in varieties employed, but it is probably a
much more important factor because of the probability that quite
opposite results would be obtained in the employment by two parties
of different varieties, all other conditions being the same. In other
words, if, in the case of the apparently opposite results obtained by
Professors Zavitz and Montgomery, the former had used the variety
employed by Professor Montgomery, and he in turn had used the va-
riety employed by Professor Zavitz, I am rather confident that the
results in each case would have been just the reverse and still opposite
to each other. Professor Montgomery used the Turkey winter wheat
and Professor Zavitz one of the usual soft winter wheats grown in the
Ontario Provhice. Now, it is known that the normal kernel of the
MONTGOMERY : SEED VALUE OF LIGHT AND HEAVY KERNELS. 69
Turkey winter wheat is only medium in size compared with many
other kinds and perhaps even a httle below medium. On the other
hand, the kernel of the usual soft winter wheats of the East would be
at least a little above the medium size of kernel for the United States,
and in some cases would be called rather large. Now, put by the
side of this the notorious fact that almost all so-called varieties of
wheat are not properly varieties at all, but mixtures, and it is readily
seen how it could be true at least that in the separation of large and
small kernels of those varieties you would, in choosing the smaller
kernels in the case of the Turkey, gradually get a fairly pure type
of that wheat, and in choosing the large kernels of the soft Eastern
wheats, gradually approximate a pure type of these wheats. Then,
of course, the Turkey variety being the most perfectly adapted wheat
in Nebraska, the nearer your seed comes to the pure type of Turkey
the better your results would be, and so also with any well-adapted
Eastern soft wheat in Ontario. Taking these two cases, therefore,
it would be natural that the accumulation of fairly small kernels in
the Turkey wheat would produce best results in Nebraska, and the
rather large kernels of the Eastern soft wheats produce best results
in Ontario, aside from the mere general question of difference in size
of kernels. That is, it is a varietal difference.
Then, too, even if the same variety is used by both parties, the
effect of environment will be to so change the character of the kernel
that the normal seed of the same variety in one locality may be con-
siderably thicker in proportion to the length than in another locality.
Passed through a screen, therefore, the normal kernels of the same
variety in one place that would become separated would, on an
average, be considerably different from those that would be obtained
by similar screening in another place.
I believe, therefore, it is of the highest importance that parties
making this experiment should use the same variety of wheat, and,
if at all possible, should use a pure type of seed coming originally
from a single mother plant, though if the latter condition were en-
forced, it is probable that the experiments would have to be delayed
a considerable period because of the present condition of our
varieties."
70 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
STANDARDIZATION OF FIELD EXPERIMENTAL METHODS
IN AGRONOMY.
C. V. Piper,
U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.
AND W. H. Stevenson,
Iowa Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa.
The results secured from any experiment or series of experiments
depend primarily on the efficiency and accuracy of the methods em-
ployed. Therefore it is a common practice in modern scientific inves-
tigation to describe in detail the apparatus and methods used. In
some branches of science methods have become so far perfected as
virtually to be standardized. This makes it possible to compare the
results obtained by independent investigators, both as to accuracy of
methods and conclusions. The method may be apparently sound and
yet lead to false concltisions, due to some factor or factors being
overlooked. Rarely the conclusion may be correct but the method
open to serious objection.
It is particularly difficult to compare agronomic field experiments,
owing both to the great number of uncontrolled factors involved and
the diversity of methods employed. Even in a comparatively simple
investigation the different methods used by experimenters make it
exceedingly difficult to correlate their results. An example of this is
afforded in the excellent compilation by Professor Montgomery pub-
hshed in this volume where an attempt is made to marshal all the
experiments dealing with the relation of yield to heavy or light and to
large or small seed. In cases where one attempts to cernpile all the
experimental investigations on a single crop, the. diversities of object,
of methods, and of data reported usually prove completely baffling.
On account of the great discrepancies commonly found in field
experiments, there has arisen the idea that the local factors of soil
and climate in different places often outweigh all other factors, and
that therefore concurrence of results is not to be expected. This atti-
tude certainly does not encourage an investigator to use the most
accurate methods possible, as the idea of local factors can always be
appealed to as a plausible explanation of any results secured. Fur-
thermore, it in large measure contradicts the idea of there being any
fundamental principles involved in the relation of yield to other and
controllable factors. In addition it has not infrequently led to the
suppression of results because they did not coincide with current
PIPER-STEVENSON: STANDARDIZATION OF METHODS. 7 1
theory or has occasioned unusual explanations to be advanced in the
endeavor to harmonize the results with theory. In short, all the
scientific evils that are necessarily associated with experimental
methods that do not command confidence are too evident in field work
in agronomy.
The great final aim of agronomy is to determine the relation of
yield to each and all the factors involved. Yield is especially im-
portant in field crops in contrast to other crops because as a rule their
value per bushel or other unit is relatively low. The effect of any
one factor can only be determined by excluding all other factors as
nearly as possible, or by exaggerating a single factor so as to secure
comparative readings. This can sometimes be approximated in field
experiments but can be done critically only in some type of pot-culture
experiment. The importance of developing laboratory and green-
house experimental methods where variations of a single factor may
be controlled can not be overestimated. In many cases the scientific
proof of a particular proposition must depend largely on the labora-
tory experiments. The practical value of any agronomic truth must,
on the other hand, be determined by field experiments. Often indeed
the knowledge obtained empirically in the field has found its explana-
tion long afterwards in purely laboratory experiments. A striking
example is that of the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen by nodule
bacteria in legumes.
However far laboratory methods of agronomic investigations may
be developed there will always exist the need of field experiments
to test the practical value of laboratory deductions under the exceed-
ingly different types of climate and soil which exist. Furthermore,
there is little hope that laboratory methods can ever determine for
any particular place the best practices as regards tillage, rotations,
varieties, or methods of planting, and certainly none where such fac-
tors as labor, economy, and markets enter into the problem. As a
matter of fact field experimentation has greatly increased in recent
years, and the outlook is that it will continue to increase greatly.
Much of this work has been and is purely empirical — the obtaining
of results without any particular effort to determine the causes.
Indeed there exists too much of the spirit that looks upon the search
for causes as unproductive. Investigations conducted in such a spirit
can add little if anything to the advancement of agronomic science.
It may be questioned whether field experimentation can be per-
fected sufficiently to yield accurate conclusions. It may be answered
that unless the methods are thus perfected any conclusion is of doubt-
ful value.
72 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
It seems entirely reasonable to expect that in many cases identical
experiments in different localities, so planned as to minimize error
due to soil variation, should yield identical results, or if they differ
they should disclose the factors that need further investigation.
If field experiments are to assist in advancing agronomic science,
it must be largely by the securing and recording of data that will
command confidence. The accumulation of such data will provide
material from which deductions may be drawn and hypotheses tested.
One does not need to be an iconoclast to realize that a large proportion
of the data thus far published is useless for this purpose. For such
purpose the method must be satisfactory and the data published in
detail, an ideal that too few agronomists have realized.
The work of a few investigators in recent years, notably Lehmann
in India, Lyon at Cornell, and Montgomery in Nebraska, has made
very clear the great variability that exists in soils, even those that
apparently are very uniform. So great is this variation found to be
that it at once casts doubt on the reliability of the greater portion of
published field experiments where yield is primarily involved. Only
in cases where the yield differences are so great as to transcend any
likely soil inequality, or where sufficient checks or duplicate plots
have been employed, or where the experiments have extended over
a long period, are they entitled to confidence. What the ordinary
error due to soil inequality may be is difficult to say. Hall of Roth-
amstead expresses the opinion that any differences in yield of ten
percent or less are not of significance. But Montgomery finds this
much difference in yields of the same variety of wheat on what is be-
lieved to be the most uniform land at the Nebraska Experiment
Station. The matter of obviating this error of soil variability is im-
portant in any field experiment. It is absolutely necessary in the
breeding of a crop like wheat where a soil difference of ten percent
would disguise any improvement likely to be obtained by selection.
The only way to reduce this error is by replicating the tests a suffi-
cient number of times to reduce the mathematical probable error to a
low minimum. Ordinarily this would seem to require about ten repli-
cations of the row or plot.
In any event the greater use of statistical methods to determine the
reliability of a given series of results is being more and more adopted
and can not be too strongly recommended. Indeed the replication
of plots make it practically necessary.
A long period of experimentation as well as replication of plots
tends to reduce probable error, but in the one case the primary object
secured is the elimination of seasonal differences, in the other, of soil
PIPER-STEVENSON : STANDARDIZATION OF METHODS. 73
differences. In ordinary rotation experiments the addition of another
factor, namely, the effect of the previous crop, virtually makes im-
possible an accurate determination of the soil and climatic factors.
There is in such experiments, as ordinarily planned, repetition from
season to season of the same rotations in different sequence, but there
is seldom provided either checks or duplications to interpret soil
inequality. Indeed there is no assurance that ordinary rotation ex-
periments if duplicated would point to the same conclusions ; there is
every reason, on the contrary, to believe that duplicate and triplicate
plats would show as diverse results as happen in the case of variety
trials — and due to the same cause, soil inequality.
There is nothing new in the fact that a great part of agronomic field
experimentation is, from a scientific standpoint, very unsatisfactory.
Numerous writers have emphasized the point, some of them even
advocating the abandonment of such experiments, as the results are
so contradictory. Until recent years, however, no serious effort has
been made to determine what the errors are and how they may be
obviated, since abandonment of field experiments seems out of the
question. These investigations give us much more accurate knowl-
edge concerning variability in yield due to soil inequality, and point
out a practicable method of correcting this error, namely, sufficient
duplication of plots or rows.
For the advancement of our science it is desirable not only to have
satisfactory methods, but as far as possible to have different investi-
gators use the same methods so that their experiments will be fairly
comparable. The advantages of this are so obvious that it seems
desirable to present a suggestive scheme of standardization of crop
experiments for the consideration of the Society. Already much
actual progress has been made in this direction, due in considerable
part to the excellent papers of Thorne (Essentials of Successful
Field Experimentation, published by the Office of Experiment Sta-
tions as Farmers' Institute Lecture No. 6), and Carleton (Limitations
in Field Experiments, published in the Annual Report of the Society
for the Promotion of Agricultural Science for 1909). Perhaps the
principal advance that can now be made is emphasizing the im-
portance of replicate plots.
In connection with any series of field experiments standardiza-
tion involves two different elements : (i) the conducting of the experi-
ments in as nearly the same manner as conditions will permit; (2)
the presentation of the results with all the factors that in any way
have a bearing on them.
The factors that affect experimental results and which should be
74 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
published in connection with any series of field experiments where
relative yield is the object sought are indicated in the following
table :
Climatic:
1. Character of season as to rainfall, temperature, etc. (These
data are usually available in the Weather Bureau records.)
Edaphic:
2. Character of soil.
3. Preparation of soil.
4. Fertilizers.
5. Cultivations.
6. Irrigations.
Experimental :
7. Size and shape of plots.
8. Error due to marginal effect.
9. Method of obtaining yields.
10. Percentage of moisture at time of weighing.
Biological:
11. Variety of plant, including purity and trueness to type.
12. Source of seed.
13. Viability of seed.
14. Preceding crop or crops.
15. Date of seeding or planting.
16. Rate of seeding or planting.
17. Method of seeding or planting.
18. Date of appearance above ground.
19. Percentage of stand.
20. Uniformity of stand.
21. Uniformity of growth.
22. Percentage of weeds.
23. Date of blooming or heading.
24. Date of maturity.
25. Stage and evenness of maturity.
26. Date of harvesting.
27. Damage by disease, animals or weather.
Minimum Standards Recommended for Varietal and Similar Tests
with Corn.
Duration of trials : Five seasons.
Size of plots in plot-tests : Five rows each of twenty-five hills or each
five rods long. Outer two rows to be discarded.
Length of rows in row-tests : Twenty-five hills or row five rods long.
Number of checks: Every fifth plot or every fifth row.
Number of replications : Five times in rows ; at least twice, preferably
three times, in plots.
In row tests only closely similar varieties should be in contiguous rows.
PIPER-STEVENSON I STANDARDIZATION OF METHODS.
75
Minimum Standards Recommended for Varietal and Similar Tests
zmth Small Grains.
Duration of trials : Five seasons.
Plot Tests:
Size of plots : %o to %o acre.
Number of replications : At least twice, preferably five times.
Number of checks: Every third plot.
Margins on outside plots : There should be a border of at least three
feet to discard. Paths or division strips are preferably avoided
when possible.
Blocks : Square, so as to permit changing the direction of the plots
from season to season.
Shape of plots : Long and narrow. Each season the series of plots
should be laid out at right angles to the previous plots.
Previous crops : The record for three years should be given.
Rozv Tests:
Length of rows: One rod or more.
Distance between rows : Six to ten inches.
Method of seeding: Drilled at optimum rate of seeding under field
conditions.
Rate of seeding: To be indicated.
Checks : Every fifth row.
Replications : Ten times.
In row tests the outside row should always be discarded.
Minimum Standards Recommended for Field Experiments zvith Soils,
Tillage and Fertiliser Tests.
Duration of trials : Four seasons.
Size of plots: y^o to %o acre.
Shape of plots : Long and narrow, i X 8 rods ; 2 X 8 rods ; or adapt
the width of the plot to that of the machinery in use.
Margins on outside of plots : There should be a border of at least
seven feet (two rows of corn) to discard unless only small
grains or grasses are grown in which case the border may be
reduced to three feet.
Division spaces : There should be division spaces between plots of at
least two feet, or these divisions may be made of sufficient width
for two rows of corn or similar crop, in which case the crop
should be discarded.
Number of checks : Every third plot.
76 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
Number of series or blocks : There should be as many series or blocks
as may be required for the growing of each crop, in the rotation
or tillage test, every year.
Previous crops : The record for at least three years should be given.
METHODS IN BREEDING CEREALS FOR RUST RESISTANCE.
Edw. C. Johnson,
U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.
In the last few years there has been much interest, both popular and
scientific, in the selection and breeding of crops for resistance to
disease. The plant breeder has given the subject particular attention
and has made great strides both in methods of procedure and results
obtained. His efforts have been directed towards crops of many
kinds and it is not uncommon to hear that wilt-resistant melons, wilt-
resistant cotton, blight-resistant potatoes, wilt-resistant flax, rust-
resistant grains, etc., are being developed here and there through
various methods and under many conditions.
Although methods in a broad sense may be similar, such as the
selection of disease-resistant varieties, individuals from a variety,
or hybrids from crosses between resistant varieties and varieties with
other desirable characters, still there is a definite technique for each
crop which must be mastered before accuracy and progress can be
assured.
For the breeding of cereals for rust resistance various methods
have have been devised and used by Bolley at North Dakota, Biffen
in England, the Cawnpore Agricultural Experiment Station in India,
and by the United States Department of Agriculture in cooperation
with the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station. These, the
breeder finds, will be helpful when thoroughly understood. How-
ever, to understand and apply them he must be conversant not only
with agronomy, but also be familiar with plant pathology: that is, in
addition to knowing the varietal characteristics of the various grains,
their physiology and adaptations to soil and climate, he must know the
different rust species, the methods of wintering, the optimum periods
of infection and development, the climate and soil conditions favor-
able and unfavorable to epidemics — in fact, all the important points
in the taxonomy, life history and physiology of these diseases.
The first problem he has to meet is how to insure a rust epidemic
on the breeding plats yearly in order that naturally rust-free years
JOHNSON : BREEDING CEREALS FOR RUST RESISTANCE. 7/
may not stop progress in the selection work or interfere with results
of previous years. In other words, in order that grains which will
meet the emergency of a rust year may be developed, they must be
subjected to a local rust attack each year, so that intelligent selection
and breeding may be possible.
The methods by which this local epidemic is produced vary some-
what with the species of rust most prevalent, with the locality and
with the season, but there are certain general lines which may be
followed in whole or in part.
In the first place, the breeding plat should be selected with care.
A well-drained, uniform piece of land, rich in nitrogen and situated
in a fairly low place, should be chosen. The high nitrogen content
of the soil insures vigorous and more or less succulent growth and
dews will remain longer on low than on high land. The plat should
also be isolated to some extent from other breeding and variety-test-
ing plats so that rusts may not spread unduly.
Where grains are bred for resistance to stem rust and oats to leaf
rust, a row of barberries and a row of buckthorns should be planted
within easy reach of the plats, and these hedges inoculated with
teleutospore material of the rusts saved in heavily infected straw
from the previous year. The straw should be kept outside during
the winter and, in the spring, in part hung on the bushes in small
bundles and in part used as a mulch around the bushes. Infection
will then take place from the germinating teleutospores, and an
abundance of aecidiospores may be secured with which to spray the
grains at an early date. In the spring-wheat region it is well to grow
a few rows of winter wheat in proximity to the barberry bushes in
order that a crop of uredospores for early sprayings may be obtained
on them. In the winter-wheat region some variety known to be
very susceptible to rust may be planted for the same purpose. The
spring grains should also be sown a week or more later than the
regular crops so that they will head later and thus be receptive when
the rusts are most prevalent on the regular crops. They may be
planted in rows or centgeners as the breeder desires, but should be
placed as close as is consistent with normal growth and with con-
venience in handling, in order that the individual plants may not dry
off too quickly after dews. The usual centgener distance is satisfac-
tory, while rows should be six to eight inches apart and the plants
three to four inches apart in the row. Numerous alleys should be
allowed, giving ample room for spraying and note taking, as well as
for cleaning and harvesting.
When breeding grains for resistance to stem rust the plats should
78 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
be sprayed with aecidiospores or uredospores immediately preceding
and during the time of heading, as susceptibihty then seems to be
greatest, while for leaf rust the sprayings should be made much
earlier, or from two to three weeks before heading. Spraying mate-
rial is secured from the barberry hedges and buckthorns, or, where no
aecidium is known and the uredo does not winter readily, from green-
house cultures kept running since the preceding year. As the aecidio-
spores may develop rather late in some years it is well to carry a
few cultures of the uredo of stem rusts through the winter also, so
that they may be rapidly increased and used in the spring if conditions
demand it. In the spring-wheat territory an abundance of uredo-
spores usually may be obtained from the winter wheats sown for
this purpose.
With sufficient rust material on hand, spraying is simple. Late
in the afternoon a large number of leaves covered with rust pustules
are picked off, placed in water, stirred, and rubbed against each other
to liberate the spores. The leaves are then removed and, after sun-
set, the liquid is sprayed on the plants by means of hand or knapsack
sprayers. Any apparatus giving a fine spray is satisfactory. If suffi-
cient rust has been liberated in the water a drop placed under the
microscope should show one to several spores. There will then be a
large number of spores on each plant after every spraying. The
dew furnishes sufficient moisture for spore germination and for infec-
tion to take place. After infection the rust will develop in the non-
resistant strains whether the succeeding weeks are dry or humid, pro-
viding the plants do not suffer from severe drought or the growth of
the fungus is not inhibited by unusual heat. This was clearly demon-
strated in our work at the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station
in 1909 where a rust epidemic was produced although the season
was very dry, and also in 1910 when, in spite of extreme drought,
a fair rust attack was obtained.
In regions where rusts are severe almost every year and a season
free from rust is the exception all the methods above described need
not be applied. Even where they are necessary there is considerable
variation in the number of sprayings which have to be made. This
point, to a large extent, depends on the locality, earliness or lateness
of the season, and variation in humidity and temperature, and must be
determined by the judgment of the operator. Usually two to five
sprayings over a period of 10 to 15 days preceding and during heading
time are sufficient.
One of the difficulties encountered under this system is that the
heads of the grains become inoculated to a greater or less degree
JOHNSON : BREEDING CEREALS FOR RUST RESISTANCE. 79
during the spraying operations, the spores of rusts and a number of
imperfect fungi infecting the spikelets and causing steriHty of many
of the florets. This is particularly true of first generation hybrids, in
which the flowers remain open for a long time. There is no satis-
factory means yet known by which to obviate this difficulty, but unless
sprayings with rust spores are repeated too often, the resistant plants
will, as a rule, produce sufficient seed for the next year's work.
When the breeding plat has been established and the men in
charge understand how to handle it successfully, it is time to deter-
mine the varieties to be tested, the crosses to be made and the detailed
methods of selection and breeding. Generally speaking, the same
varieties should be tested for rust resistance as are tested in general
breeding work. This makes possible the selection of good resistant
varieties as well as good individuals within a variety. It is desirable
that this test be made before any crossing is undertaken. Experience
is thus gained by the operator, many useless strains and varieties are
eliminated and pedigreed strains for crossing are obtained. A strain
which has few good qualities except that of rust resistance is, of
course, discarded, except as it may be used for crossing purposes.
In crossing it is preferable to use pure or pedigreed strains. De-
sirable strains which are not resistant are crossed with resistant ones
with as many other deirable characters as possible. If the resistant
strain has no good characters except that of resistance it is more
difficult to secure a cross that will be valuable than if numerous
good qualities are present, but even then crosses should be made in
the hope that the good qualities of the one parent may be united with
the rust-resistant quality of the other. For instance, einkorn, one
of the primitive wheats, is extremely resistant both to leaf rust and
stem rust but has few other desirable qualities except that of drought-
resistance. If this can be crossed with good standard wheats, Minne-
sota No. 169, Minnesota No. 163, Turkey or Kharkov, for instance,
some desirable strains should be obtained. Crosses between the
durunis and the winter or spring grains similarly should prove valu-
able while numerous others might be cited.
When crosses have been made, whether between non-resistant
grains or between non-resistant and resistant grains, it is well to
plant them at a distance from the so-called rust plat," as plants
from these seeds invariably are susceptible to rust and will not set
seed if too severely infected. When mature, all the seeds are saved
from each individual plant and the next year are planted in the rust
plat in individual rows or centgeners.
As the breaking up of the hybrid occurs in the second generation.
So PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
it is here that skill and experience in selection are most desirable.
Since Biffen has recently brought forth evidence to show that resist-
ance and susceptibility to rusts are Mendelian characters, and unpub-
lished work of the United States Department of Agriculture in
cooperation with the Minnesota Experiment Station seems to indicate
that this theory is correct, there is a definite line of selection to follow.
As rust resistance seems to be recessive to susceptibility, the resistant
plants when selected will breed true to type as far as resistance is
concerned. If then, resistance occurs in connection with other desir-
able recessive characters — and indications are that this may be true —
valuable rust-resistant grains may be produced wherever a resistant
parent can be found.
In this work of selection it is often very difficult to decide which
plants are resistant and which are not. This is indicated to some
extent, however, by the number of rust pustules on stems and leaves
and also by the comparative vigor of the plants. The breeder's judg-
ment and experience are here again called into play. He may be
assisted, however, by using graduated rust cards made by photo-
graphing a selected series of leaves or stems with different degrees
of rust development. At the maximum rust period the plants are
compared with these cards to determine the percentage of surface of
stem or leaf covered with rust. The weight of the heads, as deter-
mined by pulling the plant and holding it by the roots in a horizontal
position, is an additional indicator, and in the hands of an experienced
man shows fairly well how the heads have filled. After the selections
have been made and any further special data have been taken, notes
are kept in the usual manner. The following year, the best seed from
the individual selections is again planted in individual centgeners or
rows, and the first year's selections are then carefully judged by their
progeny. From those strains which do not come true, individual
selections are again made, while the rest, if resistant and otherwise
desirable, are increased, tested for yield and treated as grains in
general breeding.
BOLLEY : CEREAL CROPPING METHODS.
8l
INTERPRETATIONS OF RESULTS NOTED IN EXPERIMENTS
UPON CEREAL CROPPING METHODS AFTER
SOIL STERILIZATION.
H. L. BOLLEY,
Agricultural College, N. D,
It is not my intention at this time to give the details of extended
experiments upon soil sterilization and its effects ; nor to enter any
special criticisms upon the work of other investigators. I wish only
to call attention to some facts, observations, and conditions of the work
centered about cereal cropping, and experiments upon soils which may
indicate that a new light may be thrown upon the conclusions to be
drawn; — with that light emanating from a different source than has
usually been indicated by most experimenters.
Observations and Reflections. — The following features of cropping
and experiments will be familiarly known to most of you :
1. New lands, when first sown to wheat or other cereals, produce
quite lavishly in seed of high quality and at slight effort on the part
of the farmer. These new land yields, in this country, are quite
commonly taken as the standard of what ought to be expected.
2. It is a common experience that as soon as a particular cereal
crop has become general, and that usually follows in a very few
years, a marked deterioration, both in yield and quality, sets in. The
crop, except in special years, and under rare exceptions of special
farming, seldom again reaches the same high grade of yield and quality.
Indeed, the yield generally falls to the average for the country, above
which it can be raised again only through exceptional methods ; and,
to the chagrin of many of our most able agricultural educators, no
philosophy of cropping or land improvement seems to give the farmer
the desired results with any regularity, year by year, for any long
period of time. The crop or variety once a favorite in a locality
usually has a short life and finally gives place to a real change in
agriculture, seldom, if ever, to regain its place.
3. Not many theories have been advanced to account for these
results. The chemist and his followers have usually directed thought
in the matter, and agriculturists, generally, have taken the chemist's
dictum that marked changes have occurred in the balance of plant
food relations of the soil, thus accounting for the rapid first deteriora-
tion of the crop through chemical losses noticed in the soil. Thus
if a lack of proteid is found in the grain of wheat and a loss of nitro-
gen is observed in the soil, it has been reasoned, without founda-
6
82 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
tion, I think, that the noticed chemical loss in the soil is necessarily
the cause of the deficiency in the kernel. When our chemical friends
have, by their own analysis, discovered that there is, however, suffi-
cient strength of soil solution regarding all known necessary chemical
elements to support a crop on a particular field, the failure to reach
crop quality has been quite uniformly attributed, by them and the
rest of us, to slovenly methods of farming, poor physical texture of
the soil, degenerated seed, etc.
Any other special theories which have been advanced in particular
to account for the facts have all been strongly influenced by the recog-
nized fact that soil can be impoverished, reduced in its chemical
strength. The Whitney toxine theory would appear to be only a
reflection of this troubled state of the chemical and physical mind —
associated with a desire to show that a complex plant growing in the
soil and air acts upon the soil after the manner of a bacterial culture
in a test tube. That I may not be misunderstood I may say that
I believe that certain soils may be exhausted chemically by cropping
methods ; that I think it is wholly possible that the excrementia of
plants under rather constant cropping may have an analogous effect
upon the crop to that noted in bacterial cultures upon the substratum,
but that after several years of careful trials upon wheat and flax, both
under culture house conditions, and under carefully planned plot
trials, I have been unable to find any point which would tend to sub-
stantiate the toxine theory. Nevertheless, the contention of Mr.
Whitney, that the soils of cereal regions are not particularly exhausted
is, in my belief, much nearer to the truth than the contention of the
chemists and others that the deteriorated yields and qualities of wheat
and other cereals are due to chemical exhaustion, and especially to
nitrogenous exhaustion ; for neither the chemists' exhaustion theory
nor the toxine theory can account, to my satisfaction, for the failure
of virgin soils to produce the yields characteristic of that region when
such cereal cropping was first introduced. It is a fact that such
lands are quite as liable to give the crop characteristic of the old,
so-called, worn out lands, as do the older lands. It is not the uniform
failure of the particular crop which causes it to be dropped by a
farming community, for it is evident that all of the lands of a com-
munity cannot be so depleted. It is the general uncertainty of giving
results, year by year, which results in abandoning or ceasing to expect
a proper yield. It is evident from the foregoing considerations that
there are constant interfering agencies at work in cereal cropping
regions which have not as yet been properly taken into consideration,
for, even under the best weather conditions possible, essentially the
BOLI.EY : CEREAL CROPPING METHODS.
83
same weather conditions which in a new land region give fine yields,
often the crop fails to give both quantity and quality even under our
best planned systems of rotation and of soil fertilization.
4. Experiments in soil sterilization applied to such old and sup-
posedly deteriorated soils have uniformly given quite marked im-
provement in results. The results have been so uniformly good,
whether done by steam or by chemical methods, that one or other
practice has become general with the glass house gardeners and seed-
ling plant producers. They seem, long ago, to have realized what ster-
ilization of soil has done for them, but experimenters upon field
crops still look for explanation for such improvements.
5. Two very interesting explanations of such effects of sterilization,
both based upon carefully planned and executed experiments, have
lately been attempted ; and, as my experiments cover essentially the
same fields of effort, and, when published, will show almost exactly
the same results but quite different conclusions, I may be pardoned,
at this time, for outlining these three sets of experiments and the
results, with some slight comment upon the conclusions :
Mr. A. D. Hall, of Rothamsted, England, in Science, September
16, 1910, reports upon experiments conducted at the Rothamsted
farm.
Speaking of wheat, he says, Approximately the crop becomes
double if the soil has been first heated to a temperature of 70° to
100°, for two hours, while treatment for forty-eight hours with the
vapor of toluene, chloroform, etc., followed by a complete volatiliza-
tion of the antiseptic, brings about an increase of thirty percent, or so.
Moreover, when the material so grown is analyzed, the plants are
found to have taken very much larger quantities of nitrogen and other
plant foods from the treated soil; hence, the increase of growth must
be due to larger nutriment and not to mere stimulus.
" The explanation, however, remained in doubt until it has been
recently called up by Drs. Russell and Hutchinson, working in the
Rothamsted Laboratory. In the first place, they found the soil,
which had been put through the treatment, was chemically charac-
terized by an exceptional accumulation of ammonia to an extent that
would account for the increased fertility. At the same time it was
found that the treatment did not effect complete sterilization. . . .
" The question now remaining was, what had given this tremen-
dous stimulus to the multiplication of the ammonia-making bacteria?
By various steps, which need not here be enumerated, the two inves-
tigators reached the conclusion that the cause was not to be sought
in any stimulus supplied by the heating process, but that the normal
84 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
soil contained some negative factor which Hmited the multiphcation of
the bacteria therein.
" Examinations along these lines then showed that all soils contain
unsuspected groups of large organisms, of the protozoa class, which
feed upon living bacteria. These are killed off by heating, or treat-
ment by antiseptics, and on their removal, the bacteria, which par-
tially escape the treatment, are now relieved from attack, . . .
Curiously enough, one of the most striking of the larger organ-
isms is amoeba."
The authors, Messrs. Russell and Hutchinson, thus attempt to
account for the greater wheat crop production of soil sterilization
both through chemicals and through steaming, by a reverse applica-
tion of the Aletchnikoff theory. It would be unwise of me, not know-
ing all of their data or having access to the soil or the seed which they
used, to enter a criticism, but from my own observations and work,
I cannot agree to any of the conclusions which are drawn in these
paragraphs. So far as Mr. Hall has made plain in Science, they can
only be matters of inference, and many conditions could enter, which
would vitiate the necessity of assuming the detrimental role for the
amoeba. For example, the authors do not explain why their steriliza-
tion did not sterilize, and what happened when they did really sterilize
the soil. In order to clarify the theory as proposed by Dr. Hall,
it would seem necessary to try real sterilization, both upon the amoeba
and the supposedly beneficial bacteria.
It is quite possible that the production of ammonia in soils by
bacteria is a beneficial process, but I cannot say wherein this theory
would rest, if one should assume the presence of plenty of ammonia
and plenty of ordinary nitrates in the soil. In such case, if the soil
still failed to produce wheat, and proper sterilization succeeded in
making it produce wheat, their theory would seem to be without
ground. My experiments in sterilization result in either good or bad
wheat according to what I do to the seed planted therein, though there
cannot be any question but that in some soils, increased amounts of
ammonia through sterilization do have something to do with the
results.
Prof. T. L. Lyon, of Cornell University, in Bulletin 275, Experi-
ments upon the Effect of Steam Sterilization on the Water-Soluble
Matter in Soils," attempts an explanation of the peculiarities of
growth of the wheat plants upon soils after steam sterilization,
through differences in the soluble content of the soil resulting in
differences in density of the soil solutions, etc. He also, however,
seems to have great difficulty in accounting for some of the peculiar
BOLLEY : CEREAL CROPPING METHODS.
85
actions of the growing wheat plant upon such treated soils and solu-
tions, especially in explaining what appears to be a really injurious
effect upon the first growth from the seedlings, though finally fol-
lowed by actual increase in crop.
In our experiments, we are able to explain most of these peculiar-
ities of growth, noticed both in our cultures and those of Professor
Lyon's admirably conducted trials, upon a biological relation of the
wheat plant to certain actual disease-producing organisms and their
growth relations to the crop plant, and to the various interreacting
soil relations, which react both upon the crop plant and upon the
disease producers.
In our experiments we find that both soil and seed may be, and
usually are, infected by several very destructive wheat-destroying
parasitic fungi. Indeed, these are found to be apparently cosmopoli-
tan in distribution with the wheat plant. They are especially trans-
mitted in the seed internally, and it seems quite certain, are sufficient
in their influences to account for most of the causes of rapid first
crop deterioration, and for the difiiculty which farmers have in
introducing any sort of culture, which will again raise the standard
of crop. Their exclusion, in so far as it is perfectly or imperfectly
done, is sufficient to account for the anomalies indicated in soil steril-
ization experiments. However, in our experiments our results and
conclusions have always been vitiated whenever these fungi were not
eliminated.
I do not question that soil sterilization does change the bacterial
content or that it does influence the soluble content of soils, but I
am inclined to think that disease-infected seed and disease-infected
soil will eventually be found to have much njore to do with the irreg-
ularly corresponding conclusions, which have been drawn by various
experimenters upon crop rotations, upon soil-fertilization experiments
and upon soil-disinfection experiments, than they have ever suspected.
Indeed, I have but slight doubt that the whole theory of auto-in-
toxication (toxine theory) as applied to cropping plants, is virtually
vitiated in its conclusions, because of a lack in eliminating the influ-
ences of pathogenic organisms in the experiments.
86 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
TECHNICAL TERMS IN AGRONOMY.
Carleton R, Ball,
U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.
The beginnings of the art of agronomy were probably coincident
with the beginnings of the human race. The science of agronomy,
however, is comparatively young and has made a wonderfully rapid
growth in the last two decades. This is especially true with reference
to the number of men officially concerned in it, as was most clearly
shown by Mr. M. A. Carleton in his able presidential address at the
meeting of this Society two years ago. The recent rapid development
of the science and corresponding increase in the number of workers
has had a profound influence on the terminology of agronomy. The
definition and limitation of the terms used has been more largely a
matter of individual interpretation and preference than is usually the
case. As a natural result there exists more or less laxity in use and
confusion in meaning of many agronomic terms. Similar conditions
exist in other recently expanded subjects, as ecology and serum-
therapy, and perhaps in aeronautics also.
Confusion in the use of technical terms in agronomy has arisen
from two specific sources. First, the science is expanding so rapidly
that old terms have been stretched to cover new or broadened uses.
Second, new words and phrases have made their appearance in our
agronomic literature from time to time, often without other definition
than that afforded by their context. From their very nature, the
dictionaries cannot keep abreast of this movement and there has been
no general or authoritative textbook to serve either as a guide in
approved usage or as the proverbial " horrible example " to be avoided.
Agronomists have been too busy conducting experiments and recording
results in the language at hand to give thought to a clearing house for
these verbal obligations.
It was the original intention of the writer to discuss both the
terminology and the nomenclature of agronomy. By terminology
is meant the whole gamut of technical words like crops," " fertility,"
"tillage," etc., used in this science. Nomenclature is understood
to include the names, both scientific and popular, which are applied
to plant and soil types. This last may well form the subject of a
separate paper. For the present we are concerned only with the
terminology of our science.
I sincerely hope that no one will think that I approach this subject
in any pharasaic spirit. Far from it! Rather would I, if I speak of
ball: technical terms in agronomy.
87
" sinners," add with Paul, " of whom I am chief." Personally I
have as little sympathy with the cold-blooded purist to whom diction
is all, as with the hasty sloven to whom clear and accurate expres-
sion is nothing. The burden of clarifying our meanings should be
assumed by us who write, rather than borne by those who read.
Agronomic terminology may be considered in three main divisions,
namely (i) terms relating to soils, (2) terms relating to crops, and
(3) terms relating to cultural operations in connection with both
soils and crops.
I. Terms Relating to Soils.
The need for a more flexible root-word as an equivalent for our
word soil, from the Latin solum, has long been felt. The ecologists
have adopted the Greek edaphos, from whence edaphic, i. e., influ-
enced or produced by the soil or its contents, as edaphic factors,
edaphic conditions, etc. This term is equally edapted to use in agron-
omy and has, in fact, been used by Mr. Piper in a paper which, is to
be presented at this meeting. He further suggests the term edaphist
as an appropriate title for the soil specialist, a suggestion well worthy
of adoption.
In discussions of soils from the agronomic standpoint, the terms
fertility and productiveness, or productivity, are very commonly used.
Formerly they were considered as almost synonymous and were so
employed. Under the impetus of advancing knowledge these words
have been invested with distinctions of meaning. Fertility is now
defined as " capacity for production under favorable circumstances,"
while productiveness is actual producing power. Though of high
fertility, a soil may be unproductive through lack of these " favor-
able circumstances," such as, for instance, suflicient or properly dis-
tributed rainfall. It may also be unproductive because part of its
mineral elements are in the form of insoluble compounds or because
plant growth is inhibited by toxic substance.
Mr. C. V. Piper has recently suggested the need of a term to
designate the three so-called essential elements of plant-food, nitrogen,
phosphorus and potash and has suggested a name compounded from
the three words. I venture to suggest, however, a more explanatory
word, for instance, tripabula, or three-foods. The adjectival form
would be tripabular, as the tripabular content of the soil.
The words character, characteristic and property are of frequent
occurrence in comparative studies of soil or plant varieties. A char-
acter is defined as " a trait or characteristic, especially one serving as
an index of the essential or inner nature of an object." A property
88 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
is defined as a peculiar and characteristic quality of a thing."
These definitions accord with recent careful usage. We thus see that
the word character is more properly used with reference to outward
and visible features, while property is more correctly employed to
designate inner and hidden qualities. Characters are largely morpho-
logical, sometimes physical ; properties are largely chemical, sometimes
physical. In the domain of physics they may overlap.
Texture and structure would be called characters, while fertility
and productiveness would be termed properties. The color of a
certain alkali or humous soil would be a recognizable character,
while the corrosive power of the one or the staining action of the
other would be regarded as properties. Adhesiveness, absorptiveness
and retentiveness are preferably considered characters though they
approach the debatable borderland in the physical domain.
A characteristic is said to be " a distinguishing trait, quality or
property." According to definition, the word characteristic may be
used for either a character or a property. If used as a noun at all,
it would be well to employ it only in the inclusive sense, referring to
both characters and properties. Preferably, however, the word will
be used in its adjectival rather than in its nounal sense, as a charac-
teristic color or quality.
2. Terms Relating to Crops.
The observations just made on the terms character and property
apply equally to the use of these words in connection with crops.
Color and size and shape of the parts of the plant are characters; the
production of sugar, tannin, prussic acid or gluten are properties.
The term variety, is one of the most overworked words in the
language of agronomy. Unscientific writers speak of all the varying
forms of cultivated plants as " species." Our agronomic writers
sometimes speak of all forms of cultivated plants as " varieties " with
as little regard for the actual relationships involved. The conception
among agronomists of varietal limitations in crops is apparently as
vague and lacking in uniformity as is the conception among botanists
of the specific limitations in uncultivated plants. Statements re-
garding thousands of varieties of wheat and hundreds of varieties of
oats, cowpeas, or sorghums invite scepticism and are subject to modi-
fication on this ground. The time has passed when all the cultivated
forms of any species can be placed under any single designation
which implies equality in rank. We must employ more exact expres-
sion and classify them by groups, these into varieties, the varieties
into strains or races, and these again into still subordinate ranks.
ball: technical terms in agronomy.
89
Acclimate and acclimatize, meaning to inure or habituate to a cli-
mate not natural, are oft-used words in plant breeding. Generally
they are used as though synonymous. Some writers attribute differ-
ent meanings to them, restricting acclimate to the process of accus-
toming to a foreign climate as affecting humans and acclimatize to
that affecting other animals and plants. Others distinguish them by
reason of the agency involved. Among these is Dr. Bailey,^ who says,
It must also be remembered that the difference between acclimation
and acclimatization lies in the fact that the former is a process of
wild nature, while the latter takes place under the more active guid-
ance or supervision of man. Man acclimatizes with the same agencies
with which nature acclimates."
If the edaphic factors, or those of the soil, are held to be as potent
in their influence on the organism as are the climatic factors, we need
a new term, comparable with acclimate, to express the process of
habituating to a new edaphic environment.
The word adaptation is now used to express the process of accom-
modation to new environment. In a sense, it includes both acclima-
tion and inuring to soil influences. To adapt is defined, however, as
to modify to fit more perfectly to conditions of environment."
Adaptation is always defined as a process of modification, while
acclimation is defined as a process of habituation, not necessarily in-
cluding modification. Furthermore, adaptation is sometimes re-
stricted, biologically, to a slow and gradual process. For instance,
''Adaptation is the modification of an animal or plant (or of its
parts or organs) fitting it more perfectly for existence under the con-
ditions of its environment. It is a gradual process whose results
usually become noticeable only in the evolution of a group or race,
or at least only after a long series of generations." Under such
definition it is not at all equivalent to acclimation.
Two of the terms most commonly used in the improvement of
plants, are breeding and selection. Breeding is defined as the
propagation of plants and animals, particularly for the purpose of
improving them." This definition embraces all the operations usual
in selection except possibly that of rejection of the unfit. A further
meaning given is : " To propagate, as any kind of stock ; specifically, to
propagate by artificial pollination, as fruits, vegetables and flowers."
Selection is defined as any process, natural or artificial, which
results or tends to result in preventing certain individuals or groups
of organisms from surviving and propagating, and in allowing others
to do so."
^ Bailey, L. H., The survival of the unlike, p. 320, 1896.
go PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
The tendency is evident to limit the word breeding to use in cases
where the mating of the sexes is controlled by human agency. To the
writer this seems an unfortunate restriction. Breeding should be
maintained as a term broad enough to cover all operations looking
toward improvement. Selection is but one of these operations. The
specific nature of the breeding process should be indicated by such
present terms as cross-breeding, line-breeding, pure breeding, clon-
breeding, or their equivalents.
For pure-bred varieties of vegetative origin and reproduction, as
those of apples, potatoes, etc., Dr. Webber has proposed the term
clou or clonal varieties, from the Greek root for twig or branch.
Similar simple terms are needed for the same product of close-pollina-
tion and for open-pollinated varieties.
Greater attention should be given to the use of the word resistant,
in such compounds as drought-resistant and disease-resistant. It
seems probable that in many cases what has been termed resistance is
really evasion. The writer has laid special emphasis on this in con-
nection with certain drought-resistant crops, in a publication^ about
to appear. Police officers understand perfectly the sharp distinction
between resistance and evasion, and agronomists will do well to
follow their leading.
There is need also of agreement on the term to be applied to the
individual seed. In cereals, for instance, the single fruit is variously
called a kernel, a berry, a seed and a grain. The inclosing glumes are
known as glumes, chaff, hulls, scales and lemmas, not to mention
husks in corn. Similarly, the stem is known as a stem, culm, stalk
or straw ; the peduncle is called also stem, shank and ear-branch.
The objection to the existence of so many names for the same
thing is not as strong as the objection to the current common prac-
tice of using two or three of them, not only in the same paper, but in
the same paragraph and even in the same sentence. Another instance
of variable and conflicting usage is the case of the terms tiller, sucker,
and stool, used as nouns and as verbs. Similar conditions are met in
reference to terms for the whole inflorescence and for other parts of
it, as the rachis, awn, etc.
In relation to crop-terms, it may be pointed out finally that for the
Anglo-Saxon word crop, itself, as for the term soil, we need a more
flexible root, in the interest of our expanding science. We need the
equivalent of edaph, edaphal or edaphic, edaphics or edaphology,
edaphist, etc.
^ Ball, Carleton R., The Importance and Improvement of the Grain-
Sorghums. U. S. Dept. Agric, Bu. PI. Ind. Bui. 203, pp. 22-28. Jan., 1911.
ball: technical terms in agronomy.
91
3. Terms Relating to Cultural Operations.
Here is, doubtless, the broadest field for improvement in defining
the meaning and limiting the use of agronomic terms, since here the
most variable usage obtains at present.
The word culture is used to include all the operations necessary
to the production of any crop, from the first preparation of the land
to the storing of the gathered product. Thus we speak of wheat-
culture or cotton-culture. The word cultivate has also the same
meaning, but its use in this comprehensive sense is not desirable
because of its well known secondary and limited meaning, viz., to
till with the implement known as a cultivator or locally as a corn-
plow. There are three series of operations included in culture,
namely, those affecting the soil, or tillage operations ; those affecting
the seed (including treatment for disease), or planting operations;
and those concerned with the out-turn, or harvesting operations, in-
cluding threshing and storing. These three series are followed by a
fourth, the commercial, or the marketing and manufacture of the
product. These commercial operations are, however, excluded from
the term culture. They are also commonly, whether rightly or
wrongly, excluded from the more fundamental term, agronomy.
The term tillage is properly used to cover all the operations of the
first series, namely, those affecting the soil. Similar simple and con-
crete terms are needed to designate the other three series, i. e., planting
operations, harvesting operations and the more commercial operations
of marketing and manufacturing which finally bring the product to
the consumer.
In the terms applied to the processes collectively called tillage, there
is some confusion. Terms like summer-tillage are readily understood ;
tilled crop is of doubtful clearness, while intertillage and intercultural
tillage are very likely to be misunderstood. Both are used to denote
tillage given between the widespaced rows of a growing crop, as corn.
However, the use of the weeder or harrow on drilled cereals is as cer-
tainly intertillage. Intercultural tillage would be, logically, tillage
given between two culture-periods, or, in other words, cropping-periods,
and would thus be summer tillage of fallow or else winter tillage,
between two crop-seasons. If culture is used with its secondary
meaning, that is, the crop grown, as a bacterial culture, the term in-
tercultural tillage is properly used. Perhaps the word were best
abandoned. Intertillage, if used, should carry the broader meaning of
all inter-row cultivation.
The term fallow sometimes becomes confusing under present usage.
Literally, it means to rest the land. This may be accomplished either
92 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
by planting no crop at all or by planting a restorative crop instead of
an exhaustive one. The two conditions are described by the English
terms bare-fallow, or simply, fallow, and green-fallow. The use of
these or equivalent terms is desirable.
The phrase, continuous cropping, has recently been used to denote
the continuous annual succession of a single kind of crop on the
same field, and crop-rotation to designate the use of several different
crops. Continuous-cropping, however, does not exactly express the
opposite of crop-rotation, which also may be continuous cropping.
Single-cropping or continuous single-cropping is a preferable phrase.
Continuous cropping is really the antithesis of alternately cropping
and fallowing in any system including a fallow, either bare or green.
The following terms, while not concise, are clear ; continuous single-
cropping, continuous rotation, fallow-rotation, biennial fallow and
triennial fallow. The last two refer to a fallow introduced every
second and third year respectively.
Plot and plat are synonymous terms, both as nouns and as verbs.
Both trace their descent from the same respectable ancestry and
both move in the best agronomic society. Plot is perhaps a little more
popular ; plat the slightly more exclusive of the two. Until an agree-
ment is reached, both may well continue in use — but not in the same
paper.
In plat or nursery-row experiments the word replicate is preferable
to the term duplicate where the series is repeated more than once.
The words triplicate, quadruplicate, etc., can be used in specific cases,
but are cumbersome at best and the series is not capable of indefinite
extension.
There is prevalent laxity in the use of the terms relating to the
series of planting operations. The words broadcasting and drilling
have been used almost interchangeably in our literature. Broad-
casting should be restricted to the scattering of seed on a surface to
be subsequently covered with some harrowing implement. Drilling
should be used only for sowing in drills, preferably closely spaced
drills, or those 6 to lo inches apart. Drilling with only every second
hole open might be called double-spaced; with every third hole open,
triple-spaced, and so on. The term planting is now used in two
ways, first as a general term to include all processes used in placing
seed or plants in the proper position for growth, and second for the
particular process of depositing seeds with a planter as in the case
of corn, beans, etc. In this particular use it applies to crops grown in
wide-spaced drills, usually three to five feet apart. The terms half-
spaced or double-planted, might be employed where the planted rows
are only half the usual distance.
HARRIS : PERIODS OF TRANSPIRATION.
93
As noted above, there is need for a term to designate all planting
operations, including seed treatment. This should include such
diverse practices as the use of vegetative parts, as in fruit trees, pota-
toes, etc., the layering of sugar-cane and other plants ; the sowing
of seeds, as in cereals or vegetables, and the transplanting of seed-
lings, as in cabbage or tobacco.
The whole matter of a clear and concise terminology in agronomic
science is worthy of careful and systematic consideration. It lies
fully within the province of this Society. The subject may well be
undertaken first by a small committee, instructed to explore the field,
ascertain the needs and recommend the necessary limitations and crea-
tions ; then by the Society as a Committee of the Whole, taking action
on the recommendations presented by its committee.
LONG VERSUS SHORT PERIODS OF TRANSPIRATION IN
PLANTS USED AS INDICATORS OF SOIL FERTILITY.
Frank S. Harris,
Cornell Experiment Station, Ithaca, N. Y.
(Communication from the Department of Soil Technology, Cornell
University.)
In the past few years many soil investigators, in studying various
soil phenomena, have used, to quite an extent, the transpiration of
plants grown for short periods either in wire baskets or pots contain-
ing soil, or in bottles containing soil extracts. This transpiration, and
sometimes the green or dry weight produced, has been used as a
measure of the crop-producing power, or fertility, of soils.
The fact that this method is somewhat widely used, emphasizes the
importance of its being thoroughly studied as a method, in order that
its weak as well as its strong points may be discovered. No method
of research is entirely adequate till its action under every possible
condition is understood. Thus, a method becomes useful just in pro-
portion to the clearness with which its limitations are defined and its
strong points made certain. It is with the view of making the
method mentioned above more useful, that the following paper, point-
ing out some of its weaknesses, is presented.
Gardner^ has already pointed out, that the efficiency of fertilizers
^ Gardner, F. D. Fertility of soils as affected by manures. U. S. Dept. of
Agric, Bu. Soils Bui. 48: 1-59. March, 1908.
94 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
determines, to an extent, the relation between the amount of water
transpired by plants and the green weight produced.
The experiments of Livingston,^ wherein he attempts to prove that
the growth of plants is proportional to their transpiration, show,
when carefully looked into, that various factors, such as the concen-
tration of the solution in which the plants are grown, influence the
relation between transpiration and growth.
Widtsoe,^ using various crops grown to maturity, determined that
the soil, the season, and various other factors influenced the relation
between the dry matter in plants and the water used by them.
Reed* has pointed out the specific effects of certain chemical sub-
stances on transpiration in plants grown for two or three weeks in
wire baskets.
These are but a few of the many references that might be cited
to show that that phase of the method dealing with the relation be-
tween the amount of water transpired by plants and their growth is
fast becoming much better understood.
In the work that has been done so far, however, it has been taken
for granted that plants, with different treatments, continue to trans-
pire in the same ratio during their entire period of growth. That
is, if a certain fertilizer caused the plants in the soil to which it was
added to transpire lo percent more water for three weeks than some
other fertilizer, it has been assumed that these plants would continue
to transpire lo percent more up to the time of maturity. The as-
sumption would further be made that a lo percent higher yield might
be expected and consequently the one fertilizer would be lo percent
more efficient than the other. In other words, two or three weeks'
transpiration has been considered sufficient to show, quantitatively, the
relative crop-producing power, or fertility, of various media of
growth.
It shall be the purpose of this paper to compare the transpiration
of plants during different periods of their development to see if a
given treatment affects the transpiration alike during all stages of
growth.
Sachs found that dilute acids greatly increased transpiration while
dilute alkalis retarded it. Reed (loc. cit.), on the other hand, found
exactly opposite results with plants which were allowed to grow from
^ Livingston, B. E. Relation of transpiration to growth in wheat. Bot.
Gaz. 40: 178-195. Sept., 1905.
^ Widt'soe, J. A. Irrigation investigations : Factors influencing evaporation
and transpiration. Utah Exp. Sta. Bui. 105. Aug., 1909.
*Reed, Howard S. The effect of certain chemical agents upon the trans-
piration and growth of wheat seedlings. Bot. Gaz. 49: 81-109. Feb., 1910.
HARRIS : PERIODS OF TRANSPIRATION.
95
12 to 15 days. This is explained by the fact that Sachs let his plants
transpire but a short time and there might have been a stimulation at
first and a retardation later.
This suggests the possibility that a certain treatment of the soil
might stimulate transpiration in plants while they were young, and
thus indicate a growth which would not be continued if the plants
were allowed to mature.
The following tables, giving the total water used during each week,
show how the relative transpiration of the plants was affected during
different stages by various treatments. Wheat plants were used in all
the experiments reported.
Table I. — Relative Transpiration by Weeks and Relative Green Weights of
Plants Grown in Wire Baskets. Soil from Utah County, Utah.
Fertilizer Added to Each
Basket.
Relative Transpiration at End of
Relative
Series.
Week.
Weeks,
3
Weeks.
Wetks.
Weeks.
6
Weeks.
Green
Weights.
A
B
C
D
E
None
.065 gm. NaNOg
.065 gm. NaHjPO^
.065 gm. KHSO4
•335 gm". CaCO^
100
98
107
107
98
100
100
III
103
100
100
116
104
107
100
106
119
104
109
100
108
120
105
"3
100
no
122
105
114
100
126
121
98
109
Table II. — Relative Transpiration by Weeks and Relative Green Weights of
Plants Grown in Wire Baskets. Soil from Alberta, Canada.
Series.
Fertilizer Added to Each
Basket.
Relative Transpiration at End of
Relative
Green
Weights.
Week.
2
Weeks.
Weeks.
4
Weeks
Weeks.
6
Weeks.
A
None
100
100
100
ICO
ICO
ICQ
100
B
.065 gm. NaNOg
100
104
100
lOI
102
ICO
108
C
.065 gm. NaHgPO^
107
114
III
109
108
106
97
D
.065 gm. KHSO,
100
96
94
95
96
95
85
E
.335 gm. CaCOg
102
106
1 10
115
120
121
109
Tables I and II show results with plants raised in wire baskets of
the size usually employed. The method described in circular 18 of the
U. S. Dept. of Agr. Bureau of Soils, was used. Various fertilizers
were added as indicated in the tables. The soil in Table I, from
Utah County, Utah, had been cultivated a number of years, having
produced good yields without fertilizers. The soil in Table II from
Alberta, Canada, was a virgin prairie soil having been cultivated but
one year.
The plants in tables I and II were allowed to grow six weeks. In
most of the soils of the East, plants will not grow this long in wire
g6 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
baskets before beginning to die, but in these fertile soils, at the end
of six weeks, the plants were fresh and were growing vigorously.
The total transpiration up to the end of each week is given, that for
the plants in -the untreated soil being called lOO in each case, and the
others given in relative transpiration. The relative green weights are
also shown. Each series represents an average of five baskets.
In table I, at the end of one week the phosphate and the potassium
had stimulated transpiration somewhat, while the other treatments
had a very slightly depressing effect, but were practically the same
as the check. At the end of the second week the stimulation due to
the phosphate was increased while the potassium fell off slightly
and remained about the same during the remainder of the experiment.
That is, during practically the entire time it transpired about 5 percent
more than the check, but the green weight produced by it was slightly
less than that produced by the check.
At the end of two weeks the transpiration from the baskets receiv-
ing nitrate, and from those receiving lime, was just the same as from
the untreated baskets, but from then on, there was an increase over
the check till at the end of six weeks there had been a gain of 10
percent and 14 percent respectively in the transpiration, and 26 per-
cent and 9 percent in the green matter produced.
To digress for a moment, it will be noticed in both tables I and II
that, where nitrate was applied to the soil, the green matter was pro-
duced with relatively less water than on the untreated soil. It might
further be stated that on the experiments being repeated a number of
times, this relation held in every case. It also held for nine other
soils, from the same localities, which were tested at the same time.
In table II the relations are somewhat similar to those in table I.
For example, the potassium caused proportionally greater transpira-
tion during the first week than later, and after the first week it main-
tained about the same relative transpiration as the check, that is, 5
percent less, while the green weight produced was 15 percent less.
In this table, as in table I, the lime did not show its beneficial
effects on transpiration till after some time had elapsed.
The tables show that, during the period of the experiment, plants
treated differently did not continue to transpire in the same ratio to
each other.
Table III shows results with wheat seedlings grown in soil extracts
contained in bottles of 125 cc. capacity. Each bottle contained four
seedlings held in notches cut in the cork. The extract removed by
the plants was replaced every second day and was entirely changed
each week. The concentrated extracts were made by stirring the
HARRIS : PERIODS OF TRANSPIRATION.
97
soil with an equal weight of distilled water, letting it settle, and filter-
ing through folded filter paper. The dilute extract was made by
adding three parts of water to one part of the concentrated.
The treatment of the soils from which the extracts were made is
shown in the table. There were three bottles containing twelve
plants in each series. Series A was taken as lOO in each case. The
relative green and dry weights of the tops are also given, with series
A as 100.
Table III. — Relative Transpiration by Weeks and Relative Weights of Plants
Grown in Soil Extracts.
Soil from which Extracts
were Made.
Dunkirk clay loam, steamed,
let stand 3 mo.
Dunkirk clay loam, steamed,
aerated, let stand 3 mo.
Dunkirk clay loam, steamed,
raised crop 3 mo.
Dunkirk clay loam, freshly
steamed
Volusia silt loam
Concentration of
Extract.
Concentrated
Dilute
j Concentrated
t Dilute
/ Concentrated
\ Dilute
Concentrated
Dilute
Concentrated
Dilute
Relative Transpira-
tion at End of
I Wk. 2 Wks. 3 Wks,
100
63
124
90
105
83
105
108
122
108
100
60
92
100
71
74
99
121
95
[OO
64
[18
91
96
66
70
97
[23
90
The relative transpiration for series B continued about the same as
for series A from week to week. The relative green, and especially
the dry weight, produced was somewhat less than the relative transpira-
tion. In series C, during the first week there was a stimulation of
transpiration over A, but that decreased considerably during the
second, and somewhat less during the third week. In series D the
transpiration continued in about the same ratio as in series A, but
the green and dry weights produced were very much less in propor-
tion to the transpiration.
In series E there was a slight relative stimulation at first, but by
the third week this had become a retardation. Series F, which is the
extract of series E diluted, also shows a greater relative transpiration
at first. Comparing series G with series H, during the first week H
showed but slight superiority, but by the end of the three weeks it had
transpired nearly 40 percent more. Series I continued to transpire
about 22 percent more than series A during the entire time but the
green and dry weights produced were about 20 percent less.
During the first week series J led series A by 8 percent, but by the
end of the second week it had fallen 5 percent below, and by the
third week it was 10 percent behind, while the green and dry weights
7
9^ PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
produced were nearly 40 percent less than were produced in series A.
Many other similar relations might be pointed out in this table,
showing that under the conditions of the experiment, plants with
different treatments do not continue to transpire in the same ratio
from week to week.
Tables IV, V and VI record the data obtained from wheat plants
that were grown to maturity. Three-gallon pots, each holding ten
kilograms of soil, were used, with a special device for measuring
transpiration. This transpiration-measuring device, or potometer,
was arranged as follows : An ordinary earthen flower pot three inches
in diameter and having a hole in the bottom, was inverted in the reg-
ular culture pot, which was made of glazed earthenware. A thistle
tube, fifteen inches long, had an inch or so of its lower end turned up
to form a U." This was placed under the edge of the inverted
pot so the lower end of the thistle tube was inside the small inverted
pot, while the bowl projected above the large pot and served as a
receiver for the water which was conducted into the inverted pot
below. From here the water could run out into the surrounding
soil. There was also a glass tube to conduct the air out of the in-
verted pot when water was added. A little fine gravel was placed
in the bottom of the main pot, around the inverted one, to improve
aeration and facilitate the movement of water into the soil.
Soil having been put into the culture pot, the wheat was planted in
two rows ; then one half kilogram of crushed quartz was placed over
the surface to serve as a mulch. When the plants were three or four
inches high, the pots were sealed with paraffined paper containing
holes for the plants and glass tubes to pass through. Thus there
could be no escape of water except that transpired through the
plants. Duplicate pots of all treatments were kept. Dunkirk clay
loam was the soil used.
The pots were weighed three times a week and the amount of
water that had been lost was added through the thistle tube as a sub-
irrigation. A thermographic record of the temperature, a daily read-
ing of the humidity and the hours of sunshine each day were all kept.
Tables IV and V show similar data but for dift'erent years and for
different varieties of wheat. The results shown in Table IV were
obtained during the winter of 1908-1909, Pringle's Champion wheat
being used, while the results in Table V were obtained during the
winter of 1909-19 10 with Galgalos wheat. Any differences between
these two tables, therefore, may be attributed to season and variety of
wheat, since the treatment in other respects was the same.
It will be seen from the tables that two fertilizer treatments besides
HARRIS : PERIODS OF TRANSPIRATION.
99
the untreated soil were used and with each fertihzer treatment there
were two moisture contents maintained. Thirty percent was about
the optimum moisture for plant growth, while the fifteen percent was
comparatively dry. The relative transpiration at the end of four-
week periods is given, as well as the relative dry weights of the
grain and straw and of the grain alone. The results from the unfer-
tilized soil with 30 percent water are taken as 100 in all the following
tables and the others are expressed in relative amounts. Each
column shows the total transpiration, from the beginning of the exper-
iment to the end of the week indicated.
Table IV. — Relative Transpiration at the End of Four-Week Periods and
Relative Dry Weights. Season of igo8-og.
Fertilizers.
None
None
Complete
Complete
Complete, with high N
Complete, with high N
6
Relative Transpiration at End of
Q c« C
4
8
12
16
20
24
Total.
Wks.
Wks.
Wks.
Wks.
Wks.
Wks.
^ m
30%
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
15
41
33
26
23
25
29
34
39
50
30
125
139
139
134
128
123
136
144
15
41
46
41
40
42
44
46
70
63
30
163
153
147
140
139
138
150
165
15
49
44
39
38
39
41
44
50
50
In Table IV, if series B is compared with series A, the relative
transpiration at the end of four weeks will be seen to be 41 to 100.
At the end of eight weeks it had dropped to 33, in twelve weeks to
26 and in sixteen weeks to 23. From here on the ratio rises gradu-
ally till at harvest it was 34 to 100. Now, comparing series D and
series F with series A, the same ratio holds. That is, there is a
falling of¥ of the relative transpiration in the pots with low moisture
up to sixteen weeks, from which time it gradually rises till maturity.
If this point is kept in mind when Table V is examined, the same
relation will be found to hold, except that the period of lowest relative
transpiration was at the end of the twelfth rather than the sixteenth
week. That there should be this gradual falling off in relative trans-
piration in the drier soils up to a certain period and then a gradual
increase seems rather a strange condition, but its uniformity during
both years makes it very significant.
This point must be a critical period in the life history of the plants
in the dry soil since their transpiration in comparison with the plants
in moist soil was less, in every case, than at any other period of their
life. This period occurred when the plants were making a rapid
growth preparatory to going into the boot stage.
lOO PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
In series C, after the eighth week, there was a gradual falhng of the
transpiration in comparison with series A. This is also the case with
series E. Thus, during this season the fertilizers had given the
greatest relative impetus to transpiration by the end of the eighth
week.
Table V. — Relative Transpiration at the End of Four-Week Periods and
Relative Dry Weights. Season of igog-io.
in
4)
Relative Transpiration at End of
(5 ^
.H
Fertilizer.
4
8
12
16
20
24
Total
tan
Wks.
Wks.
Wks.
Wks.
Wks.
Wks.
(28 Wks.)
'A
A
None
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
B
None
15
89
66
53
55
59
60
59
71
74
C
Complete
30
137
132
145
154
155
141
188
193
D
Complete
15
77
71
64
67
73
72
69
103
109
E
Complete, with high N
30
122
141
137
149
167
178
166
245
276
F
Complete, with high N
15
82
71
61
65
72
77
77
117
118
Table V shows about the same points as Table IV. One noticeable
variation, however, is the difference between the transpiration as
affected by the moist and dry soil. The Galgalos wheat, which was
the variety raised during 1910-10, made a much better relative growth
on the dry soil than the Pringle's Champion made during 1908-09.
The former variety appears to be a better drought resister. The
tables show clearly that the plants under various treatments did not,
at all times, transpire the same relative amounts.
Table VI. — Relative Transpiration at the End of Four-Week Periods and
Relative Dry Weights of Wheat Plants Grown with Different
Amounts of Moisture. Season igog-io. No Fertilizer.
Soil
Relative Transpiration at End of
Rel. Dry
Rel. Dry
Series.
Moist-
Wt. of Straw
Wt. of
ure.
4 Wks.
8 Wks.
12 Wks.
16 Wks.
20 Wks.
24 Wks.
Total.
and Grain.
Grain.
A
11%
83
50
33
29
30
31
33
41
39
B
13
78
50
37
35
37
39
40
48
48
C
15
89
66
53
55
59
60
59
71
74
D
20
80
67
58
64
71
71
66
81
87
E
25
87
81
78
88
93
91
85
93
99
F
30
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
G
371
105
1 10
1^3
119
125
125
122
130
133
H
45
104
109
89
84
84
85
90
98
89
Table VI shows the transpiration from plants grown in soil con-
taining from II percent to 45 percent of moisture. The 11 percent
was barely enough moisture for plants to grow while the soil was
completely saturated at 45 percent. The results with 30 percent
moisture were taken as 100 in each case so the figures could be com-
pared with the previous ones.
HARRIS : PERIODS OF TRANSPIRATION.
lOI
At the end of four weeks the maximum difference between the
transpiration of the various treatments was only twenty-five or thirty
percent, but very soon it reached four or five times that amount. In
four weeks the ratio between series A and F was 83 to 100 while at
maturity it stood 33 to 100. It will be noticed that with the drier
soils, the decrease in the relative transpiration was greater than with
the more moist ones. Thus series E ran almost parallel with series
F. Series G was only 5 percent ahead of series F after four weeks
growth, while at maturity, it had transpired 22 percent more and had
produced 30 percent more dry matter. After eight weeks series H
was 9 percent ahead of series F, but at maturity its transpiration was
10 percent less and it had produced 1 1 percent less grain.
'I'he same condition that was pointed out in Tables IV and V is
seen to exist in this table. That is, in the drier soils, the lowest
relative transpiration is found when the plants had grown from twelve
to sixteen weeks. From this point on to maturity they used relatively
more water, but never as much as during the first few weeks of
growth.
If the transpiration at the end of eight weeks had been taken as a
criterion for judging the crop-producing power of the soil under
different conditions, series G and H would have been considered
practically equal and about 10 percent better than series F. We find,
however, that the dry matter produced at maturity bore a decidedly
different ratio. Series G produced over 50 percent more grain than
series H and even series F produced 12 percent more.
A very interesting observation, not shown in the figures presented,
but continually made as this transpiration work was in progress, was
the way in which the amount of sunshine, the temperature and the
relative humidity affected the transpiration of plants with different
treatments. For example, two series might be transpiring about the
same amount during a period of cloudy weather, but if the sun came
out brightly for a few days, one series would transpire 20 or 25 per-
cent more than the other ; when the cloudy weather returned, it would
take its place beside the other series. In a similar way the other fac-
tors controlling the amount of transpiration had different effects
with the different treatments. These facts show that for transpira-
tion results to be reliable they should be carried on for more than a
brief period and under widely varying conditions.
It cannot be disputed that very many important results have been
obtained by studying the transpiration of plants for short periods,
and hence the method has been useful ; but that it is adequate as a
method of determining the crop-producing power of a medium of
I02 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
plant growth can hardly be claimed for it, at least till the various
interfering factors are more thoroughly understood. It is, therefore,
hoped that part of the energy which is being spent in using this
method will be directed toward understanding it better, so the results
obtained by its use can be more intelligently interpreted and its use-
fulness thereby increased.
Summary.
1. The method of determining the relative crop-producing power
of media of plant growth by comparing the transpirations for a few
weeks, has been considerably used in the past.
2. The factors influencing the relation between the transpiration of
plants and the dry matter produced by them, have been and are
being worked out.
3. There are other phases of the method that need investigation.
4. The figures presented in this paper show that, with different
treatments, plants do not continue to transpire the same relative
amounts during all periods of their growth.
5. Where the transpirations for but a limited time are compared,
erroneous conclusions may be drawn because of possible temporary
stimulation or retardation due to a given condition.
6. Conditions causing irregularities in the relative transpiration
of plants should be more thoroughly studied before the method can
attain its full measure of usefulness.
THE THEORY OF SOIL MANAGEMENT.
Frank K. Cameron,
U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.
From an agricultural standpoint, the soil may be defined as that
portion of the land surface adapted to the support and growth of
crop plants. It is a system of many components, mineral and organic,
and contains living organisms. The material remnants and detritus
of nearly all if not all activities on the solid portion of the earth's
surface find their way to the soil, and by various transporting agen-
cies, especially water and wind, are carried from soil to soil.
The number and the relative proportions of the various compo-
nents vary quite widely in different soils. Moreover, every com-
ponent of the soil is continually involved in processes of change.
Therefore each soil is a dynamic system, with a complex summation
CAMERON: THE THEORY OF SOIL MANAGEMENT. IO3
of properties;^ consequently it is highly individuated; no two soils
can be expected to be exactly alike, nor any one particular soil to
remain just the same from time to time, either in crop producing
power or response to cultural methods. Each soil must be regarded
as distinct, with its own properties ; but these properties are contin-
ually being modified as a result of activities within the soil as well as
by natural and artificial agencies from without.
With these considerations in mind the theory of soil management
or control can be easily formulated. For simplicity a mathematical
terminology can be employed.
Crop production (C) is dependent upon: the biological peculiarities
of the plant or crop (F) ; the amount and distribution of the rainfall
(r) and the sun's energy (s) ; the properties of the soil, physical (/>),
chemical (c) and biological (b) ; and upon other factors, the number
being yet uncertain but probably large. Besides these natural factors,
a cultivated crop is dependent upon artificial methods of control
which fall conveniently into the three classes, tillage methods (T),
crop rotations (R), and fertilizers (F). This dependence may be
expressed as follows:
C=f {P, r, s, p,c,h,. . . T, R, F)
The nature of this function is yet unknown. It has generally been
assumed that it is simple, and by many investigators, that it is a linear
function. It is reasonably certain, however, that it is quite complex,
and certainly it is not linear, as is shown by the accumulated results
of plot experiments.
Let it be assumed that the different factors in this function are inde-
pendent variables. Then, obviously, the proper experimental pro-
cedure is to keep all but one constant, and varying that one, to meas-
ure the effect by the crop produced. This is the method which has
generally been attempted by agricultural investigators, as in the popu-
lar plot tests for fertilizers and in greenhouse cultures. An enor-
mous amount of data has been accumulated, but the results have been
disappointing. If the assumption of independent variables were
valid, it should be comparatively easy to determine the nature of the
function; and if, further, the function were linear, fertilizer effects,
for instance, should be additive. The evidence shows fertilizer effects
to be generally (though not always) cumulative, i. e., three constit-
uents are more effective than two, and two more effective than one.-^
* Cameron, Frank K. Jour. Ind. Eng. Chem., /: 806 (1909); Jour. Phys.
Chem., 14: 320 and 393 (1910).
^Buls. Nos. 58, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67, Bureau of Soils, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.
I04 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
But the effects are not additive, the effects of a mixed fertihzer being
sometimes greater, more often less, than the sum of the effects pro-
duced by each component separately.
Consideration of the large mass of experimental evidence that has
been accumulated in the field and laboratory leads inevitably to the
conclusion that all the factors in crop production are dependent
variables. Altering the chemical properties (c) for instance always
affects the physical properties, the biological properties, the distribu-
tion of moisture, etc. Tillage obviously changes the physical proper-
ties of the soil ; it necessarily affects the bacteria and other biological
factors in the soil, the chemistry, organic as well as inorganic, pre-
sumably the functioning of the plant, etc. A concrete example is
furnished by the addition of potassium carbonate (F) to a loam soil.
The factor c was increased, but the soil was deflocculated and some-
what puddled, p being decreased ; the growth of desirable bacteria was
inhibited, with presumably an increase in undesirable kinds, thus
decreasing b; and without attempting to follow the effects on the
other factors, it may be said that the summation of these several
results as expressed in crop yields was a decrease.
Recognition that the variables in the function representing crop
production are dependent, suggests as the method of attack, the
substitution of each variable in terms of some one.^ Experimentally
this is difficult and perhaps never susceptible to complete accomplish-
ment. It is practicable, however, to do much in this direction.
Clearly, a measurement of crop production alone can not in itself
furnish much information. If the plot experiments of the future
with fertilizers are to be of any real assistance, observations must be
made upon the physical and biological properties of the soil, at least
throughout the growing season. Not only the yield of crop, but the
character of the yield, and, in fine, the particular life history of the
crop must be recorded. More important at the present time perhaps
is the determination of the kind and degree of the changes produced
in different variables by the changes in any one of them. This mode
of procedure is absolutely essential if a rational system of soil man-
agement is to be developed.
There is now existing a considerable mass of experimental evidence
supporting the general view outlined above. It is known that definite
organic substances are present in soils,* some of which are toxic to
'It hardly seems necessary to state that this does not imply that, in practice,
fertilizers can take the place, or perform the functions of tillage or crop
rotation. It can not be too strongly emphasized that good farming requires the
employment of all three methods of control.
*Bull. No. 53, Bureau of Soils, U. S. Department of Agriculture.
CAMERON: THE THEORY OF SOIL MANAGEMENT. I05
various plants, and that the addition of fertilizer salts modifies the
toxicity or inhibiting influence, and it has been shown that these
modifying influences are specific. It is known that oxidizing proc-
esses on the one hand and reductions on the other, produced by
organic substances, enzymes, bacteria, and probably inorganic sub-
stances, are normally taking place in every soil, which more or less
affect the adaptability of that particular soil for different crops ; and
it has been shown that these oxidations and reductions are markedly
affected by the addition of inorganic salts in commercial fertilizers.
And so far as the available evidence goes, again the activities of these
salts are specific.^
It has been shown that the activities of bacteria and lower plant
forms in the soil are much influenced by the salts in commercial
fertilizers, and these activities are very potent in determining the
growth of higher crop plants. The mechanical properties of the soil
and the physical properties of the soil solution, as in its density, its
movement through the soil, and other phenomena of importance to
crop production, are affected by soluble salts. The absorptive power
of the soil towards the different salts and their various constituents is
now recognized as of very great importance in determining the rela-
tionships to crop yield. The addition of a salt may sometimes influ-
ence their absorptions, as in the case of a soluble nitrate lessening the
absorption of phosphoric acid,^ with marked result in the crop. And
it has been shown that the addition of salts has a measurable influ-
ence on the optimum water content, and the many physical proper-
ties of the soil dependent on the water content."^ It is well known
that flocculation or deflocculation is affected by exceedingly small pro-
portions of salts ; thus crumbling of the soil and its tilth can be
markedly affected by the addition of fertilizers.^ The hitherto popu-
lar notion that these physical effects are of minor importance is due
mainly to the fact that investigators have not known what observa-
tions were necessary nor how to measure them. But without going
into detail here, it may be said that the physical effects of fertilizers
on the soil are now known to have an importance for crop production
which can no longer be slighted. Numerous water culture and other
experiments leave no doubt that fertilizers directly affect the func-
tioning of the plant, as well as influencing it through their effects on
the soil, and this fact needs no further exposition here.
°Bull. No. 73, Bureau of Soils, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.
* Unpublished experiments by H. E. Patten.
'^Unpublished experiments by R. O. E. Davis.
*Jour. Franklin Institute, 169: 421-438; 170: 46-57 (1910).
I06 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
While the Hnes of investigation covering the various kinds of effects
produced by the constituents of commercial fertilizers are as yet
hardly more than initiated, they have nevertheless progressed suffi-
ciently to leave no manner of doubt that fertilizers in some way and
to some extent influence each and every known factor affecting crop
production. Obviously no simple explaiiation of the value of ferti-
lizers can be correct, but all the possible effects on the various factors
influencing crop production must be considered. Consequently no
simple procedure for examining soils, such as the analysis of an acid
extract, can in itself be expected to furnish a satisfactory idea of the
productivity of a soil, or its fertilizer requirements. A more compre-
hensive analysis of the soil conditions is necessary, together with a
knowledge of the crop factors ; and for an intelligent utilization of the
soil, to develop its best commercial efficacy, there must also be known
the economic factors affecting the growing, shipping, and marketing
of the crop or crops. These latter factors, while often regarded as
outside the province of the soil expert, can not be disregarded in the
larger considerations of the subject.
SOME CAUSES OF SOIL GRANULATION.^
Elmer O. Fippin,
Cornell Experiment Station, Ithaca, N. Y.
(Communication from the Department of Soil Technology, Cornell
University.)
A large part of the management of soils in farm practice is con-
cerned with the proper control of soil structure. By means of tillage,
and, to a certain extent, by the use of amendments and fertilizers, the
structure of the soil is altered. By that change the relation of the
soil to moisture, the circulation of air, absorption of heat, develop-
ment of organisms, penetration of roots and the availability of plant
food constituents is changed. The operation of a soil mulch, for
example, is dependent upon that loose, open structure by which loss
of moisture from the surface greatly exceeds absorption from below.
The top layer becomes practically dry and remains so, in which con-
dition the further loss of water is greatly reduced. Again, we sub-
'The writer is indebted to Messrs. J. Goldhaar, J. H. Squires and E. L.
Hsieh, who, at different times, were charged with the details of the investiga-
tion here reported.
FIPPIN : CAUSES OF SOIL GRANULATION. lO/
soil heavy clay land to improve its permeability and increase its avail-
able water capacity. This is efifected thru an alteration in structure.
Land may be puddled by plowing when too wet. The structure is
rendered too dense and impervious and the problem of the soil man-
ager is to so alter that structure as to render it more favorable to
plant growth. Illustrations of changes in structure which directly
affect productiveness might be multiplied. A sufficient number have
been given to indicate the importance and practical relations of the
topic.
It should be noted that the modifications of the soil which have
been mentioned do not in any way alter the texture. The particles
of the soil remain of the same size thruout the various operations.
Their arrangement only is altered. Much confusion has arisen in the
past from the use of the term texture to refer to both differences in
texture and differences in arrangement or structure.
Fundamentally, the structure of a soil can be modified only in one
of two directions: (a) It may be rendered more open and porous or
(b) it may be rendered more compact and impervious.
Not all soils will permit the same degree of modification of struc-
ture. This possibility of change is a function of texture. The finer
the texture of a soil the greater is the possible range of structural
change, conversely the more coarse the texture the less is the possible
range of structural change.
The structure of a coarse sand or gravel can not be materially
altered by any ordinary treatment. The particles, in the main, func-
tion individually and they have a sufficient mass so that they rest
together in such a way as to give about the same degree of porosity
whatever the treatment.
Clay soil, on the other hand, may rest very loosely or it may be com-
pacted ; the particles may be largely separate and free or they may
be gathered together in groups or granules which function as a single
large particle. There may be large and small pores or there may be
only pores of very small diameter, as when in a puddled soil the mass
has been mixed together in contact with water. Then the spaces
between the large particles are filled-in successively by smaller 'and
smaller particles, and a very dense and impervious mass results.
This condition is aimed at by the ceramist who desires that cohesion
of his product which will render it rigid and impervious.
On the other hand, this excessively dense or puddled condition of
clay soil is exceedingly objectionable to the person who would grow
crops, since it hinders practically all those processes which make for
productiveness. His aim is a certain porous, granular condition.
I08 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
He wishes, not a homogeneous soil mass, but, in the case of clay soil,
a considerable number of fairly large, functioning pores, and he is
very little concerned with the finest pores. He finds that while a
granular condition is desirable it may be carried to excess. The
granules may become too large, in which case they are termed clods.
His aim is that fine granular structure which approximates in effective
diameter of particle, the sandy loam or the loam soil where there is
the optimum of permeability and available storage capacity.
In the management of the finer classes of soil, particularly clay,
where the puddled or impervious condition is likely to occur, there is a
constant struggle to attain and maintain this optimum granulation.
Since tillage practices are expensive and may be of only secondary
importance in the maintenance of this optimum granulation, it is of
much importance to understand what natural processes may be
involved and the ways in which their operations are related to each
other.
For present purposes, we may regard the rigidity and impervious-
ness of the ceramist's unburned ware as identified with a thoroly
puddled condition of fine clay material. Its resistance to penetration
by a pointed instrument when dry is a measure of its rigidity.
Conversely, the extent of granulation of clay material should be in-
versely proportional to the resistance to such penetration. A granular
soil having a small proportion of its particles in intimate contact would
seem, therefore, to have the lowest cohesion.
These considerations suggest a means of measuring differences in
the granulation of a soil mass. The resistance to penetration by a
needle point or a knife edge may be measured. Samples of soil uni-
formly puddled and subsequently subjected to different treatments
may thus be compared with reference to their degree of granulation,
which will give some idea of the relative efficiency of the treatment.
In a general way this is the method of procedure which has been
followed in obtaining the results subsequently to be presented. The
apparatus used is not new or original with us but has been used in
measuring certain properties of soils^ and other materials, particu-
larly cements.
The following method of investigation has been pursued. The soil
used has been the subsoil of Dunkirk clay loam from the Cornell
University farm, which has the mechanical analysis given in Table I.
The analysis is shown graphically in Fig. ii.
^ See particularly results and review by Cameron, F. K., and Gallagher, F. E.,
Moisture content and physical condition of soils. U. S. Dept. Agric, Bu. Soils
Bui. 50. 1908.
FIPPIN : CAUSES OF SOIL GRANULATION.
109
Table I. — Mechanical Analysis of Dunkirk Clay Subsoil, showing Percentage
Composition.
c ^ . Organic Fine Coarse Medium Fine Very Fine
separate. Matter. Gravel. Sand. Sand. Sand. Sand. Silt. Clay.
Percentages: .41 .17 .23 .44 .81 6.72 46.73 44.7
The total loss on ignition was 3.76 percent. Its hygroscopic
moisture capacity when the pulverized material was thinly spread out
on a watch glass and kept in contact with a saturated atmosphere in
a desiccator at normal room temperature was 10.9 percent. The
water extract, obtained in the conventional way by treating one part of
soil with five parts of distilled water and filtering thru a Pasteur
filter after which its electrical resistance was determined, showed
170 parts per million of soluble salts. By evaporation of the extract
to dryness 210 p.p.m. were obtained.
MECHANICAL. ANALY^O CP So/L USEO
CfiOANIt flN£ COfKRiC MBDIUM FtN^ \/EfKf SijLT CLAY
MATTLfi O/^AVSL $Af^O S^f^O Sa/VO F/NC
S£PA fiA rss Ds re^MiNED
Fig. II.— Curve showing percentage composition of Dunkirk clay subsoil.
The preparation of the clay for tests consisted in pulverizing the
material so that it passed a 6 mm. sieve. A large mass of soil suffi-
cient for a series test was thoroly puddled by adding distilled water,
which was permitted to diffuse for from 24 to 48 hours, after which
the material was mixed. Sufficient water was used to produce a
stiff paste — ^about 33}^ percent for pure clay.
Several runs of the different treatments have been made with
slight modification in details and using different containing vessels
no PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
for the soil. The two chief types of cups used were (a) cake tins
of porcelain ware about 22 cm. in diameter and 2 cm. deep; (b) block
tin cups, 10 cm. in diameter and 8 cm. deep, so constructed that the
bottom rested flat on the floor. A few five gallon stone jars were
used.
Two general lines of treatment were followed. First, the different
samples of a series were treated dififerently without any addition of
material. Second, various materials were added to the soil in pre-
paring the puddled mass. The puddled clay was molded into the pans
or tins as nearly uniformly as possible and in an approximately solid
mass. At the end of the treatment the different members of each
series were tested for penetration as indicated above.
For this purpose three types of penetration instrument were used
at different times, namely, (a) a thin knife edge, i cm. in width and
I mm. thick at i cm. from the point; (b) the same .5 cm. wide; ( c)
a conical needle.
The penetration instrument was fastened to a lever arm balanced on
the short end by means of a weighted bucket. Near the knife or
needle a second balanced bucket was swung to receive the sand which
was admitted thru a funnel until the standard penetration was secured
in each test, after which the sand was weighed.
The different methods of treatment which have been used are as
follows :
1. Alternate drying and wetting.
2. Scarification.
3. Freezing.
4. Addition of sand.
5. Addition of muck and muck extract.
6. Addition of different forms of lime.
7. Addition of acids.
The first three methods involve no addition of foreign material
such as was made in the remaining four methods.
I. Alternate Drying and Wetting.
When a wet soil dries it contracts. The finer the texture of the
soil and the higher the moisture content at the outset the greater is
the volume of contraction. The figures of Schwarz are perhaps as
representative of this point as any. He obtained the following values
for contraction for four soils ranging from sand -to clay and muck
soil.
FIPPIN : CAUSES OF SOIL GRANULATION. I I I
Table II. — Schwarz' Figures for Volume of Contraction and Expansion.
Kind of Soil.
Suspended Ma-
terial.
Volume Decrease
on Drying.
Volume Increase
on Rewetting;
Medium sand .
0-55
0.0
0.0
Fine sandy loam
18.04
17.0
19.2
Clay
95-47
29.8
42.4
Muck, 82.6 per cent organic matter
60.2
The contraction in any large mass of soil is manifested in checks or
cracks. For a given volume of contraction their width will be directly
proportional to the size of the blocks they separate. The first cracks
formed will be larger than subsequent ones. If checks or cracks are
a necessary incident to the drying of a given material, it would seem
to be a fair assumption that, just as large cracks form in the early
period of the process so cracks of small size form thruout the interior
of the mass in the latter period of drying. To that extent, therefore,
the process of granulation will be carried on by a single drying of the
soil.
The next observation, as illustrated by the figures of Schwarz, is
that when a dry soil is wetted it expands. The expansion also is
proportional to the fineness of texture, the water content, and probably
also in part to the time element. However, for a given change in
moisture content the expansion is not as great or as rapid as was the
contraction in drying. Consequently, when a soil has cracked by the
reduction to the dry state and is then rewetted without stirring, the
cracks do not entirely close up. If now the drying is repeated,
cracks would be expected to form more readily and be more numerous,
due to the lines of weakness in soil mass, than was the case at the
first drying. If this be true, then the repeated drying and rewetting
of a puddled soil should gradually break down its cohesion and
finally reduce it to a fine granular mass, the size of the individual
mass being determined by the size of the group of particles which
could be drawn together as a unit.
It is this treatment of drying and rewetting to which we have sub-
jected our soil. A determination of the extent of contraction in
changing from a moisture content of 33V3 percent to the air dry state
was calculated from the linear contraction to be approximately 14
percent.
The efifect of repeated drying and rewetting is shown in the fol-
lowing table for different series and containing vessels. All figures
are the average of several determinations on each sample. The re-
sults are shown also in Figure 12.
112 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
Table III. — Effect of Repeated Wetting and Djying, in Terms of Force Neces-
sary for Penetration.
Soil Treatment.
Series I
Pans.
Series XL Cups.
Series III. Pots.
Force in
Grams.
Ratio.
F "orce in
Grams.
Ratio.
Force in
Grams.
Ratio.
19980
1 00.0
20580
1 00.0
20715
1 00.0
10436
61.5
III50
54.2
I0817
52.2
Dried 7 times
9741
57-4
9725
44.8
9250
44-5
Soil Treatment.
Dried once
Dried 20 times
Dried 20 times
Dried 20 times
Series IV. Pans.
Minimum Force,
Grams.
Maximum Force,
Grams.
Average of Six
Grams.
Determinations.
Ratio.
17935
20450
18980
1 00.0
5202
7183
5980
31-5
4982
6950
5790
30.6
5025
7230
6065
32.0
These figures show the very decided effect of the drying process.
They are in fair agreement thruout. Twenty times drying has re-
duced the force necessary for penetration, and, therefore, brought
AirtKNATE DRVIN& AND WEVriNG
Fan 3^
I 5 1 tS 1 5 1 ^0
T^/M^s Dried ^or/pp/A.
Fig. 12. — Effect of alternate drying and wetting on granulation, in terms of
force necessary for penetration.
about granulation, to the extent of nearly sixty percent of that in
the original puddled clay. The same results are shown graphically
in Fig. 12.
In studying these results one is led to inquire as to the force
FIPPIN : CAUSES OF SOIL GRANULATION. II 3
which brings about this change or granulation. Clearly, it is the
water film. As the water content of the soil is reduced the surface
tension comes into play and draws the particles together. The
smaller the particles the more easily will they be carried by this film.
If the whole film around the wet soil mass contracted uniformly and
as a unit, the contraction would be manifested chiefly by withdrawal
from the walls of the vessel and one dense mass would result. As
a matter of fact the puddled soil is not homogeneous. There are in-
equalities or lines of weakness and these should determine the loca-
tion of cracks. It also suggests that neither the continued wet con-
dition nor the continued dry condition brings about any change in
structure. The contraction of the water film is the primary force
and it acts in conjunction with lines of weakness to bring about
granulation. Anything which produced a line of weakness in the
soil mass would determine the location of a crack.
2. Scarification.
We have very lightly scratched the wet surface of puddled clay
in pans after which they were permitted to dry and the first checks
were found to follow these lines of weakness. The greater their
number the more numerous were the primary cracks. The inference
from this is that any treatment which multiplies lines of weakness
will decrease the size of clods or granules, to nearer the minimum
for that soil. This is likely to be best for crop growing purposes.
At the same time any treatment which alters the extent of contraction
of the soil mass or the strength of the moisture film would have a
direct influence on the process.
It is important to observe that the two most fundamental factors
in granulation seem to be the drying process and the multiplication
of lines of weakness.
3. Freezing.
In all regions where frost occurs, freezing has been recognized
as an important adjunct to the maintenance of good tilth. When
water freezes it tends to purify itself by excluding foreign material
from its crystals. In a wet soil the water is largely withdrawn from
the fine spaces in the soil to form large needle-like crystals which
build up into complicated patterns, as may be frequently observed
during the winter. The formation of the ice crystals involves the
division of the soil mass, thereby creating a line of weakness. If
now the soil is thawed and permitted to dry, cracks should form in
the position of the crystals. This is what occurs and since the crys-
8
114 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
tals in a solidly frozen wet soil are so numerous the lines of weakness
are correspondingly numerous so that when the soil is dried repeatedly
the granulating action is very decided. This is shown by the results
given in Table IV of which Figure 13 is a graphic representation.
Table IV. — Effect of Freezing on Granulation.
Series I. Pans, Dried 5 Times.
Series II.'Cups, Dried 5 Times,
Soil Treatment,
Ratio,
Soil Treatment.
Ratio.
100,0
30,2
27-3
21.9
Not frozen
100
51
39
20
Frozen 8 times
Fig. 13. — Effect of repeated freezing on granulation, in terms of penetration
force.
4. Addition of Sand.
Sand is known to undergo little contraction and to have very little
cohesion. Its addition to clay, followed by drying and rewetting 20
times, gave the results shown in Table V and in Figure 14.
Table V. — Effect on Granulation of Adding Sand.
Soil Treatment Ratio,
Pure clay 100
Clay plus 10 percent sand 158
Clay plus 20 percent sand 184
Clay plus 40 percent sand 158
Clay plus 60 percent sand 73
FIPPIN : CAUSES OF SOIL GRANULATION. I I 5
Clay acts as a binding material. In concrete construction the
strength of the set-mass is determined by the thoroness with which
all of the pores are filled and by the uniform distribution of the
cement. In the same way here the results seem to indicate that in
a puddled mass the addition of sand increases the resistance up to the
point where the cementing material — the clay — becomes deficient,
when resistance drops. At the same time it should be remembered
that the addition of sand reduces the possible contraction and, there-
fore, would curtail proportionately the efficiency of the drying process.
PROPO/PT/ON OF Sand ^.anpm
Fig. 14. — Effect on granulation of adding different percentages of sand.
An important side suggestion here is the textural composition of
hardpan soil material. The most refractory soils to handle in the
field and the slowest to respond to treatment once they are out of
condition, are those consisting of a mixture of considerable sand and
silt and a moderate amount of clay. In our own state the subsoil of
the Volusia silt loam, known generally to farmers by its hardpan
subsoil," has this general make-up altho the basal material is fine
shale chips rather than sand.
5. Addition of Muck and Muck Extract.
The physical properties of muck are the opposite of those of sand.
It has a high coefficient of contraction and low cohesion. The addi-
tion of crude muck (about 75 percent organic matter, humus content
not determined) followed by drying five times gave the results shown
Il6 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
in Table VI and in Figure 15. For purposes of comparison an un-
treated cup dried once is introduced.
Table VI. — Effect on Granulation of Adding Crude Muck.
Soil Treatment. Ratio.
Clay, no muck added, dried once 173
Clay, no muck added, dried 5 times 100
Clay, plus 3 percent muck, dried 5 times 66.5
Clay, plus 6 percent muck, dried 5 times 62.5
Clay, plus 10 percent muck, dried 5 times 52.5
Clay, plus 25 percent muck, dried 5 times 29.0
Clay, plus 50 percent muck, dried 5 times 13.5
The influence of the crude muck is very marked, especially with
the higher percents. This also coincides with field experience since
soils rich in organic matter are usually in better physical condition
than those low in organic matter.
EFFECT OF OFLGANIC MATTER
Series i cups Hcups
PROPORTiON or MuCK £o.fk>nn.
Fig. 15. — Effect on granulation of adding muck and muck extract.
It was also attempted to determine which kind of organic mate-
rial was most efficient in aiding granulation. Accordingly the
ammonia extract of muck soil was separated by the Grandeau method
and added to the soil but in much smaller amounts than were used in
the case of crude muck. Table VII and Figure 15 show the treat-
ment and results.
FIPPIN : CAUSES OF SOIL GRANULATION. 11/
Table VII. — Effect on Granulation of Adding Muck Extract.
Soil Treatment. Ratio.
Clay, no humus added, dried once 141
Clay, no humus added, dried 4 times 100
Clay, plus I percent humus, dried 4 times 77
Clay, plus 2 percent humus, dried 4 times 75
Clay, plus 4 percent humus, dried 4 times 71
Clay, plus 8 percent humus, dried 4 times 52
The larger volume of contraction would result in a larger number
of cracks and these would also be increased by the weaker binding
power of the humus, both of which factors increase the lines of weak-
ness upon which drying may act. There are also other effects which
the humus may have but which cannot be mentioned here.
6. Addition of Lime in Different Forms.
Certain substances in solution are known to cause flocculation of
certain types of suspended matter, while other substances prevent
flocculation. Flocculation is a tendency toward granulation altho
the aggregates are very loosely bound together and without being
further drawn together and partially cemented would give very little
practical efficiency.
Table VIII. — Effect on Granulation of Adding Lime.
Series I. Pans.
Series IL Cups.
Series III. Cups.
Soil Treatment. Ratio.
Soil Treatment
Ratio.
Soil Treatment. Ratio.
1. No lime
2. Calc. carb. \ q.
3. Calc. oxide t
4. Calc. carb. |
5. Calc. oxide /
6. Calc. carb. )
7. Calc. oxide j ^5 /o
100
98.5
56.5
III.O
43.5
95-0
33.6
1. No lime, dried
once
2. No lime, dried 5
times
3. Calc. carb. ^
4. Calc. oxide >- i%
5 Calc. sulf. J
6. Calc. carb. "j
7. Calc. oxide > 5%
8. Calc. sulf. j
9. Calc. carb. "\
10. Calc. oxide I 10%
11. Calc. sulf. J
177
100
97
92
91.5
102.0
41.5
100
lOI
55
67
1. No lime, dried once 135
2. No lime, dried 5 times 100
3. Saturated sol. 1 77.5
Ca(H,(C03),) 1
4. Half saturated sol. j 71.5
Ca{HC03^2
5. Quarter saturated sol. ! 67,8
Ca(HCO,)2 i
6. Sat. sol. Ca(OH)2 61.6
7. Ca(0H)2 =: sat. sol. 73.0
Ca(HC0,)2
8. Ca(()H )2 = i sat. sol. ' 76.5
Ca(HC03); j
9. Ca(OH)2 = ^ sat. sol. 79.4
Ca(HC0,)2 i
10. Sat. sol. CaSO^ ! 87.2
We have made a number of studies of the flocculating power of
different salts and fertilizing materials and of lime, in columns of
water, using a defiriite proportion of water and clay. (Ten grams of
clay to 650 cc. distilled water.) An increase in the proportion of
Il8 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
calcium oxide (CaO) above .i gram per liter of turbid liquid does not
materially increase the rate of flocculation, which was 97 percent com-
plete in 45 minutes.
Effect op Ume c^o^o)
Cups.
FoRMd or Lime Ecnpf^iN
Fig. 16. — Effect on granulation of adding solid lime.
Effect of Ume. ^olvt'ion)
S£«/£S jn CUP8
too
HO
AO
lUlllllI
Sf^r. JiSAT. L6AT SAT ^S ATjjdAj; Sat
Propohtiom or Lime co-fippih
Fig. 17. — Effect on granulation of adding dissolved lime.
When lime in different forms was added to the soil in the dry state,
after which wetting and puddling was carried out for the w^hole lot,
the following effect on granulation was obtained. Table VIII and
FIPPIN : CAUSES OF SOIL GRANULATION.
119
Figures 16 and 17 show the results. Different forms of lime in
molecular equivalence of calcium oxide were used.
Caustic lime generally appears to be more effective in producing
granulation than is carbonate of lime. Carbonate of lime, applied
dried in amounts of from five to ten grams, appears to increase
resistance under the conditions of the test, due to some cementing
action. The relative short period of contact and the absence of
organic matter would reduce the amount of lime in solution. The
active effect of caustic lime is very marked in all tests.
7. Addition of Acids.
Sulphuric and hydrochloric acids were added in molecular equiva-
lent amounts and in great excess as was the case with lime. All
samples were dried five times. It is doubtful whether the condi-
tions of the test were uniform in this series, due to the crusting of
the surface. The results obtained are shown in Table IX and in
Figure 18.
Effect of acid Solution.
Str£ngth of Acid SoLuriON
Fig. 18. — Effect on granulation of adding acids.
Table IX. — Effect on Granulation of Adding Acids.
Soil Treatment. Ratio.
No acid, soil dried once 200
No acid, soil dried 5 times lOO
H2SO4, I percent added, dried 5 times 63
H2SO4, 2 percent added, dried 5 times 69
H2SO4, 5 percent added, dried 5 times 67
HCl, equal to i percent H2SO4, added, dried 5 times 76
HCl, equal to 2 percent H2SO4, added, dried 5 times 85
HCl, equal to 5 percent H2SO4, added, dried 5 times 89
I20 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
There seems from this test to be a certain granulating influence
due to both acids. This effect is greater with sulfuric than with
hydrochloric acid and in the case of the latter the effect decreases
with increased amounts. Whether this action is due to acid prop-
erties or to some other condition to which acidity is incident has not
been determined. At any rate microscopic studies of an acid-treated
soil show that this reaction is not necessarily opposed to good struc-
tural arrangement.
Attempts to study the influence of surface tension independent of
other factors have been made but not carried far enough for report.
Summary and Conclusions.
1. The penetration method of testing granulation is shown to be
capable of measuring differences in the resistance of the soil.
2. The most fundamental factor in soil granulation is the drying
process, because it supplies the chief force for the aggregation of
fine particles. The final drying precipitates the material in solution
in the smallest pores, thereby holding the granules together somewhat
securely. In nature the alternate whetting and drying of soil is car-
ried on continually at the surface of well drained land.
3. The tendency to granulation is proportional to the texture, and
increases with fineness.
4. The second most fundamental factor in soil granulation is the
existence of lines of weakness in the soil mass due to unequal pore
spaces. Any treatment which creates lines of weakness will promote
granulation.
5. The simple drying process, freezing, addition of sand, muck and
flocculating agents, either alkaline or acid, promote granulation.
6. Caustic lime is more effective for short periods than carbonate
lime in improving tilth.
7. All tillage operations improve granulation by creating lines of
weakness in the soil mass. They may be used not only to prevent
puddling but to improve the natural tilth.
Tillage operations applied at the w^rong time may be largely wasted
or injurious, as where a clay is puddled. On the other hand, the
farmer who applies his tillage operations so as to work in conjunction
with these natural forces which make for granulation and good tilth
is effecting a great saving in time and labor and getting a better
result.
8. Thoro drainage is essential to make the best use of natural
forces of granulation. It is a pretty generally recognized fact that
land continually wet is in bad physical condition.
FIPPIN : CAUSES OF SOIL GRANULATION.
121
9. The growth of plant roots and the activity of animal organisms
in the soil are very effective in breaking up the soil and thereby work-
ing with other natural forces for good tilth. Not only do they break
up a puddled soil in a positive way but roots also protect the soil from
the puddling action of rain, erosion and trampling.
Since changes in structure are the immediate object of most tillage
operations and since their efficiency is closely tied up with natural
forces and conditions it is essential that the principles involved be
understood in order that their intelligent application may bring the
maximum results for the minimum of effort.
Much work remains to be done on this subject. We have worked
with only one soil and it is of interest to know how these treatments
would affect a different type of clay.
MOISTURE AND NITRATE RELATIONS IN DRY-LAND
AGRICULTURE.
H. O. BUCKMAN,
Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.
(A contribution from the Agronomy Department of the Montana
Agricultural College.)
During the last decade there has been much agitation toward the
utilization of the arid and semi-arid lands of the West for a more
profitable and intensive agriculture than has as yet been practiced.
A greater part of this land lies above the ditch and must depend for
its moisture supply upon the scanty rainfall of that region. This
rainfall varies from 12 to 24 inches depending in amount and time
of precipitation upon the section of the country under consideration.
In the State of Montana^ alone there exist today from fifteen to
eighteen million acres of land which will some day be cropped by
dry-land methods. The vast area in this state alone, if it produced
only the minimum amount of wheat possible, would be no small
factor in the markets of the world.
The light rainfall alone has so far discouraged the farming of these
lands. Seventeen inches of rain a year, especially if it comes in the
fall or winter, is not sufficient to raise an average crop. Even if
^Linfield, F. G. and Atkinson, Alfred. Dry Farming in Montana. Montana
Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. 63: 1-32. 1907.
122 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
the moisture was available at the most advantageous time for the
crop's development, it is doubtful whether the resultant yield would
pay for the labor and capital expended in its production. Evidently
some modified method must be used, other than the wasteful prac-
tices of our agriculture in the humid States. This difficulty was met
by Utah^ and later by Kansas and Nebraska in alternate fallowing
and cropping, with the scientific use of the dust mulch. It was
found that with the friable loams of the arid regions the soil mulch
could be made so efficient that a large part of the preceding year's
moisture could be held in the soil for future crop use.^ This, added
to the precipitation of the current year, usually makes ample pro-
vision for the moisture needs of any crop adapted by environment
to that particular section.
It has been found at the Montana Experiment Station* that a
startling amount of water was present in the soil at the beginning of
the winter after a summer of proper fallow. Figures from several
diflferent plots at the Forsythe Substation show the following moisture
content in October, expressed in percentages.
Table I. — Moisture in Soil After Proper Summer Fallow.
Treatment.
Years.
ist Ft.
2d Ft.
3d Ft.
4th Ft.
SSth Ft.
Aver.
Total Inches.
2
14-5
14.9
13.8
II. 9
II. 6
13.3
"•5
2
II. 8
15.8
14. 1
II. 2
13-4
II. 6
2
i6.8
16.4
13.2
lO.O
9.6
13.2
1 1.4
In comparison with this the range and uncultivated fallow stand
in marked contrast.
Table II. — Moisture in Range and Uncultivated Fallow at End of Season.
Treatment.
Years.
I St Ft.
2d Ft.
Sd Ft.
!4th Ft.
5th Ft.
Aver.
Total Inches.
3
9.0
5.7
5.6
6.2
5.6
6.4
Fallow, uncultivated.
3
10.8
9.4
9-5
8.9
8.5
9.4
8.1
Evidently a solution of the moisture problem is at hand. The
methods must now be perfected and put to a wide use to make dry-
^Jardine, W. M. Arid Farming Investigations. Utah Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui.
10: 129.-156. 1906.
^Widtsoe, J. A. The Storage of Winter Precipitation in Soils. Utah Agr.
Exp. Sta. Bui. 104: 281-316. 1908.
Burr, W. W. and Snyder, W. P. Storage of Moisture in the Soil. Neb.
Agr. Exp, Sta. Bui. 114: 1-52. 1910.
* Unpublished data from Montana Exp. Sta., Dept. of Agronomy.
buckman: nitrates in dry-land agriculture. 123
land agriculture a reality throughout that broad area as yet given
over to the grazing of sheep and cattle. To be able to hold in the
soil ten inches of water besides the annual rainfall is better even than
irrigation with that amount. The supplying of moisture in a natural
way has no small influence upon the growth of the crop and the qual-
ity of the harvest.
The soil of arid America presents several characteristics all par-
ticularly favorable to dry-land farming. Most of the soils are loams
and usually of excellent tilth. This means that a mulch is easy to
form, easy to maintain and very effective. Its looseness of character
and granular structure are of inestimable value in farming operations.
Again most of the soils are deep and of uniform character. The
chemical analysis for the fifth foot does not vary to any marked
degree from that of the first. This assures the farmer an almost
inexhaustible wealth of fertility to draw from. With all soils formed
under arid conditions, it is a recognized fact that they are very rich
in mineral nutriments.^ Not having been leached as our humid-area
soils, they have retained all of those salts usually so readily lost. The
comparison of analyses of humid and arid soils is always a striking
one in this respect.
A c6nsideration of the organic material in arid soils does not show,
however, such encouraging data. The humus content, at least in
Montana, is lower than for humid area soils, but it does contain rela-
tively more nitrogen. This nitrogen, however, does not exist in as
correspondingly large amounts as do the mineral plant foods. In
fact the humus content is below that of a normal fertile soil. Formed
under different conditions from our humus of the eastern and
central United States, there is no doubt but that it has a radically
different composition. That it has been maintained under dry con-
ditions and the fact that it is very rich in nitrogen, indicate that it
has not been subjected to such vigorous destructive agencies. How-
ever, if by methods of tillage, we increase the amount of water in
this soil and begin to take large crops therefrom, have we any reason
to doubt that this precious supply of organic nitrogen will rapidly
yield its vital qualities? Especially is this to be feared in dry-land
agriculture, for humus is an especially difficult constituent to replace,
owing to the light rainfall and its close relationship to the chemical
and biological activities of the soil.
However, Stewart^ has found that the soils of the Cache Valley, in
' Hilgard, E. W. Soils, pp. 371-423. The Macmillan Co., New York, 1906.
''Stewart, Robt. The Nitrogen and Humus Problem in Dry Land Farming.
Utah Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. 109: 1-16. 1910.
124 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
Utah, have actually increased in nitrogen after forty years of alter-
nate cropping and fallow. Whether this organic nitrogen was derived
from vigorous bacterial action or drawn up from below, is yet un-
certain. The real question, however, seems to be whether under all
conditions it would be sufficient to replace the constituents taken
out by plant growth. In Montana it is doubtful that this is the case,
for already some lands are beginning to show the effects of injudicious
cropping.
In an investigation of the nitrogen problem under dry farming,
Alway and Trumbull" found a decided loss of nitrogen from fallowing.
On the other hand, however, Bradley^ found in eastern Oregon prac-
tically a constant nitrogen content in soil under continuous cropping.
That the carbon content and organic matter had decreased during this
time is an interesting fact. Snyder,^ who has also worked upon this
problem, obtained data which seemed to indicate that humus was
destroyed by continuous cropping and the nitrogen percentage lowered.
What the effect of fallowing may be upon nitrates is as important
a question as its effect upon total nitrogen. In their investigations on
the behavior of fallows, Kriiger and Heinze^^ found an increase of
nitrates in fallow as well as an increase in total nitrogen. This in-
crease in nitrates is confirmed by Roche^^ in Egypt and by the work
of WelbeP^ in Russia. The investigations of Stewart and Greaves^^
in Utah reveal the tendency of nitrates to accumulate in the lower soil
^ Alway, F. J. Contribution to Our Knowledge of the Nitrogen Problem
Under Dry Farming. Chem. News lOO: 151. 1909.
Alway, F. J. and Trumbull, R. S. Contribution to Our Knowledge of the
Nitrogen Problem Under Dry Farming. Jour. Indus, and Engin. Chem. 2 :
135-138. 1910.
* Bradley, C. E. Nitrogen and Carbon in the Virgin and Fallowed Soils of
Eastern Oregon. Jour. Indus, and Engin. Chem. 2 : 138-139. 1910.
^ Snyder, Harry. Influence of Wheat Farming on Soil Fertility. Minn.
Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. 70: 260. 1901.
'"Kriiger, W. and Heinze, B. Investigations on the Behavior of Fallows.
Landw. Jahrb. 36: 383-426, pi. i. 1907.
" Roche, R. Studies on Nitrification in the Soil of Egypt. Bui. Assoc.
Chim. Sucr. et Distill. 24: 1699-1701. 1907. Abs. Jour. Soc. Chem. Indust.
26: 936. 1907.
'^Welbel, B. Nitrification in Soils Under Different Conditions. Zap. Imp.
Obshch. Selsk. Khoz. Yuzh. Ross., No. 9, pp. 1-42. 1908. Abs. Exp. Sta.
Record, Office of Exp. Stations, U. S. Dept. Agr. 23: 19. July, 1910.
" Stewart, Robt. and Greaves, J. E. A Study of the Production and Move-
ment of Nitric Acid in an Irrigated Soil. Utah Exp. Sta. Bui. 106: 69-96.
1909.
BUCKMAN : NITRATES IN DRY-LAND AGRICULTURE. 125
during the winter season. They found the cultivated fallow contain-
ing more nitrates than the uncultivated. King^* brings out the same
point in regard to the increase of nitrates during the winter. King^"*
also found in Wisconsin soils that fallow was always higher in nitrates
in the fall than a cropped soil or a bare non-fallowed plot. Frequency
of cultivation, as well as depth, had a great influence in increasing
nitrification. He further observes^*^ that fall plowing raises the
nitrate content of soils over spring plowed land.
The storing of moisture by cultivation is a well understood phenom-
enon. Burr and Snyder^^ determined that under Nebraska condi-
tions a fallowed soil stored from 5.5 to 7 inches of water in a six foot
column. Widtsoe^^ brings out the same general fact in Utah as does
Thornton^^ in South Africa. What the effect of this increased mois-
ture supply may be upon nitrification is a vital question. At the
Rothamsted Experiment Farm-^ nitrates were found to increase in the
fall after a heavy rain, evidently from better moisture conditions.
Watt,^^ in South Africa, observed that the activity of nitrifying organ-
isms was retarded by drought. Manure, cultivation and increased
moisture served to raise the nitrate content. This is also brought out
" King, F. H. and Whitson, A. R. Soluble Salts of Cultivated Soils. Wis.
Agr. Exp. Sta., 17th Ann. Rept., p. 213. 1900.
'"King, F. H. Nitrates of Fallow and Cropped Soil. Physics of Agricul-
ture, pp. 103-105. 1904.
King, F. H. and Whitson, A. R. Soluble Salts of Cultivated Soils. Wis.
Agr. Exp. Sta., 17th Ann. Rept., pp. 204-226. 1900.
King, F. H. and Whitson, A. R. Development and Distribution of Nitrates
and Other Soluble Salts in Cultivated Soils. Wis. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. 85 :
1-48. 1 901.
King, F. H. and Whitson, A. R. Development and Distribution of Nitrates
in Cultivated Soils. Wis. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. 93 : 1-39. 1902.
King, F. H. and Whitson, A. R. Development and Distribution of Nitrates
in Cultivated Field Soils. Wis. Agr. Exp. Sta., i8th Ann. Rept., p. 228. 1901.
Burr, W. W. and Snyder, W. P. Storage of Moisture in the Soil. Neb.
Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. 114: 1-52. 1910.
""Widtsoe, J. A. Factors Influencing Evaporation and Transpiration.
Utah Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. 105 : 1-64. 1909.
'"Thornton, R. W. Soil Evaporation. Agr. Jour. Cape of Good Hope, 36:
342-347. 1910.
^ Lawes, J. B. The Nitrogen as Nitric Acid in the Soils and Subsoils of
Some of the Fields of Rothamsted. Rothamsted Memoirs, Vol. V, Essay 22,
pp. 1-39. 1883.
^ Watt, R. D. Nitrification in Transvaal Soils. Transvaal Agr. Jour. 7 :
202-205. 1909.
126 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
by Stewart and Greaves-- and by Widtsoe.^^ It is evident therefore,
that under conditions of extreme dryness, an increase of moisture
means an increase of nitrates if other factors are favorable ones.
However, in humid countries the relationship between moisture and
nitrates is not so marked. Weis^* found in German moor soils no re-
lationship between percentage of moisture and nitrate production.
The work of King^^ upon amounts of plant food readily recoverable
from field soils also seems to indicate this, as well as the lack of cor-
relation between nitrates and crop yield.
Blair-^ in studying fertilizers in Florida pineapple soils draws the
same general conclusions. Even upon semi-arid soil, Jensen^^
obtains some striking results in the same direction. He finds that
there was no direct relationship between moisture and nitrates. From
the fact that he observed that nitrification went on with almost equal
intensity in cropped soil as in that fallowed, he doubts the advisability
of summer fallowing.
The problem then in dry-land agriculture has rapidly shifted of
late years from a study of moisture conditions to a study of nitrogen
under certain moisture controls. As these moisture conditions are
produced by certain systems of tillage, the question resolves itself
into a query as to the effect of particular practices upon the hydrogen
and nitrates in the soil. Under a system of farming upon a soil rich in
minerals and, in comparison, rather poor in organic matter, and where
nitrogen is difficult to return, the question becomes a vital one. It
requires no very shrewd insight to foretell the radical reduction of
crop yield when this organic matter decreases below a certain mark.
The rainfall of the region embraced by the dry-land areas of Mon-
^ Stewart, Robt. and Greaves, J. E. A Study of the Production and Move-
ment of Nitric Acid in an Irrigated Soil. Utah Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. io6: 69-
96. 1909.
^ Widtsoe, J. A. Factors Influencing Evaporation and Transpiration.
Utah Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. 105 : 1-64. 1909.
^*Weis, F. The Occurrences and the Formation of Nitric Acid in Humus
and Moor Soils. Forstl. Forsogsv. 2 : 257-296. 1903. Abs. Zentbl. Agr. Chem.
38: 145-148. 1909-
Weis, F. Presence and Formation of Nitric Acid in Forest and Moor
Lands. Centbl. f. Bakt., Abt. II, 28: 434-460. 1910.
^® King, F. H. Investigation in Soil Management ; Part II, Relation of Crop
Yield to the Amounts of Water Soluble Plant-food Materials Recovered from
Soils. U. S. Dept. of Agr., Bureau of Soils Bui. 26: 79-124. IQOS-
^ Blair, A. W. and Wilson, R. N. Pine-apple Culture VII, Nitrates in the
Soil. Fla. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. 104: 33-50- 1910.
^Jensen, C. A. Seasonal Nitrification as Influenced by Crops and Tillage.
U. S. Dept. of Agr., Bur. of Plant Indust. Bui. 173: i-3i- iQio.
BUCKMAN : NITRATES IN DRY-LAND AGRICULTURE. I 27
tana ranges from 12 to 17 inches. The heaviest precipitation extends
through the months of April, May and June. This is especially ad-
vantageous, as the moisture can be utilized immediately by the grow-
ing crop. Some rain occurs in the fall, enough to aid in plowing.
The winter snows are of considerable value providing the snow-water
enters the soil during the winter thaws or early spring. The growing
season extends from May i until September 15, depending upon the
season. On account of the altitude and cool nights, the region is
essentially a small grain one, altho such crops as potatoes, roots, flax
and alfalfa are highly successful. The climate in general is essen-
tially the same as in most parts of the Great Plains area, latitude and
altitude of course being factors in determining temperature.
Continuous Cropping.
The first attempts at farming in arid regions have always been with
continuous cropping and have always resulted in failure sooner or
Fig. 19. — Moisture and nitrate contents in the first foot of continuously cropped
and range land, Forsythe, Mont.
later. Not only is there a lack of water for the crop, but there are
also other effects of as great importance. A low moisture content
results in small solution of minerals and a lack of nitrate develop-
128 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
ment. A certain optimum moisture content is necessary for bacterial
action to take place, and unless this proceeds at a certain rate the
crop is deprived of its proper supply of nitrates. In Figure 19 is
plotted the moisture and nitrates in the first foot of a plat continu-
ously cropped to wheat. For comparison, the results obtained from
a native sod are used to show to what extent tillage causes moisture
conditions and nitrate content to deviate from those of the virgin soil
under eastern Montana conditions.
The most noticeable phase of this chart is the close agreement of
the curves of the two plats, both for moisture and nitrates. During
the spring the moisture is high, due to the rains, but as soon as the
dry weather sets in during the latter part of June, both plats lose
rapidly in moisture. The loss from the native range is largely
through evaporation, while that from the continuously cropped soil
occurs both from evaporation and the feeding of the crop. Probably
the influence of the growing crop is much the larger because a dust
mulch was maintained part of the season. It has been also found
that in all cropped plats, no matter how much initial soil water is
present, the moisture content is always about the same at the end of
the growing season. Both plats show a rise in moisture at the close
of the season, due to fall rains. It is more marked in the continu-
ously cropped plat.
As already stated the curves show the moisture content for the
first foot only, but the conditions in the soil below are easy to con-
jecture. The following table taken from the continuous moisture
data gives the percentage water contents at various dates during the
season for an average of three years.
Table III. — Moisture Content of Plats Continuously Cropped and in
Native Sod.
ist Ft.
2d Ft.
3d Ft.
4th Ft.
5th Ft.
Average.
Date.
Cont.
Crop.
Range.
Cont.
Crop.
Range.
Cont.
Crop.
Range.
Cont.
Crop.
Range.
Cont.
Crop.
Range.
Cont.
Crop.
Range.
April 19
May 29
June 28
July 28
Aug. 27
Sept. 26
Oct. 16
14.5
17.3
II.O
6.4
II. I
15.5
15.7
I 1.2
6.9
4.9
8.6
9.0
9.7
10.3
5-5
5-3
6.4
7.7
12.2
14.6
II.9
4.7
4.5
4.7
7.8
9-3
9.8
5.6
5.5
5.8
6.2
9.2
9.0
9.1
5-4
4.9
5-1
5.6
6.6
7.0
7.6
5.6
6.1
5.8
6.3
9.4
8.3
7.0
6.5
5-4
5.5
6.2
7.2
6.8
7.7
6.7
7.0
6.5
5.8
8.6
9.7
8.3
7.2
6.1
6.0
5.6
9.2
I I.I
9-3
5.8
5-9
6.7
7.4
II.O
".5
9.5
6.3
5.9
6.4
Cognizant of the dependence of nitrification upon moisture, we are
not surprised at the close agreement of the nitrate curve. While ris-
ing and falling with the moisture, the variation is not great. This
BUCKMAN : NITRATES IN DRY-LAND AGRICULTURE. 1 29
seems to indicate that at no period were favorable conditions main-
tained long enough to permit that excessive nitrification which we
know is possible. These facts, together with the nitrate data below,
taken as average representatives from weekly determination tables
covering three years, lead us to no uncertain conclusions. The data
are expressed in parts per million of dry soil.
Table IV. — Nitrates in a Continuously Cropped Plat and in Range Sod.
ist Ft.
2d Ft.
3d Ft.
4th Ft.
5th Ft.
Average.
Date.
Cont.
Crop.
Range.
Cont.
Crop.
Range.
Cont.
Crop.
Range.
Cont.
Crop.
Range.
Cont.
Crop.
Range.
Cont.
Crop.
Range.
April 19....
May 29
June 28
July 28.
Aug. 27
Sept. 26
Oct. 16
18.5
10.5
6.7
1 1.2
II.7
6.5
4.1
2.7
3.5
3-2
9.0
9.0
4.3
5-0
4.1
5.0
6.2
3.7
3-3
3.5
3-1
3.0
3-2
7.7
4.1
4.1
4.8
8.0
4.2
5-5
4.2
2.8
3.5
3.2
1 0.0
9.3
7.6
8.7
9.1
I3.I
16.7
6.5
4.0
4.8
6.5
4.2
7.2
6.7
13.8
9.7
9.7
13.7
7.2
13.2
19.0
8.0
4.7
6.3
6.8
4.0
21.5
36.1
11.8
8.7
6.6
7.6
6.9
8.9
11.4
7.0
4.4
4.8
4.7
3.3
7.7
10.5
While the nitrate content under continuous cropping may rise some-
what higher than that under range conditions, we are safe in saying
that it is not enough higher to make much difference in crop growth.
The average yield for five years of 9.1 1 bushels per acre on the con-
tinuously cropped plat, leaves but little more to be said on this phase
of dry-land practice.
One important fact is yet to be noted. It is noticeable that the
nitrates are present in much larger amounts in the first and fifth feet
than in the soil between these levels. The average for the season
over a period of three years is given below.
Table V. — Average Nitrate Content Under Continuous Cropping
and Native Range.
Treatment.
ist Ft.
2d Ft.
3d Ft.
4th Ft.
5th Ft.
10.03
6.03
5.70
11.38
12.53
Range
4.40
3.80
4.62
5.7
10.15
At first glance we might attribute this to moisture content but the
seasonal average show^n below does not allow such a conjecture.
Table VI. — Average Moisture Content Under Continuous
Cropping and Range.
Treatment.
ist Ft.
2d Ft.
3d Ft.
4th Ft.
5th Ft.
10.66
8.74
7.14
6.43
6.71
Range
10.40
8.39
6.99
7.04
'7.40
9
130 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
However it has been found that under wheat the feeding of the
crop early creates a zone of dry soil in the second and third feet, which
seems to effectively cut off all capillary action from below. As a con-
sequence the moisture curve of the fifth foot is a flat one while those
of the second and third feet are subjected to the effect of high mois-
ture in the spring and excessively low moisture in the summer. Thus
nitrates are decreased by plant growth and nitrification checked by
low moisture. The fact that the fifth foot can not be subjected to as
heavy a drain by the growing crop, either in moisture or nitrates, may
also account in part for the increase in nitrates in the fall. Translo-
cation of nitrates may also be a factor.
Cultivated versus Uncultivated Fallozv.
The practice of summer fallowing, which in humid lands has
fallen into disuse, has been revived in dry-land operations. Attended
Fig. 20. — Moisture and nitrate contents in the first foot of cultivated and
uncultivated fallow, Fors3'the, Mont.
with disastrous results where rainfall is plentiful, it has proven the
only practicable way of conserving one year's rainfall for use during
the next year. Whether it will be attended with excessive dissipa-
tion of nitrogen under arid conditions has not as yet been definitely
BUCKMAN : NITRATES IN DRY-LAND AGRICULTURE. I3I
determined, but evidence seems to indicate that it will not be a
wasteful practice. That it does have certain definite influences upon
the chemical and biological activities in the soil is indicated by the
large increase in crop yield. Moisture and nitrate studies also show
this most markedly. The following chart (Fig. 20) illustrates the
conditions in the first foot of soil in plats lying side by side and re-
cerving identically the same treatment except for cultivation. One
received summer tillage and the other did not.
The mulched soil was able to maintain throughout the season a high
percentage of water, averaging 17.36 percent. Not only was this
plat able to maintain its initial moisture supply in the first foot, but
it was able to increase the water in the lower depths. This is indi-
cated from the fact that the average moisture content to a depth of
five feet on April 19 was 11.59 percent while on Oct. 16 it was 13.24
percent. The average throughout the season shows a continually
rising gradient. In the untilled soil such was not the case. The
curve for the first foot well illustrates the general change. Begin-
ning the season with an average in the first five feet of 11.82 percent
this plat ends on Oct. 16 with 9.47 percent. Not only has it failed to
maintain the moisture in the first foot but it has lost sadly from the
fifth as well. The average moisture content for three years is given
below.
Table VII. — Moisture Content of Cultivated and Uncultivated Fallo-w.
ist Ft.
2d Ft.
3d Ft.
4th Ft.
Sth Ft.
Average.
Date.
Cult.
Uncult.
Cult.
Uncult.
Cult.
Uncult.
Cult.
Uncult.
Cult.
Uncult,
Cult.
Uncult
April 19
17.3
16.6
12.9
II.8
10.3
10.3
8.9
9-7
8.4
10.5
11-5
II.8
May 29
19.3
18.7
16.2
14.9
II.8
10.2
8.6
8.6
8.9
8.4
13.0
12.2
June 28
18.9
14.2
17.7
15-4
14.5
14.6
10.6
10.6
9.9
9-7
14.3
12.9
July 28
16.4
8.6
15-4
9.2
13.9
8.8
I I.I
7.8
10.4
9.4
13.4
8.7
Aug. 27
15.4
7.7
14.9
8.5
13.1
8.2
10.7
8.7
10.3
8.1
12.9
8.2
17.0
9.6
14.7
9.7
13.0
9.8
10.3
8.5
1 0.0
8.3
13.0
9.2
Oct. 16
16.8
10.8
16.4
9-4
13.2.
9.5
lO.I
8.9
9.6
8.5
13.2
9.4
It is hardly necessary to remark upon the relative efficiency of these
methods. To any one familiar with dry-land agriculture, a mere
statement of the conditions at the season's end would be sufficient.
While the uncultivated fallow was able to hold its own until the dry
season set in, it lost rapidly after that and at times during the summer
contained only half as much moisture as did the soil receiving regular
cultivation.
Already conversant with the close relationship of moisture and
nitrates, we can almost anticipate the actual results. The nitrate
132 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
curve of the cultivated plat rises gradually through the season and
reaches its maximum of 66.25 parts per million on Oct. 16. Just why
there was a marked decrease in nitrates at the beginning cannot be
conjectured. One or all of several forces may have been in opera-
tion. A consideration of weekly differences is purposely ignored here
because of the many years' observations necessary to cope success-
fully with this phase of the question. The content of the unculti-
vated plat, however, drops rapidly after the dry weather begins and
reaches at times throughout the summer as low a figure as 6.25 p.p.m.
What has been happening during this time in the subsoil of the two
plats is shown below.
Table VIII. — Nitrates Under Cultivated and Uncultivated Fallow.
ist Ft.
2d Ft.
3d Ft.
4th Ft.
Sth Ft.
Average.
Date.
Cult.
Uncult.
Cult.
Uncult.
Cult.
Uncult.
Cult.
Uncult.
Cult.
Uncult.
Cult.
Uncult.
April 19
37.0
25.0
15.7
10.8
33.5
13.5
44.1
II.7
31.0
14.2
32.2
15.0
22.6
31.0
27.7
J4.3
24.7
6.7
28.5
8.7
14.6
6.7
23.6
13.5
Tune 28
28.5
9.2
23.0
11.6
19.0
7.0
17.5
4.2
17.0
3.6
21.0
7.1
July 28 ,
34.7
6.7
16.7
4.6
17.2
6.6
12.3
6.1
5.2
17.4
5.7
Aug. 27
45.6
6.5
18.I
4.0
23.0
4.5
20.6
6.5
8.5
4.2
23.1
5.7
Sept. 26
56.0
15.7
25.0
4.7
25.6
5.5
II.O
5.6
6.3
5-5
24.8
7.4
Oct. 16
66.2
14.0
33.5
5-2
27.0
4.5
13.2
6.2
4.6
29.2
7.4
The striking phase of this table is the decrease of nitrates in the
fifth foot of both plats. This is probably due to a large extent to a
translocation of nitrates upward in summer. As the movement would
probably be downward in winter, this may in part account for the
high content at the season's opening. The fact that these plats have
been under a system of alternate cropping and fallow for several
years may also allow speculation on this decrease. As has been
observed before, wheat tends to develop a dry zone at the depth of
two or three feet, which would allow the increase of nitrates at the
lower depths. Here the nitrates rise to such a height that the soil
is unable to maintain them thus during the season.
In general we may say that cultivation of fallow stores moisture
to the extent of at least 11.4 inches of rainfall, while raising the
nitrates to a high degree, especially in the first foot. The unculti-
vated fallow, on the other hand, shows a decrease of moisture and
ends the season with only 8.1 inches actual water, little better than
the soil cropped continuously. The nitrates also are low, averaging,
on Oct. i6th, 7.47 p.p.m. This is lower even than under the range-
conditions, which we have assumed were the least favorable for nitri-
fication. Just what will be the result upon the subsequent crop will
BUCKMAN : NITRATES IN DRY-LAND AGRICULTURE. I 33
be shown later, but we may be reasonably sure that the yield will be
less than on the summer-tilled soil. The most striking phase of the
curves is easily seen to be the close correlation of moisture and
nitrates. In dry-land farming nitrification seems to be directly de-
pendent upon water supply.
Cultivated and Uncultivated Fallozc under Crop.
Following the two plats under consideration from a fallow state
to that of cropping, we have data which consist of three seasons
continuous observation. In general it has been found in dry land
farming that wheat tends to reduce the moisture and nitrates to about
Fig. 21. — Moisture and nitrate contents in the first foot of cultivated fallow,
cropped, and uncultivated faKow, cropped, Forsythe, Mont.
the same level in every soil. No matter what the moisture and nitrate
content may be at the beginning of the season, they are always reduced
to a minimum by the end of the growing period. Under every sys-
tem of cropping each plat must begin the fah on about the same
footing. The chart (Fig. 21) showing the moisture and nitrates in
the first foot brings this out admirably.
The moisture curves for the first foot of the two soils follow each
other very closely the season through, although the uncultivated fallow
134 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
drops always a little lower. More specific data show the same for
the lower depths.
Table IX. — Moisture Content Under Crop Following Cultivated
and Uncultivated Fallow.
ist Ft.
2d Ft.
3d Ft.
4th Ft.
5th Ft.
Average.
Date.
Cult.
Uncult.
Cult.
Uncult.
Cult.
Uncult.
Cult.
Uncult.
Cult.
Uncult.
Cult.
Uncult.
April 19
20.5
18.5
17.6
14.2
16.0
II.6
10.7
9.7
10.3
9.6
12.4
May 29
19.4
18.6
18.0
I7.I
15.7
12.9
12.3
8.7
II.O
9.1
15.3
13.3
June 28 ....
lO.I
10.5
1 1.2
10.7
12.0
10.8
II.7
lO.I
II.4
9.4
II.3
10.2
July 28
7.3
7.7
6.8
6.2
6.7
6.8
7.3
6.5
9.3
8.1
7.5
7.0
Aug. 27....
8.5
7.3
7.1
7.0
6.5
6.6
7.4
7.9
9.6
9.8
7.8
7.8
Sept. 26 ....
15-5
14.7
7.6
6.9
7.1
6.8
7.1
6.7
8.6
8.5
9.2
8.7
Oct. 16
12.8
12.5
6.9
7-9
6.9
6.7
7.5
8.0
8.2
91
8.4
8.8
Ending the season with an average per foot of 13.24 percent and
9.47 percent respectively, the cultivated and uncultivated fallow began
the next season with 15.03 percent and 12.47 percent, a gain of con-
siderable moment. This gain was largely in the first, second and
third feet, as the moisture rose but slightly in the fourth and fifth.
Again, as has been before observed, a zone of dryness was developed
in the second and third feet, due to the excessive drying action of the
crop.
Without the knowledge of other conditions besides those of mois-
ture, the data here presented would reveal but little better promise
for crop yield in the cultivated fallow. This plat was able to main-
tain through the season 10.75 percent of moisture as compared with
9.77 percent in the uncultivated fallow. Moreover, the former
yielded up in each foot of soil 6.5 percent of water, while the latter
lost only 3.6 percent credit. The cultivated fallow began the season
with 13 inches of water and ended with 7.3, while the uncultivated
fallow began with 10.8 and held, on Oct. i6th, 7.7 inches. This
shows a loss to the crop, besides the rainfall, of 5.7 inches and 3.1
inches respectively.
A glance at the nitrate curves for the first foot of the two plats
reveals the difference arising from the two treatments. The cul-
tivated fallow begins with 92.2 p.p.m. and ends the season with 33.6
p.p.m., maintaining on the average 31.7 p.p.m. The uncultivated
fallow beginning with 28.0 p.p.m. was able to maintain on the
average under the crop only 16.4 p.p.m. and ended the season with
14.7 p.p.m. of nitrates. Moreover, the nitrate curve followed the
moisture as before shown in continuous cropping for two reasons,
first because it was lowered in the beginning of the season by the
BUCKMAN : NITRATES IN DRY-LAND AGRICULTURE. I35
feeding of the crop and second, because it was unable to rise higher
because of lack of favorable moisture conditions. A glance at the
table reveals the same general conditions in the subsoil. Nitrates are
expressed in parts per million of dry soil.
Table X. — Nitrates Under Cultivated Falloiv Cropped and
Uncultivated Fallozv Cropped.
Date.
ist Ft.
2d Ft.
3d Ft.
4th Ft.
5th Ft.
Average.
Cult.
Uncult.
Cult.
Uncult.
Cult.
Uncult.
Cult.
Uncult.
Cult.
Uncult.
Cult.
Uncult.
April 19....
92.2
28.5
43.0
12.2
28.1
9.7
22.1
7.8
21.7
6.5
41.4
12.8
May 29
31.2
24.6
44.7
19.6
34.7
24.2
6.5
18.5
6.7
30.7
12.4
27.3
5.7
21.8
6.1
26.0
6.6
17.0
6.7
17.0
5.8
21.8
6.2
July 28,
II. 7
8.2
13.8
18.I
5.0
12.7
6.5
12. 1
5-7
13.7
6.1
13.0
10.7
7.5
5-7
14.8
6.1
12.2
7.5
1 0.0
6.2
"•5
7.2
Sept. 26
30.0
12.7
12.8
5.0
13.7
5.0
15.3
5.0
10.5
5-0
16.4
6-5
Oct. 16
33.6
14.7
16.6
5.6
185
5.6
19.3
6.1
10.5
6.7
19.7
7.7
One peculiar fact stands out plainly in each foot of depth. Altho
the cultivated fallow plat evidently yielded up more nitrates, it is
higher at the end of the season. This seems to suggest that the
increasing of the ability of a soil to produce nitrates also afifects its
ability to recover later when the cropping influences are removed.
Altho the two plats had the same moisture condition from August
onward, the cultivated fallow soil ended the season with an average
of 19.7 p.p.m. in each foot depth, while the uncultivated fallow
showed only 7.7 p.p.m. The nitrates maintained on the average
through the season were as follows :
Table XI. — Average Nitrate Content Under Cultivated Fallow
Cropped and Uncultivated Fallow Cropped.
Treatment.
ist Ft.
2d Ft.
3d Ft.
4th Ft.
5th Ft.
Aver.
Cultivated fallow
31-7
16.4
23-5
8.4
21. 1
18. 1
14.0
6.1
21 8
Uncultivated fallow....
6.3
6.7
8.8
In yield, the cultivated fallow gave on the average 21.9 bu. of
wheat, while the uncultivated gave only 16.0 bu., not as great a dif-
ference as might be expected, yet plainly comparable with the nitrate
and moisture data already cited.
Considering broadly the question of cultivation of fallow, the reason
for its increased crop seems to trace directly to nitrates and indi-
rectly to moisture, but to the moisture of the year before. Through-
out the season of cropping the two plats contained almost the same
moisture percentages, but the cultivated fallow was able to maintain
136 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
for the crop almost three times more nitrates than the uncultivated.
The only reason for this must lie in the production of nitrates the year
before from superior moisture conditions and the stimulus these con-
ditions gave to the bacterial action of the succeeding year. This
stimulus is seen even the next fall, a year afterwards, in the manner
in which the cultivated fallow recovered from the effects of cropping
and pushed its nitrates up to 35 p.p.m.
Intertillage.
It only remains to consider the moisture and nitrate content under
another system to have covered the common dry farm practices. The
plats under consideration were cropped every other year and alter-
nated with fallow. The two crops grown were corn and potatoes.
Beginning the season with an average in each foot depth of 15.02
Fig. 22. — Moisture and nitrate contents in the first foot of land cropped to
potatoes and to corn, Forsythe, Mont.
percent and 14.85 percent of water respectively, these soils were able
to maintain an average moisture content of 12.51 percent and 12.44
percent and to end the season with 10.51 percent and 8.53 percent.
The chart (Fig. 22) shows the moisture and nitrate curves for the
first foot.
BUCKMAN : NITRATES IN DRY-LAND AGRICULTURE. 13/
The curves show nothing that has not been covered by former dis-
cussion. The effect of the dust mulch is plainly apparent in both soils.
The moisture condition in the lower depths is shown by the following
data.
Table XII. — Moisture Under Corn and Potatoes.
Date.
ist Ft.
Corn. Potato.
April 19.... I 17.3
June 28 ' 16.7
July 28 1 9.1
Aug. 27 ! 7.6
Oct. 16 13.0
16.5
15.6
1 1.3
8.4
8.1
2d Ft.
Corn. Potato.
15.9
16.0
II.9
8.3
II. I
15.1
15-7
12.4
9.0
8.0
3d Ft.
Corn. Potato.
14.6
15.7
13.3
8.1
7.8
14.2
14.6
13.5
9.8
8.6
4th Ft.
5th Ft.
Corn. Potato. Corn. Potato
14.8
16.3
14.0
10,2
8.3
14.3
14.5
12.5
II.6
8.6
12.3
14.1
15.4
12.7
12.2
14.0
13.4
12.0
13.5
9.3
Average.
These figures indicate than an intertilled crop may succeed a fallow
and yet leave the soil with such a moisture content that the rains and
snow of winter and spring may be sufficient to fit it for small grain
or any other nontilled crop the coming year. This fact alone may
make appreciable difference in the determination of a rotation and
consequently the soil management of a farm. To be able to obtain
four crops instead of three in six years is a possibility of no small
import.
As might be expected, the maintenance of a high moisture content
through most of the season had a marked effect upon nitrates. The
nitrates under both corn and potatoes in the first foot stood some-
what above 30 p.p.m. on the average throughout the season. The
average for the five feet was above 20 p.p.m. on each plat. This
compares favorably with the seasonal average of nitrates maintained
by cultivated fallow and cultivated fallow cropped, which were 23.1
and 21.8 p.p.m. respectively. The one drawback occurs, however, in
that the corn plat ended the season with an average nitrate content
of 14.0 p.p.m. and the potato soil with ii.o p.p.m. However, the
possibility yet remains for a successful rotation to be maintained with
a fallow only once in three years. The fact that the maintenance of
high nitrates during a greater part of one season will give greater
power of nitrate production the next, must not be overlooked.
The data in general have shown several things. The folly of
continuous cropping is clearly apparent in its effect upon moisture,
nitrates and crop yield. Fallowing on the other hand allows the
conservation of a surprising amount of water. This together with
the increase of nitrates insures a paying crop. The advisability of
cultivating the fallow not only appears in increased harvest, but in
high nitrate content throughout the year, coupled with a good mois-
138 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
ture supply. The close relationship between moisture and nitrates
is apparent in all the data presented. Evidently summer fallowing is
a necessity in arid land agriculture, not only from the moisture
standpoint, but also from that of plant food. Further, it is shown
that intertilled crops after fallow do not dangerously deplete the soil
for a succeeding grain crop, either in moisture or nitrates. Indeed
by maintaining a high nitrate content the soil is rendered able to pro-
duce larger quantities of nitrates the coming year.
In considering the soil fertility of arid lands in general these results,
while of utmost importance, can be disposed of briefly. It is evident
that enough moisture can be conserved in the soil to cause the decom-
position of either a green manure or a barnyard manure. Care and
judgment must of course be observed in manner and time of applying
them. Moreover, the increase water in the soil must aid in symbiotic
as well as ordinary nitrogen fixing activities. From the fact that
fallowing can be used without excessive formation of nitrates,
loss by this avenue is not to be feared. The fertility problem hinges
then upon moisture conservation and a rational rotation embracing
legumes and manure, if the latter is available. That it will be avail-
able as the country develops is beyond doubt.
MOISTURE EQUIVALENT DETERMINATIONS AND THEIR
APPLICATION.
Lyman J. Briggs and J. W. McLane.
U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.
In the procedure generally followed in soil surveys at the present
time, the mechanical analysis constitutes practically the only quantita-
tive basis of comparison of the soils, and this is by no means generally
employed. In a classification thus based almost wholly upon descrip-
tion there is necessarily lacking the exactness in conception which
would follow if a quantitative comparison could be made. The
mechanical analysis unquestionably furnishes information of impor-
tance in interpreting the properties of a soil but the number of groups
which must be considered in each analysis makes the comparison of
two soils difficult. It would consequently be a decided advance in
soil -classification if a common physical property of each soil, which
is at the same time of agronomic importance, could be quantitatively
determined and expressed by a single-valued numerical term.
Of the physical properties of a soil, none is more characteristic
BRIGGS-MCLANE : MOISTURE EQUIVALENT DETERMINATIONS. I 39
than its moisture retentiveness, and this property at the , same time is
one which is of great practical significance. The moisture retentive-
ness of soils consequently appears peculiarly adapted to serve as a
quantitative basis for soil classification, since it is capable of being
easily measured and expressed by a single numerical term. The
percentage of moisture retained by a soil is, of course, dependent upon
the force acting upon the soil moisture, and other factors also enter
according to the method of measurement employed. It is conse-
quently necessary to adopt standard conditions under which the meas-
urements are to be made. Determinations of moisture retentiveness
under such conditions become directly comparable, and provide at
once a basis for the classification of soils.
Methods of Measuring Moisture Retentiveness.
The moisture retentiveness of a soil may be measured in a number
of ways. The moisture holding capacity is the method most com-
monly employed. This corresponds to the maximum percentage of
water a soil can retain in opposition to the force of gravity. It is
greatly influenced by the way the soil is packed and is also dependent
upon the height of the soil column and the temperature. The uncer-
tainty of the measurement due to the amount of packing makes this
method less suitable than some others as a basis for the comparison
of soils.
The hygroscopic coefficient is another method of measuring the
moisture retentiveness, though not generally recognized as such. This
represents the percentage of water in a soil (initially dry) when
placed in a saturated atmosphere until equilibrium is established. A
condition of only approximate equilibrium is usually obtained in such
determinations and care must be taken to avoid condensation due to
temperature fluctuations. The measurements are also dependent to
some extent upon the temperature of the system.
The two methods of measuring moisture retentiveness just de-
scribed give results corresponding to extreme conditions. In the
first, the soil contains all the water it can hold, and in the second,
the soil is too dry to support plant life. A method of measur-
ing the moisture retentiveness which would reduce the moisture con-
tent of a soil to a point approximating the average moisture content
under field conditions would appear to possess certain advantages.
Such a method is to be found in the moisture equivalent method de-
scribed by the authors in Bulletin ^^oi the U. S. Bureau of Soils.
140 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
Moisture Equivalent Defined.
The term moisture equivalent is used to designate the maximum
percentage of moisture a soil can retain in opposition to a known
centrifugal force. As a standard basis of comparison, a centrifugal
force equal to 1,000 times the force of gravity has been adopted. In
making the determinations, the soils are placed in cups with perfo-
rated bottoms and suitably moistened. These cups are then placed
in a centrifugal machine which is operated at a constant speed so
chosen as to develop the required centrifugal force. Each soil now
loses water until the capillary forces have increased sufficiently to
balance the centrifugal force acting on the soil moisture. Since the
moisture content of each soil which has been treated in this way is in
capillary equilibrium with the same force, it follows that if these
moist soils are placed in contact in any order whatever no mxovement
of water from one soil to another will take place. A condition of
complete equilibrium exists throughout the series of soils thus treated.
We have then only to determine the moisture content of each soil cor-
responding to this condition of equilibrium in order to determine its
quantitative position in the scale of moisture retentiveness. This
moisture content constitutes its moisture equivalent for the standard
centrifugal force (1,000 g.).
Since the surface tension of water decreases as the temperature
increases at the rate of about 0.2 percent per degree Centigrade, it
follows that the moisture equivalent determinations are dependent to
some extent upon temperature. We have accordingly adopted 20° C.
as the standard temperature. A fluctuation of five degrees either side
of this standard temperature would, however, produce a change in
the moisture equivalent of only one part in a hundred, so that the
temperature efifects can usually be disregarded.
The packing to which each soil is subjected in making moisture
equivalent determinations seems as nearly uniform as it is possible to
obtain, since each element of the soil mass is packed by centrifugal
force. In addition the layers of soil farthest from the axis are fur-
ther compressed by the action of centrifugal force upon the inner
layers. It is desirable therefore to keep the thickness of the layer of
soil in each cup approximately constant in order to make the packing
as uniform as possible. This is also important in connection with
determining the velocity necessary to develop the required force,
since the radius is taken as the distance from the axis to the center
of the soil mass. In practice the amount of soil in each cup is so
chosen as to give a soil layer one centimeter in thickness when packed.
THE LIBRARY
or THE
UNIVtRSIIy (?f ILLINOIS
BRIGGS-MCLANE : MOISTURE EQUIVALENT DETERMINATIONS. I4I
Apparatus for Determining the Moisture Equivalent.
The prime requisite in determining the moisture equivalent is a
motive power capable of driving the centrifugal drum at a constant
angular velocity and at the predetermined rate necessary to develop
the required centrifugal force of looo g. Since the centrifugal force
is proportional to the square of the angular velocity, a variation of
I percent in the velocity produced a variation of 2 percent in the
centrifugal force while a variation of ^ percent in the velocity
results in a variation of only ^4 percent in the centrifugal force. This
last figure is well within the limit of accuracy attainable, owing to the
influence of other factors, so that a centrifugal machine whose veloc-
ity does not vary to exceed percent from the predetermined rate
is sufficiently accurate for the purpose.
The electric motor is by far the most convenient means of driving
a centrifugal machine, but the fluctuation of the voltage of the ordi-
nary lighting circuit has heretofore caused so much variation in the
speed as to make it unsuitable for use in moisture equivalent deter-
minations. Recently, however, the Kellogg governor has been de-
veloped, by means of which it is possible to keep the speed of a direct
current motor constant within the required limits.
The machine which we have recently developed for this purpose in
connection with our physiological investigations is shown in Plate
VI, F'igure i. A direct current vertical shaft motor carries the
centrifugal cylinder directly upon the upper end of the shaft.
The centrifugal head is accurately turned on a mandrel from a
drop steel forging and is 13 inches in outside diameter and 2}^
inches high, the walls and base of the cylinder being ^ inch thick.
The cover consists of a hard fiber disc ^ inch thick, which is held
in position at its center by engaging with a threaded sleeve on the
axis of the motor.
The centrifugal head holds 16 soil cups as shown in Plate VI,
Figure 2, each being 2 inches square and about i inch high. The
bottom, which is of brass gauze, is so curved as to conform to the
curvature of the inner wall of the centrifugal head. Each cup is
provided with a flat brass cover held in position by means of the
spring clip, as shown, to prevent evaporation. The dimensions of
the apparatus are so chosen that when the 16 cups are in position in
the centrifugal head, the inner ends of the cups are all in contact.
This serves to keep the cups properly distributed, and avoids the
possibility of a cup moving and throwing the machine out of balance.
The cups are further secured by the fiber cover which rests upon the
upper surface of the cups when screwed into position.
142 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
This is the simplest possible arrangement, since no bearings are
required in addition to those of the motor, and the soil cups need no
attachment to keep them in position, and are immediately accessible
on removing the cover of the cylinder. A motor with a substantial
frame and shaft was selected to insure rigidity. The machine is
rated at % horse power, but only horse power is required to
overcome the air friction of the head at the required velocity of
2,440 revolutions per minute.
When the machine is in operation, the water can escape from the
centrifugal cylinder only through the crack between the cover and the
upper edge of the cylinder. To facilitate the removal of this water,
a series of shallow vertical channels were cut in the inner wall of the
centrifugal cylinder, the floor of each channel sloping outward from
the bottom at an angle of 1° with the wall of the cylinder. This
arrangement effectually removes all water as fast as it escapes from
the soil in the centrifugal cups. The centrifugal cylinder is first
copper-plated and then nickel-plated, which effectually prevents
rusting. The cups are all of the same size and weight so as to
be perfectly interchangeable, and three sets of 16 cups each are
provided to facilitate the work.
The governor is attached to the lower end of the motor shaft. It
consists essentially of a weighted steel reed, which is thrown out
by centrifugal force until it makes electrical contact with an adjust-
able screw which is also mounted upon the motor shaft, but insulated
from the reed. Contact between the reed and the screw serves to
short-circuit a resistance in series with the field of the motor. As
the result of cutting out this external resistance, the strength of the
motor field is increased and the speed of the motor is correspond-
ingly diminished. As the speed of the machine lessens slightly the
reed moves away from contact with the screw, the resistance is again
thrown in series with the field of the motor, and the speed of the
motor begins to increase. In actual operation, the reed appears to
vibrate back and forth rapidly, the period of contact increasing
as the speed of the machine increases.
In order to be able to tell at any time whether the machine is
operating at the required velocity, the machine is equipped with a
Frahm speed indicator. This instrument consists simply of a series
of thin steel reeds so adjusted as to vibrate a prescribed number of
times per minute. Since the centrifugal apparatus can not be per-
fectly balanced, a slight vibration results, the frequency of the vibra-
tions corresponding exactly to the speed of the motor. This vibra-
tion is transmitted through the table supporting the centrifugal ma-
BRIGGS-MCLANE : MOISTURE EQUIVALENT DETERMINATIONS. I43
chine to the speed indicator, and the particular reed corresponding
in frequency to the speed of the motor begins to vibrate. The speed
at which the motor is operating can thus be determined at any instant
simply by noting what reed is in vibration.
Procedure in Moisture Equivalent Determinatious.
Duplicate determinations are made upon each soil, so that moisture
equivalent determinations of eight soils are made at one time. Each
soil to be examined is first put through the 2 millimeter sieve.
Representative sub-samples are then introduced into two of the
centrifugal cups, the wire gauze bottom of each cup being first
covered with a sheet of filter paper. An amount of soil sufficient
to give a packed layer of soil i centimeter thick (usually about 30
grams) is taken in each case. This amount is determined by volume,
a suitable measure being provided for the purpose. The soils, after
being introduced into the cups, are thoroughly moistened (not satu-
rated) without stirring, and are allowed to stand protected from
evaporation for about 24 hours. A small additional amount of
water is then added to each soil, and the cups are introduced at once
into the centrifugal machine, cups No. i and No. 9, which contain
duplicate samples of the same soil, being placed diametrically oppo-
site. This is done to insure the balance of the machine, since these
two samples will lose practically the same amount of water. If this
precaution were not followed, the machine might be thrown out of
balance when soils of widely dif¥erent moisture retentiveness were
run at the same time. The machine is operated at the required
velocity (2,440 r.p.m.) for a period of 40 minutes, which experience
has shown to be sufficient to establish a condition of practical equi-
librium between the applied force and the water contained in a soil
layer i centimeter in thickness. At the end of this time, the sam-
ples are at once removed and transferred to weighing cans, after
which the moisture determinations are made in the usual way.
Experimental Error in Moisture Equivalent Determinations.
The determinations given in the following table will serve to give
an idea of the degree of accuracy which may be expected in making
moisture equivalent determinations. The 16 determinations given
were all made upon one soil at the same time. The mean of the 16
determinations is 18.48 with a probable error of ± 0.06, while the
probable error of a single determination is ± 0.23. Another series
of determinations made upon the same soil, and on another day,
144 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
gave an average moisture equivalent of 18.45. the last mentioned
determinations, the size of the sample in each cup was only about
one-half that in the series given in the table, and the probable error
of a single determination was about three times as great, showing
that the variation in the individual determinations given in the table
is due in part to errors arising in connection with the moisture deter-
minations of small samples.
Table I. — Multiplicate Moisture Equivalent Determinations upon the Same
Soil, to Illustrate Degree of Accuracy of Individual Determinations.
Soil Cup. Weight of Dry Soil in Cup. Moisture Equivalent.
No. Grams. Percent.
1 29.2 18.8
9 29.8 18.3
2 3125 18.9
10 29.85 18.9
3 31.6 18.8
11 29.65 18.S
4 29.2 18.8
12 33-35 18.4
5 30.35 18.5
13 30.1 18.6
6 3105 17-9
14 30.45 18.6
7 34-1 18.5
15 29.0 - 17.8
8 27.95 18.4
16 28.3 18.0
Mean 1848
Probable error of mean ±0.06
Probable error of single determi-
nation ±0.27
Use of Moisture Equivalent Determinations in Soil Classification.
A group of soils when arranged in the order of increasing moisture
equivalents forms a series in which any particular soil is " heavier "
or more retentive of moisture than any of the soils which precede it,
and " lighter " or less retentive of moisture than any of the soils
which follow it. Furthermore, the relative retentiveness of any two
soils for moisture is expressed by the ratio of their moisture equiva-
lents. That is to say, if one soil has a moisture equivalent of 20
and another a moisture equivalent of 10, the first soil is twice as re-
tentive of moisture as the second. Again, the absolute retentivity of
any soil in the series measured in the terms of the known force is
given directly by the moisture equivalent. In the case of the two
soils already mentioned, the first is able to retain 20 percent in
opposition to a force 1,000 times that of gravity, while the second
BRIGGS-MCLANE : MOISTURE EQUIVALENT DETERMINATIONS. 145
is able to retain but lo percent in opposition to the same force. Fi-
nally, each soil when containing an amount of water equal to its
moisture equivalent is in capillary equilibrium with all other soils in
the series. In the case of the two soils just mentioned, the first
with 20 percent of moisture would be in equilibrium with a second
containing lo percent.
It consequently appears that the moisture equivalent determina-
tions provide a valuable adjunct in soil classification, namely, a
single-valued numerical expression of the moisture retentiveness of
a soil measured in a definite way, which establishes at once a re-
lationship between this soil and any other soil whose moisture equiv-
alent is known.
It is not urged that the moisture equivalent determinations should
supplant any of the other physical measurements made in connection
with soil classification at present. It is believed, however, that as the
moisture equivalent determinations become more familiar they will
eventually largely supplant mechanical analyses. So far as the mois-
ture relationship is concerned, it is expressed far more definitely by
means of the moisture equivalent than by mechanical analysis. In
determining the moisture equivalent, we are not only measuring
directly the property which we wish to compare, but we are dealing
with single-valued expressions instead of trying to interpret the
complex series of numbers represented by the mechanical analysis.
The moisture equivalent ranges from 2 percent for coarse sands
to 50 percent or more for the heaviest clays. This provides a scale
which is sufiiciently open for all purposes of classification. Thus, on
the moisture equivalent scale, the surface soils at some of the co-
operative stations of the Office of Dry Land Agriculture are as
follows :
Williston, North Dakota 15
North Platte, Nebraska 17
Dalhart, Texas 18
Dickinson, North Dakota 22
Highmore, South Dakota 24
Amarillo, Texas 27
Akron, Colorado 27
Edgeley, North Dakota 29
Bellefourche, South Dakota 30
Hays, Kansas 31
One obtains from this simple series of numbers a concrete idea of
the moisture relationship of the dry farming soils in dif¥erent sec-
tions of the country which is difficult to form from a consideration
of the mechanical analyses alone.
146 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
The Use of Moisture Equivalent in Interpreting Field Determina-
tions of Soil Moisture.
Briggs and Shantz^ have shown that the moisture equivalent bears
a definite ratio to the wilting coefficient of a soil, the moisture equiva-
lent being 1.84 times the wilting coefficient. By means of this ratio
then it is possible, kriowing the moisture equivalent, to estimate
closely the wilting coefficient of any soil. They have also pointed
out the importance of this relationship in field studies of soil mois-
ture, since it permits the determination at any time of the amount
of moisture available to the plant in each part of the soil and sub-
soil. Particularly is this relationship of importance in agronomic
investigations under conditions w^here the moisture supply becomes
a limiting factor in the development of the crop. If the moisture
retentiveness of the soils in two plots which are being compared
is not the same, wholly erroneous conclusions may be reached from
a study of the moisture content of the two plots unless the moisture
retentiveness of the two soils is determined and the amount of
available moisture calculated. A striking illustration of this kind is
to be found in the moisture conservation series of plots at the sub-
station at Williston, North Dakota, which forms part of the investi-
gations of the Office of Dry Land Agriculture under the direction of
Mr. E. C. Chilcott. The surface soil of all of these plots appears
very uniform, but the subsoil of some of the plots has a moisture
retentivity twice that of the others. From the consideration of the
moisture determinations alone during the past season, one would
have inferred that the plots with the heavier subsoil still had an
available water supply when the other plots were sufifering, where,
as a matter of fact, the complete determinations showed that the
amount of available water in the two plots was the same. The
moisture equivalent determination thus provides a rapid means of
determining the wilting coefficient of the soil, which in turn can
be used as a basis in calculating the available moisture supply when
the total moisture content is known.
It frequently happens in connection with an extended series of soil
moisture observations under field conditions that changes are ob-
served in the percentages of soil moisture without a known con-
tributing cause, but they are always the cause of doubt to the inves-
tigator as to the accuracy of his results or a source of perplexity
in the reduction of his observations.
^The Wilting Coefficient and its Indirect Determination. L. J. Briggs and
H. L. Shantz. Bot. Gaz.— . 191 1. The Wilting Coefficient for Different Plants
and its Indirect Determination. L. J. Briggs and H. L. Shantz. U. S. Dept.
Agric, Bu. PI. Ind. Bui. 230. 191 1.
BRIGGS-MCLANE : MOISTURE EQUIVALENT DETERMINATIONS. I47
It is possible through the determination of the moisture equivalent
to decide whether such irregularities in the moisture observations
are due to changes in soil texture or to the movement of soil mois-
ture. The method of procedure which has been adopted by Dr. H.
L. Shantz and one of the writers in field determinations of soil mois-
ture is as follows. The dried soil samples resulting from the mois-
ture determinations are preserved until the moisture in the next
succeeding set of samples has been determined. If, on plotting the
results of the moisture determinations, a smooth curve is given,
showing no irregularities, the first sample is discarded. If, however,
the two sets of determinations show an irregularity, moisture equiv-
alent determinations are made upon both samples. If the ratio of
the moisture equivalent agrees with the ratio of the observed mois-
ture content within the limits of experimental error, then the irreg-
ularity was due simply to striking a pocket of soil having a different
texture, and the two samples are in actual capillary equilibrium. If,
on the other hand, the moisture equivalents are the same, a move-
ment of moisture has taken place.
INDEX TO VOLUME i
Agronomy, definitions of, 17
development and proper status
of, paper by M. A. Carleton, 17
statistics of workers in, 19
Alfalfa and the common clovers,
sowing, with and without a
nurse crop, paper by R. A.
Moore, 150
experiments in growing, from
seed secured irom different
sources, papers by J. M. West-
gate and Angus Mackay, 145,
.149
influence of, on nitrification in
the soil, 217
Barley, varieties in Wisconsin, 28
Bizzell, James A., paper on " Some
conditions affecting nitrifica-
tion in Dunkirk clay loam,"
222-228
Bolley, H. L., paper on " Weed con-
trol by means of chemical
sprays," 159-168
Breeding high-nitrogen wheat, some
experiments in, 126
improved seed grain, in Kansas,
70
small grains, the row method and
the centgener method of, paper
by C. P. Bull, 95
Bull, C. P., paper on " The row
method and the centgener
method of breeding small
grains," 95-98
Business section, 6-15
Bylaws. See Constitution
Call for initial meeting for organiza-
tion, 6
Carleton, M. A., paper on " Develop-
ment and proper status of ag-
ronomy," 17-23
Climate, relation of wheat to soil
and, 108
Clovers, sowing alfalfa and the com-
mon, with and without a nurse
crop, 150
Coffey, George N., presidential ad-
dress on " Value of the field
study of soils," 168-175
paper on " Physical principles of
soil classification," 175-185
Committee on Affiliation, Executive
Committee to act as, 7
reports of, 9, 12
Audit, report of, 13
Constitution, 7, 8
recommendations by, 9
Permanent organization, 7
Publication, appointed, 8
report of, 9, 11
Soil Classification and Mapping,
created, 8
personnel of, 10
repo'rt of, 8
Composition of wheat, factors which
determine the, 131
Constitution and Bylaws, amended, 14
amendments to, 9, 11
Contents, Table of, 3
Corn, plot arrangement for variety
experiments with, paper by L.
H. Smith, 84-89
varieties in Indiana, 30, 31, 32
Kansas, 36, 38
Wisconsin, 27, 28
Cornell Experiment Station, field ex-
periments at, 58
Cory, V. L., paper on " The use of
row plantings to check field
plats," 68-70
Cowpea, varieties in Indiana, 31
in Kansas, 34
number of, 24, 25
compared with soybeans as a
crop, 154, 155, 156, 157
Crop, farm, the soybean as a, 153
production, the soil as a limiting
factor in, 211
surveys, relation of soil surveys
to, 191
varieties. See Varieties
Crops, farm, relation between size of
seed and yield of, 98
farm. See Varieties
vegetatively propagated, selection
in, 90
Durum wheat, delayed germination
of, 135
Experiment plats, size of, for field
crops, 56
Experimental work, identification of
crop varieties used in, 24
Experimentation, plat, some desirable
precautions in, 39
Experiments, field, the interpretation
of, paper by C. E. Thorne, 45
in growing alfalfa, 145, 149
on uniformity of plats, 45
INDEX TO VOLUME I I49
with corn, plot arrangement for
variety, 84
Farm crops, improvement of, test-
ing of varieties as foundation
work in, 27, 29, 33
Field crops, size of experiment plots
for, 56
experiments, interpretation of, 45
plats, use of row plantings to
check, 68
tests, uniformity of plats for, 58
Fippin, E. O., paper on " Relation of
soil surveys to crop surveys,"
191-197
paper on " Increasing the prac-
tical efficiency of soil surveys,"
204-206
Germination of durum wheat, de-
layed, paper by L. R. Waldron,
135
Grain, breeding improved seed, 70
Grains, small, row and centgener
methods of breeding, 95
Hay, the basis for estimating the
yield of, paper by W. J. Spill-
man, 158-159
Identification of crop varieties, need
for care in, 24
Introduction to minutes, 6
Jardine, W. M., paper on " Methods
of studying the relative yield-
ing power of kernels of dif-
ferent sizes," 104-108
Kansas Experiment Station, breeding,
multiplying and distributing |
improved seed grain, 70
Kernels of different sizes, methods
of studying relative yielding
power of, paper by W. M.
Jardine, 104
Legumes, growth of, relation of
availability of soil nitrogen to,
217
See Alfalfa, clover, cowpea, soy-
bean, velvet bean
Lime on Missouri soil, some results
with, paper bv M. F. Miller,
228
Loam, Dunkirk clay, nitrification in,
222
Lyon, T. L., paper on " The relation
of wheat to climate and soil,"
108-125 I
paper on " The Influence of al-
falfa on nitrification in the
soil and on the nitrogen con-
tent of accompanying vegeta-
tion, or. Availability of soil
nitrogen in relation to the
basicity of the soil and to the
growth of legumes," 217-221
McCall, A. G., paper on " Instruc-
tion in soil physics," 207-211
Mackay, Angus, paper on " Experi-
ments in growing alfalfa from
seed secured from different
sources," 149-150
Meeting, initial, call for, 6
Meetings, list of, with dates, 5
See Minutes
Miller, M. F., paper on " Some re-
sults with lime on Missouri
soil," 228-233
Minutes of meetings, 7-13
Chicago meeting, 7
Ithaca meeting, 8
Omaha meeting, 11
Washington meeting, 8
Missouri soil, some results with lime
on, 228
Mooers, C. A., paper on " The Soy-
bean as a farm crop," 153-158
Moore, R. A., paper on " The testing
of varieties as foundation work
in the improvement of farm
crops," 27-28
paper on " Sowing alfalfa and
the common clovers with and
without a nurse crop," 150-153
Moorhouse, L. A., paper on " Some
soil problems in Oklahoma,"
234-238
Morgan, J. Oscar, paper on " Some
experiments to determine the
uniformity of certain plats for
field tests," 58-67
Nitrification in Dunkirk clay loam,
some conditions affecting, paper
by J. A. Bizzell, 222
in the soil, the influence of al-
falfa on, and on the nitrogen
content of accompanying vege-
tation, or AvailabiHty of soil
nitrogen in relation to the
basicity of the soil and to the
growth of legumes, paper by
T. L. Lyon. 217
Nurse crop, sowing alfalfa and the
common clovers with and with-
out a, 150
Oat, varieties in Indiana, 30, 31
PCansas, 34
Officers, for 1907-08, 1909, 1910, 2
Ohio Experiment Station, field ex-
periments at, 45
ISO PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
Oklahoma, some soil problems in, 234
Papers, titles of, published in Volume
presented before Society but
withdrawn from publica-
tion, 7-8, 9, 10, 13
Physics, soil, instruction in, 207
Piper, C. v., paper on " The neces-
sity for greater care in the de-
termination of crop varieties
used in experimental work,"
24-27
Plat experimentation, some desirable
precautions in, paper by H. J.
Wheeler, 39
Plats, field, the use of row plantings
to check, paper by V. L. Cory,
68
for field tests, some experiments
to determine the uniformity of
certain, paper by J. O. Morgan,
58
Plot arrangement for variety experi-
ments with corn, 84
Plots, experimental, size of, for field
crops, paper by F. W. Taylor,
56
Preface, 5
Presidential address,
M. A. Carleton, 17
G. N. Cofifey, 168
Report of treasurer, 13
Reports of committees. See Com-
mittee on
Scientific section, 17-238
Seed grain, improved, breeding, mul-
tiplying, and distributing by the
Kansas Experiment Station,
paper by A. M. Ten Eyck, 70
Seeds, size of, the relation between
the, and the yield of farm
crops, paper by C. A. Zavitz, 98
see also Kernels
Selection in vegetativelv propagated
crops, paper by W. J. Spillman,
Small grains. See Grains, small
Smith. L. H., paper on " Plot ar-
rangement for variety experi-
ments with corn." 84-89
Soil as a limiting factor in crop-
production, the. paper by W.
J. Spillman. 211
classification, physical principles
of, paper by G. N. Cof¥ey, 175
Missouri, some results with lime
on, 228
nitrification in, the influence of
alfalfa on, 217
nitrogen, availability of, in rela-
tion to basicity of the soil and
to the growth of legumes, 217
physics, instruction in, paper by
A. G. McCall, 207
problems in Oklahoma, some,
paper by L. A. Moorhouse, 234
relation of wheat to climate and,
108
surveying, methods of, paper by
E. L. Worthen, 185
surveys, how can our, be made
of greater value to agricul-
ture? Papers by W.H.Ste-
venson and A. M. Ten Eyck,
197
increasing the practical effi-
ciency of our, paper by E. O.
Pippin, 204
relation of, to crop surveys,
paper by E. O. Pippin, 191
Soils, value of a field study of, presi-
dential address by G. N.
Coffey, 168'
Soybean as a farm crop, the, paper by
C. A. Mooers, 153
varieties in Indiana, 31
in Kansas, 34, 35
number of, 24
Spillman, W. J., paper on " Selec-
tion in vegetatively propagated
crops," 90-94
paper on " The basis for esti-
mating the yield of hay," 158-
159
paper on " The soil as a Hmiting
factor in crop-production," 211-
217
Sprays, chemical, weed control by
means of, 159
Stevenson, W. H., paper on " How
can our soil surveys be made
of greater value to agricul-
ture?" 197-202
Surveying, soil, methods of, 185
Surveys, crop, relation of soil sur-
surveys to, 191
soil, how can our, be made of
greater value to agriculture?
197, 203
increasing the practical effi-
ciency of, 204
relation of, to crop surveys, 191
Taylor, F. W.. paper on "The size
of experiment plats for field
crops," 56-58
Ten Eyck. A. M., paper on "The
testing of varieties as founda-
tion work in the improvement
of farm crops," 33-39
paper on " Breeding, multiplying.
INDEX TO
and distributing improved seed
grain by the Kansas Experi-
ment Station," 70-84
paper on " How can our soil sur-
veys be made of greater value
to agriculture ? " 203
Thatcher, R. W., paper on " Some
experiments in breeding high-
nitrogen wheat," 126-131
paper on " Factors which deter-
mine the composition of
wheat," 131-135
Thorne, C. E., paper on " The In-
terpretation of field experi-
ments," 45-55
Treasurer's report, 13
Varieties, barley, in Wisconsin, 28
corn, in Indiana, 30, 31, 32
in Kansas, 36, 38
in Wisconsin, 27, 28
cowpea, in Indiana, 31
in Kansas, 34
crop. See barley, corn, cowpea,
oat, soybean, velvet bean, wheat
crop, the necessity for greater
care in identifying, used in
experimental work, paper by
C. V. Piper, 24
number of. See cowpea, soy-
bean, velvet bean,
oat, in Indiana, 30, 31
in Kansas, 34
soybean, in Indiana, 31
in Kansas, 34, 35
the testing of, as foundation
work in the improvement of
farm crops, papers by R. A.
Moore, A. M. Ten Eyck, and
A. T. Wiancko, 27, 29, 33
wheat, in Indiana, 31
in Kansas, 33, 36, 37, 38
Velvet bean, varieties, number of, 24
VOLUME I 151
Waldron, L. R., paper on " Delayed
germination of durum wheat,"
135-144
Weed control by means of chemical
sprays, paper on, by H. L.
Bolley, 159
Westgate, J. ^ M., paper on " Experi-
ments in growing alfalfa from
seed secured from dififerent
cources," 145-148
Wheat, durum, delayed germination
of, 135
factors which determine the com-
position of, paper by R. W.
Thatcher, 131
some experiments in breeding
high-nitrogen, paper by R. W.
Thatcher, 126
the relation of, to climate and
soil, paper by T. L, Lyon, 108
varieties in Indiana, 31
Kansas, 33, 36, 37, 38
Wheeler, H. J., paper on " Some
desirable precautions in plat
experimentation," 39-44
Wiancko, A. T., paper on " The test-
ing of varieties as foundation
work in the improvement of
farm crops," 29-33
Worthen, E. L., paper on " Methods
of soil surveying," 185-191
Yield of farm crops, relation between
size of seed and, 98
of hay, basis for estimating, 158
Yielding power of kernels of differ-
ent sizes, methods of studying
the, 104
Zavitz, C. A., paper on " The relation
between the size of seeds and
the yield of farm crops," 98-104
INDEX TO VOLUME 2
Affiliation', committee on, appoint-
ment of, 13
personnel of, 23
report of, 27
of agricultural societies, advan-
tages of, 30
agreement on, 28
Allen, E. W., on, 27
joint committee on, 28
resolution on, 28
proposed constitution for,
29
recommendations, 31
resolution and agree-
ment on, 28
of American agricultural socie-
ties, presidential address, by A.
M. Ten Eyck, 33
of societies for agricultural sci-
ence, some advantages of an,
communication by E. W. Allen,
30
Agricultural societies, affiliation of.
See Affiliation
Agriculture, Secretary, item in esti-
mates of, approved, 16
Agronomy, standardization of field
experimental methods in, 70
technical terms in, 86
Allen, E. W., communication on
" Some advantages of an affili-
ation of societies for agricul-
tural science," 30-31
Arrearages in dues, collected by sec-
retary, 17
Audit, committee on, report of, 25
Ball, Bert, paper on " The work of
the committee on seed improve-
ment of the Council of North
American Grain Exchanges,"
55-59
Carleton, R., paper on " Tech-
nical terms in agronomy," 86-93
Bibliography, publications by M. A.
Carleton, 9
T. L. Lyon. 12
Biography, Mark Alfred Carleton, 8
Thomas Lyttleton Lyon, 11
Bolley, H. L., paper on " Literpre-
tation of results noted in ex-
periments upon cereal cropping
methods after soil steriliza-
tion," 81-85
Breeding cereals for rust resistance,
methods in, 76
Briggs, Lyman J., and J. W. Mc-
Lane, paper on " Moisture equi-
valent determinations and their
application," 138-147
Buckman, H. O., paper on " Moisture
and nitrate relations in dry-
land agriculture," " 121-138
Business section, 13-32
Cameron, Frank K., paper on " The
theory of soil management,"
102-106
Carleton, M. A., comments on paper
by E. G. Montgomery, 68
Mark Alfred, biographical sketch,
8
Cereal cropping methods after soil
sterilization, 81
Cereals, analysis of yield in, 40
light and heavy kernels in, 59
methods in breeding for rust re-
sistance, 76
Cobb, N. A., comments on paper by
E. G. Montgomery, 68
Committee on Affiliation, appoint-
ment of, 13
personnel of, 23
report of, 27
Audit, report of, 25
Constitution, appointment of, 16,
17
personnel of, 23
Executive matters, personnel of,
23 . .
Nominations, appointment of, 14
report of, 16
Program, work of former, 13
election of new, 16
personnel of new, 23
Publication, personnel of, 23
report of, 26
vacancy in, 17
vote of thanks to, 16
Soil classification and mapping,
report of, 15
personnel of, 23
vacancies in, 16
Standardization of field experi-
ments, appointment of, 15,
17
personnel of, 23
Terminology, appointment of, 14
personnel of. 23
Committees for 191 1, personnel of,
23
reports of. See Committee
52
INDEX TO VOLUME 2 153
Constitution, committee on, appoint-
ment of, i6, 17
personnel of, 23
proposed, for affiliated societies,
29
Contents, Table of, 3
Corn, a test of planting plats with
the same ears of, to secure
greater uniformity in yield,
paper by T. L. Lyon, 35
Crop records, method of keeping, 43
Dry-land agriculture, moisture and
nitrate relations^ in, 121
Error in yields of wheat, 38
Executive committee, personnel of, 23
Experimental methods in agronomy,
standardization of, 70
Experiments, field, standardization
of. See Committee
on value of light and heavy
seeds, 59
bibliography of, 67
comments of M. A.
Carleton on, 68
comments of N. A. Cobb
on, 68
summary of, 59
Fertility, soil, transpiration of plants
used as indicators of, 93
Field experimental methods in ag-
ronomy, standardization of, 70
experiments, standardization of.
See Committee on
Fip'pin, Elmer O., paper on " Some
causes of soil granulation,"
106-121
Grain Exchanges, Council of No.
Am., seed improvement by
committee of, 55
Granulation, soil, some causes of, 106
Harris, Frank S., paper on "Long
versus short periods of trans-
piration in plants used as indi-
cators of soil fertility," 93-102
Illustrations, list of, 5
Index to Volume i, 148
2, 152
Johnson. E. C. paper on " Methods
in breeding cereals for rust
resistance," 76-80
Kernels in cereals, light and heavy,
methods for testing the seed
value of. paper by E. G. Mont-
gomery, 59
Lyon, Thomas Lyttleton, biographical
sketch, II
T. Lyttleton, paper on " A test of
planting plats with the same
ears of corn to secure greater
uniformity in yield," 35-37
T. Lyttleton, paper on " A com-
parison of the error in yields
of wheat from plats and from
single rows in multiple series,"
38-39
McLane, J. W., Lyman J. Briggs and,
paper on " Moisture equivalent
determinations and their ap-
plication," 138-147
Members, charter, 17
list of, with addresses, 19
new, 1908, 17
1909, 18
191 1 (to March 31), 19
paid, to receive proceedings, 15
summary of accessions and re-
movals of, 19
Michigan station, keeping crop rec-
ords at. 43
Minutes of the Society for 1910, 13
Washington meeting, 1910. 13
previous to annual meeting, 13
subsequent to annual meeting, 16
Moisture and nitrate relations in dry-
land agriculture, paper by H.
O. Buckman. 121
equivalent determinations and
their application, paper by L.
J. Briggs and J. W. McLane,
138
Montgomery, E. G., paper on " Meth-
ods for testing the seed value
of light and heavy kernels in
cereals." 59-69
Nitrate relations, moisture and, in
dryland agriculture, 121
Nominations, committee on, appoint-
ment of, 14-
report of, 16
Officers, 1907-08, 1909, 1910, 1911, 2
Papers presented 3t meeting. 1910, 14
published in Volume 2. 4
Piper, C. v., and W. H. Stevenson,
paoer on " Standardization of
field experimental methods in
agronomy," 70-76
Plants used as indicators of soil fer-
tility, transpiration of, 93
Plats, planting with same ears of
corn to secure greater uniform-
ity in yield, 35
versus single rows in multiple
series, 38
154 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRONOMY.
Preface, 7
Presidential address, A. M. Ten
Eyck, 33
Proceedings, cost of volume i, per
copy, 27
Program committee, election of new,
16
personnel of new, 23
work of former, 13
Publication, committee on, personnel
of, 23
report of, 26
vacancy in, 17
vote of thanks to, 16
Records, crop, method of keeping, at
Michigan station, paper by F.
A. Spragg, 43
Report of the Secretary, 13-24
Treasurer, 24
Reports of committees. See Com-
mittee
Resistance, rust, methods in breeding
cereals for, 76
Rust resistance, methods in breeding
cereals for, paper by E. C.
Johnson, 76
Secretary of Agriculture, item in es-
timates of, approved, 16
report of, 13
Seed. See kernels
improvement, the work of the
committee on, of the Council
of North American Grain Ex-
changes,^ paper by Bert Ball, 55
value of light and heavy kernels,
.59
bibliography of experiments
on, 67
comments of M. A. Carle-
ton on, 68
of N. A. Cobb on, 68
summary of experiments on,
. . 59 .
Societies, argicultural, affiliation of.
See Affiliation
Soil classification and mapping, com-
mittee on, report of, 15
personnel of, 23
vacancies in, 16
Soil fertility, transpiration of plants
used as indicators of, 93
granulation, some causes of,
paper by E. O. Fippin, 106
management, the theory of, paper
by F. K. Cameron, 102
sterilization, cereal cropping
methods after, 81
Spragg, Frank A., paper on " Method
of keeping crop records at
Michigan Station," 43-55
Standardization of field experimental
methods in agronomy, paper by
C V. Piper and W. H. Steven-
son, 70
of field experiments, committee
on, appointment of, 15, 17
personnel of, 23
Sterilization, soil, interpretation of
results noted in experiments
upon cereal cropping methods
after, paper by H. L. Bolley, 81
Stevenson, W. H., C. V. Piper and,
paper on " Standardization of
field experimental methods in
agronomy," 70-76
Ten Eyck, A. M., presidential address
on "The affiliation of Ameri-
can agricultural societies," 33-
.35
Terminology, committee on, appoint-
ment of, 14
personnel of, 23
Terms, technical, in agronomy, paper
by C. R. Ball, 86
Transpiration in plants used as indi-
cators of soil fertility, long
versus short periods of, paper
by F. S. Harris, 93
Treasurer, report of, 24
Waldron, L. R., paper on "Analysis
of yield in cereals," 40-43
Wheat, a comparison of the error in
yields of, from plats and from
single rows in multiple series,
paper by T. L. Lyon, 38
Yield, greater uniformity in, on plats,
35
in cereals, analysis of, paper by
L. R. Waldron, 40
Yields, comparison of the error in, 38
5^
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