Page Concerning the cause of the yellowing of the leaves of young fruit trees, 964 Treatment of some fungus diseases, L. M. Underwood and F. S. Earle. 965 965 ENTOMOLOGY. A year with bees, R. L. Taylor.... Celery insects, G. C. Davis.. Report of the consulting entomologist of Michigan Station, G. C. Davis.. FOODS-ANIMAL PRODUCTION. The study of human foods and practical dietetics, M. E. Jaffa.... Meats, composition and cooking, C. D. Woods.......... Tuberculous meat and milk, S. Marlin and S. Woodhead.. The influence of tea, coffee, and cocoa on digestion, J. W. Fraser. 965 968 967 696 985 969 970 971 The influence of alcohol upon the chemical processes of digestion, R. H. Chittenden and L. B. Mendel... 971 Cotton seed and its products 985 Gluten feeds and meals, J. L. Hills........ 972 Free fatty acids in oil cakes and other feeding stuffs, B. Dyer and J. F. H. 973 The composition, digestibility, and food value of potatoes, H. Snyder............... Steer feeding: A well balanced vs. a poorly balanced ration, R. H. Miller and 977 Cotton-seed feed for dairy cows, H. P. Armsby and E. H. Hess. 985 The effect of food on the fat content of milk, J. Sebelien 979 Fattening lambs, F. B. Mumford Dairy and sheep farming at Superior, J. A. Craig... 986 Feeding wheat to pigs, E. D. Porter, C. M. Conner, and P. Schweitzer. The external conformation of the horse, E. A. A. Grange Preservation of cream for market, F. L. Russell..... Pasteurization of milk and cream for direct consumption, H. L. Russell.......... Cheese-curd inflation, its relation to the bacterial flora of foremilk, H. L. 992 987 990 991 The constancy of the kinds of bacteria in normal milk, H. L. Bolley.. STATISTICS. Danish agricultural statistics for 1894-'95...... Eighth Annual Report of Georgia Station, 1895. LIST OF PUBLICATIONS ABSTRACTED. Experiment Stations in the United States: Alabama College Station: Bulletin 68, January, 1896. Bulletin 69, February, 1896 Arkansas Station: Bulletin 37, November, 1895 California Station: Bulletin 110, February, 1896.. Georgia Station: Bulletin 30, November, 1895 Eighth Annual Report, 1895 Illinois Station: Bulletin 41, March, 1896.. Bulletin 42, March 1896.. Maine Station: Bulletin 22 (second series), 1895... Bulletin 23 (second series), February 24, 1896. . Maryland Station: Bulletin 36, December, 1895 Massachusetts Hatch Station: Bulletin 35, December, 1895 ... Meteorological Bulletin 85, January, 1896 Meteorological Bulletin 86, February, 1896 Meteorological Bulletin 87, March, 1896 Page. 993 994 994 994 994 981 965 992 985 943, 946, 954 994 932, 946, 951 944 940 992 977 939 932 932 932 Michigan Station: Annual Report, 1894... 932, 954, 955, 959, 960, 961, 964, 965, 967, 969, 985, 986, 994 Bulletin 8, July 1, 1895 (Second Annual Report, 1895).... Annual Report, 1894... 929, 932, 934, 943, 947, 948, 953, 964, 976, 985, 987, 992, 994 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. VOL. VII. No. 11. The testing of varieties, which has formed a more or less prominent feature of the work of many of our stations, is beset with many difficulties, and when properly carried out is not so simple a matter as might at first appear. On the contrary, it is regarded by authorities. in such work as among the most difficult lines of field experimentation. While testing varieties on an extensive scale is not advocated, and while it is believed there are many other ways in which the stations can be quite as useful to the farmers in giving them practical aid, a limited amount of such work seems inevitable and is probably desirable, especially in the newer States. When undertaken it should be carried out in the same systematic, scientific manner as any other line of experiment, so that the final results may furnish reliable conclusions. Assuming that the conditions as to uniformity of soil, vitality of seed, size of plats, and uniformity of treatment have all been considered and are ideal, one factor remains which is beyond the control of the experimenter. This is the meteorological conditions of the season, which not only affect the general yield of the crop, but often affect dif ferent varieties unequally. It has been demonstrated that a variety will retain its characteristic qualities for several generations when transferred to soils of different character or to regions of different meteorological conditions, though gradually the variety adapts itself to the new conditions. Hence, a test of varieties of wheat or corn covering one or two seasons does not demonstrate with certainty the relative adaptability to that locality of the varieties tested. This must be based on the average climatic conditions for the locality, and this average can be secured only by taking a number of consecutive seasons into account. The necessity for this was brought out by Professor Liebscher's experiments with varieties, noticed in a recent issue (E. S. R., 7, p. 861). His work in connection with the German Agricultural Society covered 5 consecutive years, and was carried out on 169 farms. In discussing the results he states that differences in yield in one or a few trials are not sufficient to demonstrate varietal differences, but that for this purpose a large number of trials, covering a number of years, are necessary. The same point has been made in the variety tests at the Illinois Station, which have extended continuously over a number of years. In a late bulletin of the station, noted elsewhere, the authors state in their conclusions as to varieties that "it is only after a long series of years and from plantings in a variety of plats that anything like a true comparison can be established." The data published by the station during the past 8 years emphasize this point. Taking the 9 varieties of corn which were tested continuously for 8 years, the order of rank as to yield of shelled corn in the different years, and the average rank for the 8 years was as follows: Order of rank of varieties of corn each year, and average for 8 years. years showed The first year indicated Clark Iroquois and Champion White Pearl to be the poorest varieties for yield, while the averages for 8 them to be third and fourth in order of rank. One year the Leaming was seventh, while the average placed it first; and in other years Riley Favorite and Golden Beauty were first and second, while the averages placed them at the end of the list. Examples of this sort might be multiplied. Study of the data for numerous variety tests shows that when the tests are made apparently with great care and the unevenness of the soil checked by duplicating the plats, the order of superiority of the different varieties changes, more or less, from year to year, and that varieties differ considerably with respect to this variability in successive years. Some varieties keep about the same position in the order of rank, while others are up one year and down the next. This variability is an important factor in deciding upon the relative value of varieties. Again, varieties which have been designated by one station as among the best have not infrequently been discarded after being tested at stations in adjoining States where the general conditions would seem to be quite similar. While it may be true that this difference in adaptability exists, the test covering only one or two years does not carry conviction. While some stations have from the beginning insisted upon the importance of continuing the trials with the same varieties through a series of years, at others it appears not to have been appreciated, or to have been overlooked. As a result, comparatively few cases are found 2 3 4 5 7 9 |