UIHistories Project: A History of the University of Illinois by Kalev Leetaru
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Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1871 [PAGE 241]

Caption: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1871
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233 before the one at the western part of the State, and they started some independent experimenting—sowing little plats of wheat of various varieties, and patches of one thing and another. It was found that these patches were very difficult to care for. Wherever we have small experiments the tendency is to increase the number, and it is scarcely possible to keep them all separate. The effect of that was that the superintendent, who was carrying on the experiments pretty much on his own hook, allowed his shocks of wheat of different varieties to stand in the field, and would thresh one and then another, taking several days in doing it, thereby occasioning greater error than would come in the having of large plats which were brought in and put in separate places in the barn, and not having so many of them. In regard to the way in which the plats should be laid out, I do not see exactly why the gentleman thinks it is necessary to cultivate between the plats. It seems to me, if the grass between the tiers of plats has an influence on one plat, it has that same influence on the other plat, and so the same influence goes on through the whole series of plats. There is the fact that we may use manure and we may n o t ; inasmuch as this system of experiments is one that is only relatively compared, the same thing would be true if the plats were cultivated. It would not bring in any greater error, probably, than if the plats were cultivated. The keeping in mind of this one fact, that our results are only relative, I think clears up many of the objections. Also in the feeding of animals, this same thing holds good. I have only taken up the matters that have been suggested to me by the remarks of the gentlemen here, and given my views upon them, as I understand that it is the object. In this matter of feeding stock it seems to me if we could place equal weights of stock in different pens—pigs for instance —instead of having a single one in the pen, if we could place a number in one pen, and then a number in another, that would give a better result, because we divide up a greater amount of increase. When we come to show the effect the feeding has had upon the animals, we divide it up, having a greater number of pounds to go on, and we get a more correct result in the division. I believe this is all I have noted, to reply to. I think there are three principles necessary to be kept in view, in instituting these experiments ; that there are three grand divisions into which these experiments can be divided, one of which is to show the rotation of crops and method of culture. Those two are intimately united. They are things that are of practical value to farmers. They wish to know these —21