Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1880 [PAGE 50]

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48 The writer had the pleasure and profit of visiting, in 1879, the home of Dr. J. B. Lawes, Eothamsted, England. At this place agricultural experimentation has been carried on for more than 40 years. For 25 years past, it may be said the farm work on a large farm had been held subordinate to the experimental work. Prom one to four chemists are kept constantly employed; they have two or three assistants; a botanist, with assistants, is often engaged; two or three persons find constant employment in calculating and tabulating results. The large force of farm laborers is, as needed, held in readiness for work on the experimental plats. The direct annual cost of the work is, in round numbers, $10,000, and* the additional, indirect cost is about $5,000 annually. With all these facilities, a comparatively limited range of experimental work has been attempted; and sometimes a series of years has passed without any public report being made, on some points, in even this range of subjects. The writer may be pardoned for saying, that SLB to one crop with which experiments have been tried for about 30 years, Dr. Lawes said to him that they had been able to learn but little about it as yet. A comparison of such an experimental station as this with the opportunities of men whose first duty is to their classes, to whom they must deliver daily lectures, and of institutions whose funds are barely sufficient to provide for the necessary teaching force, will better present the difficulty named than would any extended argument. With this is presented a compilation of some of the experiments which have been tried at the University farms with a single grain crop, Indian corn. These experiment's have been conducted by Messrs. Flagg, Lawrence, Johnson, Prof. Miles, and the writer. Some lessons are plainly taught by them; as to many other points, they give partial or contradictory answers. It is purposed to continue and extend experiments with this, as well as other grain crops, and also in feeding animals; and much gratification is felt in the hopeful indications now to be seen of receiving cooperation in this work, by many of the agricultural colleges of the country.

EXPEEIMENTS IN COEN CULTUEE.

YIELDS OF ADJACENT PLATS.

Several experiments have been tried to determine the comparative fertility of adjacent plats of ground under similar treatment. In 1871, 1872 and 1873 this experiment was tried on a piece of prairie land on the Experimental farm. The tract has a slightly varied topography, but not more of this than is usually found on the prairie land of the vicinity. The tract was divided into plats of one-twentieth of an acre each. It was planted so as to give four rows to the rod. Yellow dent corn was planted each year, giving good ordinary cultivation. The first year drought and chinch bugs greatly injured the crop. The year 1873 was also unfavorable. Only ears of fair size were counted.