Agriculture Commons^™

The University Fruit Farm At Union, Nebraska, C. C. Wiggans

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Circulars

The University Fruit Farm may be considered as a substation or detached portion of the Nebraska Experiment Station. It was established to assist in answering questions pertaining to fruit production, and only experiments of this sort are carried on. Supervision of this property rests with the Department of Horticulture of the Nebraska College of Agriculture. This circular has been prepared with the view of furnishing visitors to the farm with a brief outline of the experimental projects. Further information is available from either the local foreman or from the Department. Visitors are always welcome and helpful suggestions are solicited.

The Effect Of Maturity And The Ethylene Chlorhydrin Seed Treatment On The Dormancy Of Triumph Potatoes, H. O. Werner

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

Western Nebraska dry-land Triumph potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) vary in maturity at the time of harvest, from some that are very immature to others with vines which are entirely ripe. Variations in maturity may be due to such factors as early frost, drouth, destruction of vines by hail or early blight, time of planting, and strain type (whether early or late maturing). The question of seed maturity and its influence upon duration of the dormant period is of considerable commercial importance, since these potatoes are annually being planted in south Texas as early as December 26 and in southern …

Studies Of Rickets In Swine, William J. Loeffel, Ray R. Thalman, F. C. Olson, F. A. Olson

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

During the years 1925 to 1929 inclusive, the Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station carried on a series of four experiments to study the importance of the antirachitic factors in the nutrition of swine. Vitamin D as obtained from cod-liver oil and the radiant-energy factor of sunlight were the sources of the antirachitic factors that received primary consideration. Emphasis was placed upon the study of the symptoms and lesions produced in pigs fed a rickets-producing ration.

The Common Intestinal Roundworm Of Swine, H. M. Martin

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Circulars

The large intestinal roundworm of pigs is a very common parasite, and is probably present in every hog raising district of Nebraska. Until the last few years the true nature of this parasite was unknown. Little did we realize the actual harm done by this worm; but through the scientific investigations of Stewart, Ransom, and others we now know that this parasite causes heavier losses to the breeder and feeder of swine than any other now common in Nebraska.

Utilization Of Proteins By The Growing Chick, F. E. Mussehl, C. W. Ackerson

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

1. There is a marked difference in the nutritive value of the various protein-contributing concentrates when used to supplement a corn-wheat basal ration which has been made complete for known vitamin and mineral essentials. 2. There is a great difference in the biological value even of animal protein concentrates. 3. Soybean meal produced a better growth rate than any of the other plant concentrates used. Cottonseed meal proved to have a greater growth-promoting value than did linseed oil meal. 4. The supplementing values of protein concentrates, one to another, is not quite as evident as one would expect if the …

The Vitamin A Content Of The Milk Of Holstein, Ayrshire, Jersey, And Guernsey Cows, H. P. Davis, I. L. Hathaway

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

A comparative study of the vitamin A content of milk produced by Holstein, Ayrshire, Jersey, and Guernsey cows was made by comparing the growth produced by 560 rats receiving milk from these breeds as their only source of vitamin A. The results showed some slight irregular differences in the gains produced by the milk from the different breeds. When these differences were considered in view of the individual variation of the experimental animals, they appeared negligible. This conclusion was substantiated by a statistical examination of the data. From the results of this study in which the experiments were duplicated, it …

Infection Experiments With Spindle Tuber And Unmottled Curly Dwarf Of The Potato, R. W. Goss

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

It is probable that more than one insect species are capable of spreading some of the potato virus diseases. This conclusion was also indicated by repeated observations in the dry-land section of western Nebraska. While aphids are abundant and are probably the chief vectors of potato virus diseases in the more humid sections of the country, they are usually scarce in the western upland plains area and are not present in large enough numbers to account for the rapid spread of spindle tuber and unmottled curly dwarf which sometimes occurs. It was therefore considered advisable to determine the common potato …

Rb31-253 Variety Tests Of Oats, Barley, And Spring Wheat, T.A. Kiesselbach, W.E. Lyness

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

The use of superior varieties is of first importance in the production of spring small grains. The comparative merits of the different crops and their available varieties may be best determined through tests extending over a period of years. Tests of oats, barley, and spring wheat have been made on the Experiment Station Farm of the Nebraska College of Agriculture at Lincoln.

The plan has been to have these variety trials include the most promising sorts obtainable from Nebraska and other states. Most of the varieties grown have originated in the breeding experiments of various state and federal experiment stations. …

Ec31-133 The Management Of Nebraska Soils (Revised March 1936), P.H. Stewart, D.L. Gross

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

The agricultural lands of this country are its greatest natural resource. History points out that nations with vast areas of good farm land are most likely to prosper and survive over long periods of time. Local communities, too, prosper and flourish in proportion to the productiveness of the surrounding land. Schools, social life, and business develop best in areas where the land is productive and properly managed and conserved.

Nebraska, in common with other states, has suffered by the depletion of soil fertility. The reduction in acres in legumes and grasses, and the deplation of the organic matter in the …

Ec31-625 How To Produce Better Milk And Cream, E.L. Reichart

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Would you refuse a $20.00 bill when offered you as a present without any strings attached?

Would you not like to have it said that your creamery produces the best butter in Nebraska?

Would you not be glad to have people refer to your county as the best dairy county in Nebraska?

Of course you would because it would bring more cattle buyers into your community and you would get better prices for your bull and heifer calves.

You can accomplsih all these things by producing higher grade milk and cream. Perhaps the suggestions on the next few pages will …

Rb31-258 The Contribution Fo Nebraska Farm Women To Family Income Through Poultry And Dairy Products, M. Ruth Clark

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This investigation was made in 1929-1930 for the purpose of studying the activities of Nebraska farm women in the raising of poultry and in the care of dairy products, to discover whether or not such activities resulted in a contribution to the family income. With this in view, a group of women were asked to keep records for one year (from April 1, 1929 to March 31, 1930) of the value and amount of dairy and poultry products sold or used, of all expense incurred in production, and of the time spent both by the homemaker herself and by all …

The Relative Susceptibility Of Alfalfas To Wilt And Cold, George L. Peltier, H. M. Tysdal

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

The final solution of the alfalfa-wilt problem in Nebraska probably lies in the development of resistant sorts that are winterhardy as well as productive. The relative susceptibility to wilt of 40 lots from Turkestan, 10 from France, 6 of Grimm from as many states, and 16 domestic alfalfas are reported on at this time, together with hardiness tests of a few well-known varieties and strains and the more recent introductions from Turkestan and France.

Breeding Winter Wheat For Resistance To Stinking Smut (Tilletia Levis And Tilletia Tritici), T. A. Kiesselbach, Arthur Anderson

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

Several productive lines of hard red winter wheat which are highly resistant to both species of stinking smut (Tilletia levis and T. tritici) have been isolated from the Turkey variety. Artificial-smut and stem-rust epidemics and controlled freezing have been found useful supplements to field-performance tests. Differential reactions of the new Turkey selections and a number of hybrid selections and established resistant varieties to collections of bunt from a number of states give definite evidence of the occurrence of mild and virulent physiologic forms of both species. Certain selections have proved very resistant to some of the smut collections and …

The Use Of A Small Electric Motor In Silo Filling, E. E. Brackett, E. B. Lewis

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Circulars

Filling a silo 30 feet or more in height with a motor as small as five horsepower has been looked upon in general by Nebraska farmers as an impractical, if not impossible, procedure. The practice is not unheard of in other states, and certainly the possibility of avoiding the large tractor-driven cutters and the large crews will be welcomed by those who have available service from power lines.

The Symptoms Of Spindle Tuber And Unmottled Curly Dwarf Of The Potato, R. W. Goss

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

The differentiation of the virus diseases of the potato on the basis of symptoms is an important but difficult phase of the virus problem. A knowledge of the variation in symptoms due to environmental factors is necessary both in investigational work and in the practical application of our knowledge to the control of these diseases in the field. A fairly comprehensive knowledge of the masking effect of certain environmental factors upon the symptoms of the mosaic group has been obtained through the work of various investigators. Considerably less information is available concerning the effect of environment upon the symptoms of …

Economic Aspects Of Contagious Abortion In A Dairy Herd, Department Of Animal Husbandry

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

The object of this study is to present the measurable losses due to abortion in a dairy herd of high-producing ability over a period of approximately one-third of a century. The records available provide a rather complete history of what has taken place.

Seed Corn Treatments At The North Platte Substation, L. L. Zook, N. E. Jodon

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Circulars

For the past several years, much publicity has been given to the matter of seed corn treatments. Various commercial compounds have been widely and extravagantly advertised for general farm use as seed corn disinfectants. The effectiveness of many of these compounds in controlling certain seed-borne diseases has been demonstrated in some of the more humid areas of the corn belt. Very little is known of the distribution of these diseases and the extent to which they affect the germination and productiveness of seed corn in the drier or semiarid sections.

Rb30-252 Sex And Age As Factors In Cattle Feeding, H.J. Gramlich, R.R. Thalman

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Varying economic conditions and changes in the demands of the meat consuming public have been responsible for the turns that have taken place in the beef industry during recent years. Both feeder and producer must recognize and conform to these changes if they are to continue in business. Among the most important of these changes have been the turn toward the marketing of lighter cattle and the gradual disappearance from feed lots of two- and three-year-old animals. Furthermore, the cattle population of the United States is fast reaching stabilization with the resulting effect that more heifers are being marketed, since …

Rb30-246 Testing Ice Cream For Butterfat, L.K. Crowe

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Butterfat is usually the most expensive ingredient of ice cream; hence, great care is necessary in controllng its use. The manufacturer of ice cream, whether doing a large or a small volume of business, must manufacture a product that will comply with the established fat standard. Some means of determining the percentage of butterfat in the product must be available in order to establish this control.

This 1930 research bulletin discusses the different testing equipment used to test butterfat in ice cream.

Ec30-39 Swine Sanitation, L. Van Es

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

From the very beginning of Nebraska's agricultural development its farmers have recognized that the production of swine must of necessity accompany the growing of corn. The latter, one of the state's most important staples, cannot be marketed in a more economical manner than after having been transformed into pork, bacon, and lard.

As a result the state has for many years maintained a rather dense swine population mainly divided into large herds kept on relatively small areas of land. This density of population, as well as certain practices in management and selective breeding, has brought about conditions favorable for the …

Rb30-250 Raising Early Lambs From Aged Western Ewes, A.D. Weber

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Many farm flocks in Nebraska are comprised of aged western ewes. They are easily obtained because of the state's geographical position with reference to the sheep-producing sections of the West and the leading feeder lamb markets. Nebraska ranks second in number of western lambs fed. This also tends to acquaint farmers with range sheep.

This 1930 research bulletin discusses factors in early lamb production; objects of the experiment, experimental procedure, and experimental data of raising early lambs from aged western ewes.

Rb30-245 Water Supply And Sewage Disposal Systems For Farm Homes, Ivan D. Wood, E.B. Lewis

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

When the well "goes dry" or when the windmill or pump breaks down, every one in the household immediately appreciates the value fo plenty of water. In other words, "You never miss the water until the well runs dry." Fortunately, in most sections of this state, plenty of pure water may be obtained by sinking wells of moderate depth, yet surprisingly few farm homes are supplied with running water in the kitchen even though the barn yards are equipped with hydrants and tanks.

It is the purpose of this bulletin to present a number of water supply and sewage disposal …

Rb30-244 Types Of Farming In Nebraska, Harold Hedges, F.E. Elliott

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

"Type of farming" as used in this bulletin is a term descriptive of a group of farms similar in size and enterprise combination. Thus a group of farms having the same kind, quantity, and proportion of crops oand livestock may be said to be following the same type of farming. The term "type-of-farming area" refers to an area within which there is a high degree of uniformity in the type of farming practicse and in the physical and economic conditions under which production takes place. This should not be understood to mean that there is absolute uniformity either in farming …

Seed Potato Treatment Tests For Control Of Scab And Rhizoctonia, R. W. Goss, H. O. Werner

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

Potato scab annually takes a very large toll from the potato growers of Nebraska. Rhizoctonia causes considerable loss each year, particularly in the early-potato sections, where it decreases stand and yield. These losses are caused by infection from both the soil and the seed. The investigations reported in this paper deal only with the control of the infection arising from the seed. Even though potato seed treatments have been recommended for many years, the diversity of recommendations being made at present by various agencies is very confusing to the grower and research worker alike. Many of the reports from different …

Effect Of Cultural Methods And Maturity Upon The Seed Value Of Eastern Nebraska Potatoes, H. O. Werner

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

Seed potatoes as good as northern stocks have been produced under a straw mulch in eastern Nebraska by experimenters and growers. Occasionally reports are heard that a lot of seed potatoes has been grown in eastern Nebraska by ordinary cultural methods for many years, apparently without loss of vigor or yielding capacity. In view of this situation it seemed advisable to investigate this problem to determine whether, and to what extent, environment and maturity as such influence the productivity of seed potatoes and also whether it is feasible to produce satisfactory seed potatoes in the southern and eastern portions of …

The Abortion Problem In Farm Live Stock, L. Van Es

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Circulars

Successful animal husbandry is fundamentally dependent on the efficient reproduction and preservation of young stock. Not only are losses among the latter a prolific source of direct economic damage, but they also tend to create an equally serious disadvantage of a more indirect nature. Losses of young animals, unless a reduction of our live stock population can be tolerated, necessitate the setting aside of a larger number of females for purely reproductive purposes than would be required if such losses were not a factor.

On The Nature And Cause Of "The Walking Disease" Of Northwestern Nebraska (Necrobiosis Et Cirrhosis Hepatis Enzootica), L. Van Es, L. R. Cantwell, H. M. Martin, J. Kramer

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

The "walking disease" of Northwestern Nebraska is essentially an enzootic necrobiosis and cirrhosis of the liver due to a toxic agent and does not materially differ from similar disorders occurring in other regions or countries. The disease affects horses and cattle but it is most commonly encountered in the former. The disease in all its clinical and pathological manifestations may be reproduced with the utmost fidelity by the feeding with plants of Senecio riddellii.

Bovine Tuberculosis, L. Van Es

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Circulars

The development of the present-day knowledge of the tuberculoses of animals is so intimately associated with that pertaining to the human form of the disease that the latter needs to be included in the historical considerations, without which it would be difficult to view any phase of the subject in a comprehensive manner.

The Frequency Of Somatic Mutation In Variegated Pericarp Of Maize, R. A. Emerson

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Some years ago (Emerson 1922) the writer announced that in F₂ of

certain crosses of variegated with colorless pericarp in maize the heterozygous

individuals changed to self color more frequently than did the homozygous

individuals of the same cultures. No “explanation” of this phenomenon

was then apparent, but later results, though still far from affording

an adequate solution of the problem, have furnished at least a working

hypothesis. The original unpublished paper, with minor modifications,

is given below, under the heading. “Somatic mutations in heterozygous

and in homozygous variegated pericarp.”

The Insects And Mites Injurious To Poultry In Nebraska And Their Control, M. H. Swenk, F. E. Mussehl

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Circulars

There are a number of different kinds of insect and mites (arthropods) that are more or less injurious to poultry in Nebraska. This circular is designed to give practical information concerning these pests and their control.