The Checker‐Board Method of Laying out Plats 1

The checker-board method, as the name implies, consists ’of an arrangement of plats in a checker-board fashion. The plats are divided into two groups, as shown in Fig. i, treated plats and checks. With the exception of those treated plats on the border, there are four check plats adjacent to each treated plat. This method has been found especially desirable for a crop such as onions, where, because of thick planting, large numbers of plants occur on small areas, making it possible to use small plats--i/80 to ~/~6o of an acre. In the fertilizer experiments with onions at the Massachusetts Experiment Station certain advantages in the use of the checker-board method have suggested themselves which may be of general interest to agronomists.