^J^SXTTSt^ ^ENEWYORKBOTANICALGARPl J281 Issued October 10, 1910. U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CtAKUBtl OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1909. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OTFICE. 1910. JOINT RESOLUTION Trovlding for printing annually the Report of the Director of the Office of Experiment Stations. Department of Agriculture. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representative of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there be printed eight thousand copies of the Report of the Director of the Office of Experiment Stations, prepared under the supervision of the Secretary of Agriculture, on the work and expenditures of that Office and of the agricultural experiment stations established in the several States and Territories under the act of Congress of March second, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, for nineteen hundred and three, of which one thousand copies shall be for the use of the Senate, two thousand copies for the use of the House of Representatives, and five thousand copies for the use of the Department of Agriculture; and that annually hereafter a similar report shall be prepared and printed, the edition to be the same as for the report herein provided. Approved, April 27, 1904. 2 THE OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. A. C. TRUE, Ph. D., Sc. D., Director. E. W. Allen. Ph. D., Assistant Director and Editor of Experiment Station Record. W. II. Deal. A. B., M. E.. Chief of Editorial Division. Mrs. C. E. JonN.SToN, Chief Clerk. Sarah L. Sommers, Record Clerk. E. Lucy Ogden, Librarian. Editorial Departments. L. W. Fetzer. Ph. D., Agricultural chemistry and agrotechny. W. II. Beal. Meteorology, soils, and fertilizers. W. H. Evans, Ph. D., and W. H. Long, A. M., Agricultural botany and vegetable pathologj'. J. I. SCHULTE, B. S., and J. O. Rankin, A. B., B. S. A., Field crops. E. J. Glasson, B. S. a., Horticulture and forestry. W. A. Hooker, B. S., Economic zoology, entomology, and veterinary medicine. C. F. Langworthy, Ph. D., Foods and human nutrition. E. W. Morse, B. S. A., Zootechny, dairying, and dairy farming. D. .T. Crosby, M. S., Agricultural education. J. B. Morman, A. M., Rural economics. n. L. Knight, B. S., Editorial assistant. T. K. Burrows, B. A., Editorial assistant. William Henry, Indexing and proof reading. Insular Stations. W. H. Evans, Ph. D., Chief. ALASKA EXPERIMENT STATIONS. C. C. Oeorgeson, M. S., Special agent in charge, Sitka. A. J. WiLKUS, Assistant at Sitka. G. W. Gasser, B. S., Assistant at Rampart. M. D. Snodgrass, B. S., Assistant at Kodiak. Laurence Kelly, Assistant dairyman at Kodiak. J. W. Neal, Assistant at Fairbanks. GUAM experiment STATION. J. B. Tho.mpson, B. S., Special agent in charge. Island of Guam. H. L. V. CosTENOBLE, Assistant. HAWAII EXPERIMENT STATION. E. V. Wilcox, Ph. D., Special agent in charge, Honolulu. J. E. HiOGiNs, B. A., M. S. a., Horticulturist. F. G. Krauss, Agronomist. W. P. Kelley, M. S., Chemist. D. T. FULLAWAY, A. B., Entomologist. Alice R. Tho.mpson, B. S., Assistant chemist. C. .1. HuNN, B. S. A., Assistant horticulturist. Q. Q. BuAi)i-(uti). Assistant in rnldier investigations. Valentine Holt, Assistant agronomist. 4 THE OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. POKTO BICO EXPEBIMENT STATION. D. W. May, M. Agr., Special nscnt In charge, Mayaguez. J. VV. VAN Leeniioff, Coffee expert. W. V. TowEU, B. S.. Kntomologlst. P. L. GiLE, A. IV, Chemist. C. F. KIN.MA.N, B. S., Horticulturist. E. G. RiTZ.MA.v, Assistant animal husl)anclman. G. L. Fawcett, Assistant plant pathologist. W. C. Taylor, B. S., Assistant chemist. T. B. McClelland, Assistant horticulturist. W. E. Hess, Expert gardener. ACmCCLTUHAL Edcc.vtion. D. J. Crosby, M. S., Specialist In agricultural education. F. W. Howe, A. B. M. S., Assistant in agricultural education. John HaiMilton, B. S., M. S. A., Farmers' institute specialist. J. M. Stedman, B. S., Assistant farmers' Institute specialist. Nutrition Investigations. ■C. F. Langworthy, Ph. D., Expert in nutrition investigations. R. D. Milner, Ph. B., Assistant in nutrition Investigations. W. P. Garretv, B. S., M. a., Laboratory assistant. S. C. Clark, B. S., M. A., Laboratory assistant. Irrigation Investigations. Samdel Fortier, D. Sc, Chief of irrigation investigations. R. P. Teele, M. a., Assistant chief. Iniuation engineers and irrigation managers. — A. P. Stover, In charge of work in Oregon; C. E. Tait, in charge of worlt in Imperial Valley and Arizona; S. O. Jayne, la charge of work in Washington ; W. W. McLaughlin, in charge of work in I'tah ; P. E. Fuller, in charge of power investigations; W. L. Rockwell, in charge of work in Texas; M. B. Willia.ms, in charge of work in humid sections ; D. H. Bauk, in charge of work In Idaho ; J. W. Longstreth, in charge of work in Kansas ; V. M. Cone and C. G. Haskell, engineers; F. G. Harden and R. D. Robertson, scientific assistants. Expert mechanician. — E. J. Hoff. Irrigation farmers. — J. H. Gordon, R. G. Hemphill, W. H. Ladck, R. E. Mahonhy, John Krall, Jr. collaborators. O. V. p. Stout, in charge of work in Nebraska, University of Nebraska. G. H. True, in charge of work in Nevada, University of Nevada. F. L. BixBY, in charge of work in New Mexico, New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. Drainage Investigations. C G. Elliott, C. E., Chief drainage engineer and chief of drainage investigations. Supervising drainage engineers. — W. J. McEathron, S. M. Woodward (special work), A. E. Morgan (special work). Drainage engineers. — C. F. Brown, L. L. Hidinger, S. H. McCroky, H. A. Kipp, D. G. Miller, F. F. Shafer, J. T. Stewart (special work). Assistant drainage engineers. — W. W. Weir, O. G. Ba.xter, H. R. Elliott, G. R. Boyd, R. A. Hart, G. M. Warren, D. L. Yarnell, J. V. Phillips, L. A. Jones, F. G. Eason, A. M. Shaw, C. W. Okey. Office engineer. — A. D. Morehouse. Assistant office engineers. — R. D. Marsden, N. B. Wade. Draftsman. — G. F. Poulers. COLLABORATOE. W. B. Gregory, Tulane University of Louisiana. LETTER OE TRANSMIHAL Office of Experiment Stations, Washhu/toi,, D. C, April 30. 1010. Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith the annual report of the Office of Experiment Stations, the publication of which is au- thorized by joint resolution of the Fifty-eighth Congress, second session. This includes a report on the work and expenditures of the agricultural experiment stations established under the act of Con- gress of March 2, 1887, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1908, in compliance with the following provision of the act making appro- priations for this Department for the said fiscal year : The Secretary of Agriculture shall prescribe the form of the annual financial statement required by section three of the said act of March second, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, shall ascertain whether the expenditures under the appropriation hereby made are in accordance with the provisions of said act, and shall make report thereon to Congress. There is also a report for the same year on the receipts and expendi- tures and work of the stations under the act of Congress of March 16, 1906, in accordance with section 5 of that act. Very respectfully, A. C. True, Director. Hon. James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture. 5 CONTENTS. Page. Work of the Office of Experiment Stations 15 Relations with the agricultural experiment stations 15 Insular experiment stations 17 Alaska stations 18 Hawaii Station 21 Porto Rico Station 24 Guam Station 28 Nutrition investigations 31 Irrigation investigations 34 Drainage investigations 39 Improvement of farm lands 42 Drainage of swamp lands 42 Reclamation of overflowed lands 43 Drainage of irrigated lands 45 Collection of data on drainage 46 Dissemination of information 47 Promotion of agricultural education 47 Farmers' institutes and extension work 50 Publications 51 Income 54 Work and expenditures of the agricultural experiment stations 55 Review of the year 55 Substations and local test farms 57 The special field of station work 60 Increase in funds and equipment 62 Investigations under the Adams Act 65 Statistics of the stations 67 Progress in foreign countries 68 Two notable agricultural investigators 69 Inspection of the stations 70 Alabama College Station 70 Alabama Canebrake Station 72 Alabama Tuskegee Station 73 Alaska stations 74 Arizona Station 75 Arkansa.s Station 77 California Station 80 Colorado Station 82 Connecticut State Station 85 Connecticut Storrs Station 87 Delaware Station 88 Florida Station 90 Georgia Station 92 Guam Station 94 7 8 CONTENTS. Page. Work and expenditures of the agricultural experiment stations— Continued. luypection of the stations — Continued. Hawaii Station 95 Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Station 97 Idaho Station 98 Illinois Slat ion 100 Indiana Station 104 Iowa Station 107 Kansas Station 110 Kentucky Station 113 Louisiana stations 114 Maine Station 117 Maryland Station 120 Massachusetts Station 123 Michigan Station 125 Minnesota Station 128 Mississippi Station 132 Missouri College Station 135 Mis.souri State Fruit Station 138 Montana Station 138 Nebraska Station 141 Nevada Station 144 New Hampshire Station 147 New Jersey stations 149 New Mexico Station 152 New York State Station 154 New York Cornell Station 156 North Carolina College Station 160 North Carolina State Station 162 North Dakota Station 163 Ohio Station 166 Oklahoma Station 168 Oregon Station 171 Pennsylvania Station 173 Pennsylvania State College Institute of Animal Nutrition 175 Porto Rico Station 176 Rhode Island Station 178 South Carolina Station 180 South Dakota Station 182 Tennessee Station 185 Texas Station 187 Utah Station 190 Vermont Station 192 Virginia Station 194 Virginia Truck Station 197 Washington Station 198 West Virginia Station 201 Wiscon.sin Station 203 Wyoming Station 208 Statistics of land-grant colleges and agricultural experiment stations, 1909. ..... 211 Summary of statistics of land-grant colleges 211 Summary of statistics of the stations 212 Statistics of the land-grant colleges and universities 214 Statistics of the agricultural experiment stations 236 CONTENTS. y Page. Progress in agricultural education, 1909 251 Summary for the year 251 Educational work of the Department of Agriculture 252 Educational work of the Office of Experiment Stations 256 Relation to American institutions 256 Relation to foreign institutions 258 British Islands 258 Canada 263 Germany 265 Other European countries 266 Mexico 267 New Zealand 267 South America 267 Educational work of the Association of American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations 268 Work of the National Education Association 272 Agricultural education at the Second National Corn Exposition 277 The Graduate School of Agriculture 280 The agricultural colleges 287 Historical data 288 Appropriations 292 Buildings 293 Georgia. 293 Iowa 294 Maine 295 Missouri 296 Montana 296 Rhode Island 297 Wisconsin 297 Work of the colleges 298 Courses for teachers 300 College extension and short courses 302 The colleges at the International Live Stock Exposition 304 National Association of State Universities 307 Horticulture at Smith College 308 The secondary schools 309 Recent progress by States 310 Arkansas 310 Georgia 310 Idaho '.... 312 Indiana 312 Louisiana 313 Maryland 313 Massachusetts 313 Michigan 313 Minnesota 314 Mississippi 315 New York 315 Oklahoma 316 Pennsylvania 317 Tennessee 317 Texas 318 Virginia 318 Agriculture in the normal schools 319 10 CONTENTS. Proprosa in agricultural education, 1909 — Continued. Page. The elementary nchools 321 Boys' and girly' agricultural clubs 322 Nature study course 323 Farmers' Institutes in the United States, 1909 327 Institutes held 327 Sessions 328 Attendance 328 Appropriations for institutes 328 Cost of institutes 328 Agricultural college and experiment station aid 328 Special institutes 329 Evidences of progress 331 Improved methods 332 Agricultural college extension work 334 The American Association of Farmers' Institute Workers 335 Institutes for women 336 The annual report of the state directors 337 Monthly meetings 338 Work of the Office 340 State reports 340 Statistics of farmers' institutes, 1909 356 Progress report of investigations in human nutrition in the United States, 1905- 1909 361 Introduction 361 Contributors to the subject of nutrition 361 Studies of foods and food products 365 Cooking and its relation to nutritive value 374 Canning and preserving 377 Labor-saving devices and home conveniences 379 The storage of food and its relation to quality and nutritive value 380 Foods and their relation to problems of hygiene 383 Dietary studies 385 The diet of children and school lunches 387 Cost of living and other sociological data 388 Digestibility of food 388 Special studies of protein and other food constituents 390 Dietary standards and physiological requirements 392 Studies of the physiology of growth 394 Experiments with the respiration calorimeter and other technical studies. . 394 Text-books and handbooks on nutrition 397 Recent irrigation legislation 399 Administrative law 399 Acquirement of rights 402 Distribution of water 406 Transfers 407 Irrigation districts 410 General legislation 412 Reclamation of the southern Louisiana wet prairie lands 415 Introduction 415 Formation of the lands 415 Natural levees 416 Purpose of investigations 419 CONTENTS. 11 Reclamation of the southern Louisiana wet prairie lands — Continued. Page. Description of experimental tracts 420 Willswood plantation 420 Smithport Planting Company Tract 421 District No. 2 422 New Orleans Land Company Tract 422 District No. 3 422 Measurements of rainfall and run-off 426 Methods of reclamation 431 Early methods 431 Present methods 432 Levees and seepage 433 Canal systems 434 Interior ditch systems 435 Pumping plants 437 ILLUSTRATIONS PLATES. Page. Plate I. Dr. Samuel William Johnson 68 11. Fig. 1. — Irrigation engineering building, Colorado College and Sta- tion. Fig. 2. — Highmoor Farm buildings at Monmouth, Me 82 III. Fig. 1.— Spraying a white-fly infested orange grove with spores of a fungus injurious to the fly, Florida Station. Fig. 2. — Japanese sugar cane at the Florida Station 92 IV. Fig. 1. — New administration and laboratory building at the Indiana Station. Fig. 2. — New administration and laboratory building at the Texas Station 104 V. Fig. 1. — Dairy barn of the Iowa Station. Fig. 2. — New greenhouse at the Louisiana University and Station 108 VI. Fig. 1. — Field laboratory of Nevada Station for studying equine anemia. Fig. 2. — New hog barn at the Oklahoma Station 144 VII. Method devised at New Jersey Station for studying appropriation of nitrogen by cereals grown in conjunction with legumes. Fig. 1. — Peas and oats. Fig. 2. — Vetch and rye 150 VIII. Fig. 1. — Truck garden — intercropping experiment, Pennsylvania Station. Fig. 2. — Grass garden at Pennsylvania Station 174 IX. Fig. 1. — New building of Georgia State Agricultural College. Fig. 2. — Agricultural building of the Maine College of Agriculture 292 X. New agricultural building at Iowa State College 294 XI. Fig. 1. — Agricultural building of the University of Missouri. Fig. 2. — New agricultural building, Montana Agricultural College 296 XII. Fig. 1. — New dormitory of the Rhode Island College. Fig. 2. — Live- stock pavilion of the Wisconsin College of Agriculture 296 XIII. Fig. 1. — Consolidated School, Lewiston, Minn., and school vans on runners. Fig. 2. — Class testing seeds for purity at Lewiston (Minn.) Consolidated School 314 XIV. Fig. 1. — A farmers' institute at the new building of the Manassas Agricultural School. Fig. 2. — Military Tract Normal School, Macomb, 111 318 XV. Fig. 1. — Willswood plantation, St. Charles Parish, La., showing pumping plant. Fig. 2. — Interior view of pumping plant 420 XVI. Fig. 1. — Typical wet prairie scene showing wild grasses. District No. 2, near Raceland, La Fourche Parish, La. Fig. 2. — District No. 2, after reclamation 422 XVII. Fig. 1. — Modern pumping plant at La Branch, St. Charles Parish, La. Fig. 2. — Outlet canal completely filled with water hyacinths 422 XVITI . Fig. 1. — Constructed canal serving aa outlet for two districts. Fig. 2. — Same view as Fig. 1, but showing pumping plant being erected. . . 434 XIX. Open traction ditcher for digging lateral ditches in wet prairie lands. 436 TEXT FIGURES. Fig. 1. Typical examples of Louisiana marsh land formation 417 2. Map of Willswood plantation, Waggaman, St. Charles Parish, La 420 3. Map of Smithport plantation, Lockport, La Fourche Parish, La 421 4. Map of Drainage District No. 2, near Raceland, La Fourche Parish, La. . 423 5. Sketch map of New Orleans Land Company Tract, New Orleans, La 424 6. Map of Drainage District No. 3, near Raceland, La Fourche Parish, La. . 425 18 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS, 1009. WORK OF THE OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. The work of the Office of Experiment Stations during the last year has included, as heretofore, the supervision of the expenditures of federal funds by the agricultural experiment stations in the several States; conferences and correspondence with station officers regarding the management, equipment, and work of the stations'", the collection and dissemination of information regarding the progress of agri- cultural education and research throughout the w^orld by means of technical and popular bulletins; the management of the agricultural experiment stations in Alaska, Hawaii, Porto Rico, and Guam ; the promotion of the interests of agricultural colleges and schools and farmers' institutes throughout the United States; special investiga- tions on irrigation and drainage, conducted largely in cooperation with experiment stations, educational institutions, and other agencies in different States and Territories; and the investigation of problems relating to the food and nutrition of man. RELATIONS WITH THE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS. The administration of the Adams Act and the closer restriction of the funds appropriated under the Hatch Act, in order to confine them to actual experimental work and investigation, have commanded much attention during the year. Many (juestions of detail continue to arise regarding the projects as submitted or as the work under them is developed. There is still too much latitude, in many instances, in the submission of projects. Projects are frequently proposed by station workers, and referred by the directors to the Office for a decision, which from their character should never have gone beyond the director's office. This is sometimes due to carelessness, and sometimes, it is feared, to a failure to dis- criminate critically between undertakings which possess merit as investigations and those which are more economic and superficial and do not embrace research features. This has added materially to the 15 16 REPORT OF OFFICE OP EXPERIMENT STATIONS. work of the Office, and has thrown the burden too largely upon it of eliminating undertakings which do not properly belong under a research fund. The difficulty of explaining the distinctions of re- search through correspondence makes necessary a careful scrutiny of the projects and their discussion at the station before they are sub- mitted. It is also found necessary to follow the work under the various projects in considerable detail, and to insist on its being developed along research lines and held to specific studies. This has added materially to the duties of the inspection. It is still too much the practice to permit men whose training and experience do not fit them for good research work to participate in it. The increasing importance and prominence which various forms of extension work are assuming, and the rapid developments along that line, have raised many questions as to the use of the federal funds, and have made a more strict diflferentiation necessary between station work proper and the popular demonstration and extension features. This is one of the most conspicuous developments of the year as aff"ecting the supervision of the station funds, and is discussed at some length in the report on work and expenditures (p. 55). The need of a better system of publication of station work is grow- ing more urgent. The present mixture of scientific and popular material, compilations, inspection tests, and analyses becomes more and more confusing and unsatisfactory to farmers and scientists alike. It is hoped that as the extension departments are organized they will take from the stations the great burden of compiling bul- letins and of miscellaneous routine correspondence. A way should also be found to publish separately the detailed rec- ords and results of the scientific work of the stations. In many places valuable data are being accumulated and stored up because no feasi- ble method of publication has been found. The practice is rapidly growing of publishing brief accounts of the scientific work of the stations in a great variety of scientific journals at home and abroad. As one means of disseminating information regarding this work such publication is a good thing. It can not, however, take the place of a full publication of the scientific work of the stations. Such scrappy and scattered publication gives a very inadequate record of what the stations are doing in advancing knowledge, and produces very little impression of the real services of the stations as public scientific institutions. The whole tendency of such a system is to build up the scientific reputation of the individual officer at the expense of the institution which he serves. A method of publica- tion is needed which will bring together the scientific work of the American stations, so that the world may know what these institn- tions endowed with federal and state funds are really doing to ad- INSULAR EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 17 vance the science of aiven above, so tliat the sum of the two totals could not be taken as the area which will !)(> available for settlement within the next few years. On the other hand, many larjre j)r()jects which are in a more or less complete state of organization are not included in the tables. How- ever, the tables seem to justify the statement that there is now avail- able for settlement an area of G,000,00() acres, with as much more inider ditches now under construction, which will be available within a few years. This Oflice has estimated the area now irrigated at 13.000.000 acres, and therefore the works now under construction will provide for the approximate doubling of the area. This large increase in the area irrigated will be made at a great increase in cost per acre irrigated. The United States Census re- ports give the average cost of irrigation works in the United States up to 1900 as $8.85 per acre irrigated, and up to 1902 at $9.14 per acre irrigated." Data for an average up to the present time are not avail- able, but the reports of the Secretary of the Interior show that the average cost of the works built under the Reclamation Law has been as follows: Estimated average east of irrigation tcorJcs as shown hy statements of areas to he reelai)ne(l and estimated eost of works, published in annual reports of the Seeretary of the Interior, IDO'i to J908, and table supplied by the United States Reelamation Serree, 1009. Year. Total area. Total cost. Average c-ost per acre. Year. Total area. Total cost. .Vverage cost. j)er acre. 1904 Acres. 1,332,000 1,028,000 1,203,000 S26,970,!29 27,930,000 39, 155, 161 $20. 25 27.15 31.00 1907 Acres. 1,910,000 2,292,340 S70, 000, 000 89,431,500 S3(). ('>5 1905 1908 39.00 1900 The averages given above are based on total acreages and total cost. The cost under the different projects varies from $25 to $G5 per acre. That the cost of other works is not far different from that of the government Avorks is shown by the data on irrigation contained in the Statistical Abstract of the United States for 1908 (Depart- ment of Commerce and Labor). As stated there, the cost of irriga- tion works in the United States in 1902 was $77,430,212, and the area irrigated 8,471,041 acres; the cost in 1907 was $125,000,000, and the area 9,700,000 acres. The increase in the area from 1902 to 1907 was 1,228,459 acres, while the increased cost was $47,509,788, or an aver- age of $38.72 per acre. The table for the government works includes the year 1908, while the other does not, which would account for the slight difference between the average cost found in the two w^ays. <»U. S. Dept. Com. and Labor, Bur. Census Bui. 16, p. 11. IRRIGATION INVESTIGATIONS. 37 The high cost is further shown by the followins: table, showing the cost of water rights under Carey Act projects in Idaho: Tabic uf Idaho Carey-Act projects, icith coat per acre and date of opening. Name of company. Marysville Canal Company American Falls Canal and I'ower Company Canyon Canal Company Twin Falls Land and Water Company Twin Falls North Side Land and Waler'Company Pratt Irriuation Company Portnouf Marsh \"alley Irrii^ation Company Twin Falls North Side Land and Water Company (second segregation) Huston Diteh Company Idaho Irri.milion Company Twin Falls Salmon River Irrigation Company Twin Falls Clover Creek Irrij:al ion Company Big Lost River Irrigation Com|)any West End Twin Falls Irrigation Company Idaho Irrigation Company {second segregation) King Hill Irrigatio!! and I'ower Company Twin Falls Oakley Irrigation Company.". Idagon Irrigation Company Twin Falls Land and W ater Company E.xtension Owyhee Irrigation Comjiany Southern Idaho Reclamation Company Date of open- Cost per acre. ing. 1898 80-20 1900 15-25 1901 25 1901 25 1907 30 1907 28 1907 35 1908 35 1908 25-35 1908 35 1908 40 1908 45 1909 40 1909 40 1909 50 1909 (J5 1909 05 1910 00 1910 05 1910 05 1910 70 Assuming then that the cost of the reclamation works represents an average for all the works now under construction, there is an increase of 327 per cent over the average cost of works built prior to 1902. The great increase in the area nndor ditch and the enormously increased cost at which the land is being brought under ditch are the dominant factors of the irrigation situation at the present time. The high cost limits settlement to persons with considerable capital, and at the same time limits the crops which may be grown to those giving large returns per acre. During the first few years after works are built maintenance charges are large, and if the lands are not settled at once these must be added to the purchase price, making the situa- tion more and more acute. The situation is this: A large area of land under expensive works, requiring immediate settlement by persons with considerable capital who must at once bring the land into a high state of productiveness. To oll'.set this, there is undoubtedly an un- usually strong desire on the part of a great many i)eople to go from the cities onto the land, to leave the life of the factory, the store, and the office for that of the independent producer. The intensive cultivation of a small area, with an assured water supply and a large and assured return appeals to them. (Jreat niiinbers of such people are buying tlic high-priced irrigated lands. They are a high class of citizens and, as a rule, they have some little capital, but generally they are ignorant of agriculture in any form, and almost universally they are totally ignorant of irrigation. They are abandoning the occupations of a lifetime for a new one of which they know nothing, 38 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. in which the expenses are so large that a few mistakes mean failure for the settlers, and the failure of the settlers means the failure of tint enterprises. The Ollice has realized fully the «rravity of the situation and there- fore has devoted the greater part of its attention for the last few years to collecting information as to the best methods of performing all the agricultural operations peculiar to farming under irrigation, and placing this information within the reach of the new settlers in the arid region. This has been done by publishing in popular form bulletins on the preparation of land for iirigation, the building of ditches and ditch structures, and applying water to the principal crops of the irrigated farms; by lectures; by personal advice when- ever possible; and by cooperating with the state experiment stations and with private parties in the maintenance and operation of experi- mental and demonstration farms. Such farms have been maintained during the past year in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Colorado. Wyoming, and North Dakota. AVhile the leading feature of the work has been the aiding of settlers in the newer regions, none of the other lines of work carried on in the past has been abandoned. Tank experiments to determine the quantities of water lost by evaporation under different methods of ai)plying water to crops and ditFerent systems of cultivation were continued, and tanks put in at several additional points. The work of demonstrating the advantages of irrigation in sections Avhere crops can be grown without it has been continued and ex- tended. In the Willamette Valley, Oregon, which has a very heavy annual rainfall, the practicability of irrigating through the summer drought has been thoroughly demonstrated and the practice of irri- gation is being extended rapidly in that valley. At Cheyenne and Newcastle, Wyo., and Eads, Colo., in the so- called "dry-farming"' region, the last few years have been seasons of much more than normal precipitation, yet the farms nuiintained at those jooints have demonstrated beyond doubt the practicability of irrigating small areas with pum^^ed water. In years of unfavorable precipitation the value of the small irrigated areas will stand out much more clearly. While the semiarid region has been enjoying an abnormally heavy precipitation the Atlantic States have been suffering from annual droughts which have created a great interest in irrigation, this interest extending from the Lakes and the St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico. From this section there has been a strong demand for advice as to methods of using water, and for the last two seasons an expert has devoted his entire time to this section, giving advice to farmers and conducting demonstrations in cooperation with farm- DRAINAGE INVESTIGATIONS. 39 ers at points scattered throughout the whole huniicl section of the country. Here, as in the newer sections of the West, the present demand is for practical directions for performing the agricultural operations connected with irrigation. In both the humid and arid sections, as irrigation becomes more generally practiced, there will be more demand for the study of the scientific questions connected with securing the largest use of the available water supply and the best development of the crops grown. Such work is now being carried on in the sections where irrigation has been practiced for a long time and the available water supply has been put to use, making extension of the irrigated area dependent upon stopping waste and more economical use. This work includes the measurement of losses of water from canals in convevintr it to the place of use and the means of checking them, including the use of canal linings of various kinds; the cleaning of canals; the use of flumes and pipes for distributing water; adaptation of methods of applying water to the character of the water supply and of the soil and subsoil in order to attain and keep up the best moisture condi- tions in the soil; the effect upon the crop of applying water in dif- ferent volumes and at different stages of the crops' development; and the effect of laws and regulations upon the use of water. The rice districts of the South have irrigation problems peculiar to themselves, which are being studied. These include pumping, con- struction of field levees, depths at which water should be maintained on fields, systems of controlling the distribution of water. Investigations of pumping are carried on throughout the United States, and an expert in that line devotes his time to giving advice on the installation and operation of pumping plants and the prepara- tion of bulletins on the subject. The construction of reservoirs for the impounding of storm and flood waters is also being studied. The authority for the irrigation investigations carried on by this Office is broad in its terms, and the purpose always in mind is to render the greatest service possible with the available funds. At present the greatest opportunity is in the section being brought under irrigation. As time passes this work will become less important, and the more scientific work will be expanded. DRAINAGE INVESTIGATIONS. The drainage of agricultural lands involves the consideration of such a number and variety of factors that to design drainage systems properly requires a knowledge of land and soil conditions obtained only by careful oliservation and no little experience. Every farmer who has desired to improve lands too wet for easy cultivation, as well as every engineer who is called upon to plan the reclamation of swamp lands or those periodically inundated by overflow from 40 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. sti-oams, has oxperiencod the need of definite knowledge upon this subject. Drainage investigations of this Office undertake to collect the avail- able information relating to agricultural drainage; to study the practice of this and other countries, learning the causes of success and of failure; to investigate the conditions allecting the design of drain- age systems; and to use the information gained in this manner for en- couraging the reclamation and improvement of wet lands. The Office also disseminates information regarding the methods and benefits of drainage, and assists landowners in devising plans for draining cer- tain areas in order to test the value of such undertakings. The need for such studies is emphasized by the increasing number of inquiries received from every part of the United States and even from other countries. Information is asked regarding the proper depth and arrangement of underdrains and open ditches, the efficiency' of drains in certain described soils, the efi'ect of drainage upon the soil and upon crop production, and the methods and costs of construction. Other inquiries relate to the computation of flow in natural water courses and in artificial channels, the coefficients to be used in the h3'draulic formulae, and the effect of bends, obstructions, and non- uniform cross sections; also to the maintenance of ditches, the pre- vention of silting and of erosion. There is much need of reliable data concerning the amount of water that should be removed from drainage areas, how this depth is related to rainfall and size of area, and how it is affected by climate, soil, and topograph}^ Many re- quests are made for personal examinations and for surveys, with defi- nite plans for the work that may be found practicable. Assistance is desired in the organization of drainage districts wdiere the cooper- ation of many landowners is necessary, in assessing the costs against property benefited, and in appraising damages, as well as in drafting general drainage laws. Much information is given by correspondence, in reply to specific inquiries. Sketches and maps are received, with descriptions of soil and topography, from which drainage plans are outlined more or less definitely by the Office engineers. P'requently from personal in- spection of the lands the engineers are able to recommend the plans to be followed and to make approximate estimates of the cost. Where necessary, drainage surveys are made by field parties, and the best plans of improvement worked out in detail. Plans prepared by local engineers are frequently submitted for the criticism or ap- proval of the Office. The exceptional experience of the department engineers enables them many times to suggest changes that will make the work planned more effective or more economical. The collection of data upon matters related to drainage is consid- ered very important. A study is made of current drainage practice DRAINAGE INVESTIGATIONS. 41 in the United States and abroad. Special examinations are made of the soils that are most difficult to reclaim, such as peat and turf lands., tidal marshes, and the heavv alluvial soils, and of the effect of drain- age upon the texture of soil. Investigations are made to determine the value of cement drain tile. Various types of excavating ma- chinery are observed, and their fitness for the different kinds of drain- age construction noted. Pumping plants are examined, and tests of their efficiency under different conditions have been made. A large part of the work of drainage investigations is making sur- veys and preparing plans for draining lands permanently wet or periodically iiumdated. These surveys are undertaken in response to requests received from individuals and from organizations for assistance in initiating or perfecting drainage improvements. A preliminary investigation is first made by one of the drainage engi- neers, who ascertains approximately the extent and nature of the survey, the manner of conducting the field work, the probable benefit to property from drainage, as well as the interest shown by tho>e who propose to carry out the project. When it is expedient for the Office to lend further assistance, a surveying party is organized. This party obtains accurate information regarding the existing water- courses, the area to be benefited, the slope and elevations of the ground surface, the proper location of new channels and levees, with any special data that may be helpful in designing the most practi- cable method of improvement. A report and maps are then pre- pared, setting forth the conditions existing, showing the proposed plan of drainage, and giving an estimate of the cost of construction. To determine the proper plan for a district, the field data should be collected with care, and good judgment must be exercised in the use of all information bearing upon the project. It is necessary to study carefully the amount and distribution of rainfall, the readiness with which water percolates through the soil, and the most practical meth- ods of excavating ditches and building levees. All the details are fully considered and so explained that the plans can be followed with confidence. The report and maps, with such profiles and other draw- ings as are required, are transmitted to the local parties interested. Owing to the increasing interest in land drainage, the number of requests for personal examinations and surveys is greater than can be met by the drainage staff, so it is necessary to select with care those projects which are most representative, and in localities where land- owners are most willing to cooperate and to carry out the work that may be found practicable. The work is done under the inunediate direction of C. G. P'lliott, chief of drainage investigations of this Office, and may be classi- fied as follows: (1) The improvement of farm lands already under cultivation, which is considered of equal importance with the recla- ■42 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. ju:ili(»u of uiicullivalod areas; {'2) the (Jiaijiai:,e ul' swamp lands permanently too wet for a0() acres of wet lands along the stream. Lake Mattanmskeet and adjacent lands, in Hyde County, X. C, were surveyed by S. H. McCrory under the supervision of J. O. AVright. The area of the lake is 50,000 acres, it is about 5 feet deep, and the mean elevation of its surface is apjoroximately 2 feet above sea level. Plans have been made for ditches and a large pumping plant to drain the lake and 70,000 acres of the surrounding land. Steps are being taken to organize the district and carry out the plan. A survey was made by H. M. Lynde, and plans have been prepared for draining 14,400 acres lying south of Moyock, N. C. The dis- trict includes some lands that have been cultivated and swamp lands on the edge of the Great Dismal S^vamp that are being cleared of timber. AVater from the swamp overflows the land, the ditches already constructed being insufficient to remove it promptly. The plans prepared recommend the improvement of the old channels and the construction of new ones that will intercept this overflow and provide adequate drainage outlets for the district. Under the supervision of J. O. Wright, survey's and examinations Avere made of 15.000 acres drained by Pantego Creek, in Beaufort County. X. C. The ditciies as planned are now being constructed. RECLAMATION OF OVERFLOWED LANDS. The survey begun by L. L. Hidinger in 1907 in the Little Wabash A^'allcy, in Illinois, was extended to include the overflowed lands on the Skillet Fork, and the field work has been completed. Levees and ditches have been phinned to protect from overflow 5:1.000 acres on the Little Wabash Kiver and 75,000 acres on the Skillet Fork, and to provide drainage channels for the protected lands. A survey of Logan Creek in six counties of Xebraska, from Wake- field to the Elklioin Kiver, was made by Lawrence Brett; the bottom lands to be drained are about 5:>,000 acres. Xew channels have been designed for i considerable part of the distance to relieve the main channel and to provide drainage for the lowlands back from the 44 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. crock. The rcjiort lias boon Iriuisinitlod to (ho hoards of county com- niissionors and to (ho oflicors of tlio ])i-ovisi()nal (h-aiiia^'c oi'i^anization. Un(k'r tlio siiporvisioii of W. .). McKatliron, S. II. McC'rorv made a siirvov of the flooded lamls alonijf the V'orniilion Kivor in Turner and Chiy counties. S. Dale, ohlainod •rairiii'Ts of the flow durinf; a period of very hig^h water, and jin^pared plans for the levees and ditches that will bo n'<|uirci| to protect and drain 18.000 acres. The Mulberry Kivor. in Jackson County, Ga., is typical of the smaller streams in the South, which are crooked and obstructed and therefore do not remove the excess rainfall quickly enough to pro- vent injury to crops. L. L. Ilidinijor made a survey to determine the feasibility of improving this stream, and planned the work necessary to give the channel sufficient capacity to prevent overflow and to drain the fortilo bottom lands. Under W. J. McEathron's supervision, H. A. Kipp conducted a survey of lands drained by Silver Creek, in Merrick County, Nebr., which are typical of the bottom lands of the Platte River. The old channels are so tortuous and obstructed that entirely new straight channels have been designed which will drain the 50,000 acres now subject to overflow. Examinations were made of the lands inundated b}' flood waters from White River, in Jackson County, Ark. Lines for proposed levees were located along this river and along Village Creek, and ditches were planned to protect and drain 26,000 acres now largely unproductive. Under the supervision of A. E. Morgan, F. F. Shafer examined some 270.000 acres in Lawrence, Randolph, and Jackson counties, Ark., drained by Village Creek and Running Water Creek. Surveys were made and plans and estimates were prepared for reclaiming 50,000 acres by ditches, new channels, and some short levees along Black River. This Office directed the survey of about 180,000 acres in Jefferson and Arkansas counties, Ark., for the reclamation of the wet and overflowed land along Plum Bayou and Bayou Meto. The plans have been prepared by local engineers and submitted to this Office for examination and approval. S. H. ^IcCrory has made a survey of Salt Creek, in Nebraska, from above Lincoln to the Platte River, near Ashland. The conges- tion of flood waters at Lincoln, and the necessity of including valu- able city property in the district, make the ]:)roblem one of unusual difliculty, requiring the greatest care in determining the most prac- ticable design. The plans will outline the work necessary to control the floods and protect about 20,000 acres of agricultural land. J. V. Phillips has made a survey and located the line for a short levee along Cape Fear River, in Bladen County, X. C., to prevent DI^AINAGE INVESTIGATIONS. 45 tho imindntion of Lvon Swnnip. He also preioared a plan for the drainage of the swamp comprising G.OOO acres. A survey has been made by H. A. Kipp to determine the work necessary for ])rotecting against annual overflow and draining the bottom lands of the Tuscumbia Kiver, in Prentiss and Alcorn coun- ties, Miss., amounting to 23.000 acres. The report of D. G. Miller, giving plans for levees to protect from overflow lands in Kichland County, 8. C, on the Congaree Kiver, below Columbia, has been revised to provide against floods equal to that of 11)08, and has been transmitted to the landowners most interested. DRAINAGE OF IRRIGATED LANDS. The work of drainage investigations in tho irrigated lands of Utah and Colorado has been done under the supervision of C. F. Brown, who has been assisted by R. A. Hart, D. G. Miller, and H. R. Elliott. Many localities have been examined and drainage ])lans outlined. Surveys have been made, and the construction of the drains Avatched and directed, in order to study the movement of the water in the soil and to learn how it can best be intercepted or removed. Such surveys have been made of several new tracts in Utah. Plans were prepared for a district of 1,000 acres near Venice, and examinations were made of injured fruit lands in the (Jreen Kiver Valley near Vernal. On the tracts in Emery and Washington counties, where previous efi'orts of this Office have been but partially successful, further studies are being conducted. Plans have been made for the drainage of a number of tracts in western Colorado in the vicinity of Grand Junction, Delta, and Montrose. The drains are installed by the landowners, and the injured areas are being reclaimed in almost every instance. A drain- age survey was made of the California Mesa, near Delta, showing the areas needing drainage, and general plans will be made for imj)roving these lands and preventing further injury. The investi- gations in the San Luis Valley have been continued, where the interest in drainage is rapiiUy increasing. C. (i. Elliott visited Yakima County, Wash., to examine the Wajjato irrigation project in company with the Reclamation Service eiigineer.s. A drainage plan was submitted to the Department of the Interior for reclaiming the 43,000 acres of this project now injured by .seepage and alkali, and for keej^ing other lands from being affected. L. L. Hidinger has nuule investigations of conditions in {\\v Kio (irandc ^^llley in Texas, where the need of drainage is being forced upon the attention of all people interested in agriculture. Low areas have become saturated with water from higher irrigated land, and in 46 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. tnanv i)laceH tlio acciimiilation of alkali is clestrovin«j: the useful plants. To reiiiovo tho alkali and llie excess water thoronirh drainafre is iieeessarv. (Jeiieral reports of (he eoiiditioiis have been made to the Olliee, ami surveys of some of the tracts most injiiied have been made, from which have been prepared drainajre plans to be submitted to the owners. COLLECTION OF DATA ON DRAINAGE. C. G. Elliott spent two months invest iijatino" drainaire practice in northern Europe. He visited the fen lands of Enfrhind, examining^ soil conditions, jiumpinf; plants, and the arranulletin series of the Dei^irtment and gives a popular summary of some of the more salient practical results of the work of the experiment stations. (3) Publications relating to the food and mitrition of man, consisting of technical and popular bulletins, circulars, etc., reporting or based upon the results of nutrition investigations conducted under the 52 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. auspices of the Offlro. (4) Piiblifntions rohiliufr to ii-rinfation and dniiiia«2:e, which inchide reports, leclinicnl and ])0[)idar bulletins, circulars, etc., «i:iviMir (he rcsidts of (he ii ii<2:a(ioii and draina«:re in- vest i^a(ions of the Ollice. (.")) Educational and other publications, including; those relating to agricultural education in general, farm- ers"' institutes, proceedings of the Association of American Agricul- tural Colleges and P^xperiment Stations, and of the Association of Farmers' Institute Workers and similar publications, and the card index of experiment station literature, besides miscellaneous docu- ments of various kinds. The editorial management of the publica- tions of the Office, with the exception of the Exi^eriment Station Record, is in charge of Mr. W. U. Beal. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1000, the Department pub- lished 57 documents prepared by this Office, not including revised reprints, separates, etc., aggregating 3,412 pages, as compared with C8 documents aggregating 3,839 pages the previous year. These documents included IG numbers of the Experiment Station Record, 14 technical bulletins, a bulletin of the Porto Rico Experiment Sta- tion. 2 reports of the Office, G Farmers' Bulletins (including 5 num- bers of I-Cxperiment Station Work), 5 circulars, 12 monthly lists of experiment station publications, and a farmers' institute lecture. Two other numbers of the Experiment Station Record, 4 technical bulle- tins, 1 annual report of the Office, 3 Farmers' Bulletins, 1 article for the Yearbook of the department, and several miscellaneous docu- ments, containing about 1,150 pages, were prepared and submitted for publication before the close of the fiscal year. Thirteen separates of individual articles contained in larger reports aggregating 463 pages, were reprinted in editions of varying size to supply requests for the articles. Several of the earlier technical and Farmers' Bulletins prepared in this Office were exhausted during the year and were reprinted, wnth more or less important additions and corrections. It will be noted that there was a considerable reduction in the number and volume of the publications issued by the Office during 1909 as compared with the previous year, and this was brought about in the face of a steady growth in the work of the Office and in the demand for its publications by an earnest effort to reduce the publica- tion work just as much as efficient performance of the functions of the Office would permit. Experiment Station Record was issued as heretofore under the editorial management of Dr. E. W. Allen. The plan of publishing the Record was, however, changed so that hereafter two volumes of smaller size will be issued in place of the single annual volume. Each volume will include six regular num- bers, two abstract numbers, and an index number, and this arrange- PUBLICATIONS. 53 nient will provide considerably more space for the publication of reviews of work in agricultural science. The amount of this material is increasing, and in the space formerly available it was found impossible to keep the reviews published up to date. The editorial statl' was reorganized and strengthened during the year. T4ie requests for the Record from private individuals have greatly increased in recent years, and, as might be expected, an increased demand has resulted from the opening of new agricultural schools and courses. A larger call has likewise come from department men and from branches of the Department located away from Washing- ton. This gain has made it necessary to scrutinize very carefully the requests which have come, especially those from individuals, and to adhere strictly to the limitations of the free distribution of this journal. All requests from individuals not directly connected with agricultural investigation in this country or collaborating with the Department are referred to the Superintendent of Documents, through whom subscription may be arranged for. A large call for back numbers of the Record has come from libraries and station workers who are attempting to complete their files for binding. The supply of these earlier issues is very limited and quite fragmentary, but it has been materially increased by dupli- cates returned by libraries and individuals who appreciate their scarcity and value. In this way the numbers have been put into the hands of persons who especially prize them, and who could not procure them otherwise. The Record is yearly increasing in popu- larity and in value as a source of information on the progress of agricultural experiment and research, and its files now furnish a record of such work not to be found elsewhere, which is of great importance to investigators who are looking wp a subject and plan- ning their work. The demand for the Record from abroad increases steadily, and many warm expressions of appreciation of it come from that quarter. Request has come from the Annales de ITnstitut National Agro- nomi(|ue, the organ of the French experiment stations and laborato- ries, for permission to translate from the Record articles of special in- terest to that country. This request was granted, and the journal has reprinted large portions of the Record entire. By reason of this new source of material, as the editor of the Annales explains, it is now being issued montlily instead of bimonthl^^ Its connnents on the character of the Record have been most appreciative. A scientific society in Hungary has lately requested an exchange of the Record with its journal, and has offered to translate for the Record articles on agricultural chemistry and similar matters. The De[)artment now receives over 180 periodicals in exchange for the Record, many of which are foreign. These exchanges aid materially in keeping the 54 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. review coniprelieiisivo. and represent a considerable saving in expense to tlie department libra 'y. Experiment Station Work was i-.sued as ii>ual under the editorial direction of Mr. W. 11. lieal. This series of publications in a measure supplements Experiment Station Record by piescntinrojcH'ts are hirije and exjx'nsive, atid couhl oidy have l)een undertaken with such a special fund. The simpler problems in a»!;riculture have many of them been worked out, so that the field of invest i<;ation now leads into a more intricate and difficult line of in- vest iijat ion. The successful develoi)ment of these ])rojects requires research ability of a high degree, and calls for consideral)le amounts of money to give the work the necessary scope and to })rovide the special apparatus and other facilities which are needed. Everything considered, the research work under the Adams fund is in a gratifying condition, and has alread}' become a factor of the greatest importance in the usefulness of the experiment statitms. As this research is extender. I^. W. llil^ard. ])i-()t\'.->()r I'lut'iiliis in ihi> I iiivcr^ily of Cali- fornia and director of tlu' cxiKMiiiicnt .-.(atioii from its estahli^hiiient ill IS?.') tip to a frw yi'ars a^o. retired fi-oin active serviees in the suminer of 1!»()'.>. under (he provisions of the Carne<^ie Foundation. Doctor IIil<2:ar(l was another of the foremost pioneers in a year-olds, and the study of the economy of (iiushiii^ cattle on southern jjastures, supplemented by cotton-seed cake. l*i«::-feedin«2: experiments were carried on to compare finishin<; with irrain versus grain and trreen crops, such as soy beans and jieanuts. With sheep some feedin work mentioned, the station con- ducted soil tests with cotton, corn, alfalfa, and other crops in coopera- tion with farmers, and studied dairy conditions in the State in con- junction with the Dairy Division of this Department. The following publications of the station were received during the year: Bulletins 143, Feeds supplementary to corn for southern pork production; 144, The San Jose scale and lime-sulphur wash; and 145, Local fertilizer experiments with cotton in 1895, 180(), 1897, and 1898; Index to Vol. XIV, Bulletins 135-138, and Annual Keport. 1906; and Index to Vol. XV, Bulletins 139-141, and Annual Keport, 1907. The income of the station during the past fiscal year Avas as follows: Unltefl States apitropriation. Hatch Act .$1.". 000 United States api)roi)riation, Adams Act 11,000 Total 20,000 A report of the receipts and expenditures for the United States funds has been rendered in accordance Avith the schedules prescribed by this Department; the salary roll required readjustment before the account could be approved, which left an unexpended balance of $800 on the Hatch fund and of $400 on the Adams fund. The Alabama Station has in hand lines of work wliich are of great importance to the agriculture of the State, and is making progress; but its general eifect is w^eakened by a lack of unity of action and of directness in the supervision of its affairs. A further differentiation of its work and funds from those of instruction, inspection, and ex- tension is desirable, and a stronger central organization would make the station a more effective agent in the interest of Alabama agri- culture. Canebrake Agricultural Experiment Station, luiontairn. F. I). Stkvins, p.. S., Dircrfor. The Canebrake Station continued its work along the same general lines as in the previous year. No changes were made in the station staff, nor in the management of the station in general. The principal activities during the year were confined to fertilizer tests with cotton, cover crops, and culture trials with alfalfa. The work on the cotton lands showed that the poor, red, prairie upland .soils can be maintained or improved by the use of crops for green manuring at short intervals. The profitableness of growing alfalfa ALABAMA, 73 in the Canebrake region has also been demonstrated, and the culture of the crop is being taken up more extensively by the farmers. The results of the soil-improvement work indicate the need of nitrogen and of humus-forming material as v»ell. Bulletin '2(k Fertilizer tests with cotton — Cover crops — Alfalfa yields, was received b}^ this Oilice dui'ing the j'ear. The income of the station during the past fiscal year was as follows : Balance from previous year $1,087.56 State appropriation 2, 500. 00 Farm products 1, 550. 45 Total 5, 13S. 01 The station receives no federal funds. The principal objects of the Canebrake Station are to demonstrate the value and profitableness of practical and rational methods of farming, and through these endeavors the institution is growing m popularity and api)reciation. Tuskegee Agricultural Experiment Station, Tuskegce Institute. Department of the Tuskejjjee Normal and Industrial Institute. idt> it secures are appreciated as being of great benefit to farmers in touch with the institution. 74 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. ALASKA. Alaska Agricultural Experiment Stations. Sill:ii. KniHttk. J.'iiniiKtrl. and F(iirhiiiil:s. I'ndcr the siipcivisidu of A. (". Trm'. Diri'dur. (Mlicf of lO.xpcriuient Stations, Initc'il Stall's Departuieiit of Agriculture. ('. C Gkorgk.so.n. M. S., S/xTidl .[(!< lit ill Vhargc, Sitka. The general policy of the Alaska stations as outlined in i)revioiis reports was continued. The most important change was the tem- l)orarv closing of the Copper Center Station. This was done for several reasons, among them its isolation, which made the trans- portation of supplies very expensive; insufficient rainfall during the growing season ; early frosts, due to the proximity of high mountains; and the desire to develop the P'airbanks Station, where a larger population had already become established. The station at Copper Center had been maintained for six j'ears, and while some success had been met with in growing cereals in favorable seasons, in other vears all grains were destroyed bv early frosts. The practicability of growing hardy vegetables in the Cop- per River Valley was fully demonstrated, and with the rapid settling of the Tanana Valley it was thought desirable to close the Copper Center Station and transfer the implements and movable equipment to P\iirbanks, where work was actively begun during the summer of 1909. Sixty acres were cleared and brought under cultivation at this station, a number of buildings were erected, and a portion of the reservation is now fenced. A fairly good equipment of implements and tools has been provided for this station, and it is intended to prove or disprove the possibility of profitable farming in that por- tion of Alaska. At the Kampart Station IG acres are under cultivation, and the past season was a favorable one to all crops. Out of 05 varieties of grain seeded, 57 matured their entire crop, and a portion of the crop of others was ripened sufficientl}' for seed purposes. The results ob- tained at IJampart are in line with those of the past eight years, and show that grain can be brought to maturity in the Yukon Valley Avithout serious liability to failure. The live-stock work is centered at Kodiak, where the Galloway herd has been kept. A portion of the herd is kept near the village of Kodiak and is used for experiments in dairying, while the larger number of animals have been transferred to Calsinsky Bay, where a large tract has been fenced, buildings erected, and the work of cattle breeding installed on a considerable scale. The cattle wintered satis- factorily without any shelter other than that afforded by an open shed. During the summer they grazed on native grasses and were fed during the winter exclusively on hay and silage made from native grasses. Some difficulty has been experienced from an epidemic of contagious ARIZONA. 75 abortion, and a number of cattle died from impaction of the third stomach, ahhough they were fed sihige and hay in about equal quan- tities and were given all the water they would drink. The horticultural investigations continued to be the chief lines of work at the Sitka Station. Considerable attention is being given to introductions, but the most promising investigations are along the lines of plant breeding. A large number of hybrid strawberries have been produced by crossing a cutivated variety with pollen from the wild species. These plants have been under observation for some time, and some very excellent fruits have been obtained in the first generation. Crosses have also been made between the cultivated raspberry and the native salmon berry, the wild plant being used as the staminate parent. The station is devoting considerable attention to the propagation and distribution of small fruits and is making attempts to secure varieties of apples, cherries, and plums adapted to Alaskan conditions. But a few changes were made in the personnel of the Alaska stations during the year. Herman G. Zoellner was transferred from the Bureau of Plant Industry of this Department as propagator and gardener, with headquarters at Sitka, and Laurence Kelly was apj)ointed assistant at the stock breeding station at Kodiak. As a result of the closing of the Copper Center Station, C. W. H. Heideman was furloughed at his own request and C. W. Heideman, jr., resigned. The only publication of the station for 1009 was the Annual Report. The income of the station during the fiscal vear was as follows: United suites :ii)i)roiiriation .$20,000.00 Farm products 3, 612. 2:J Total 21). 012. 23 The work of the Alaska stations is of great importance in attempt ing to develop the agriculture of that region. Through their investi- gations, demonstration work, and distribution of seeds and plants they are performing an important function in determining agricultural possibilities, in aiding settlers, .and in determining what plants and what varieties will succeed best in that Territory. ARIZOISTA. Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Arizona. Tiirson. Department of the University of Arizona. K. II. FOBBKS, .M. S,. Director. Several changes in the staff of the Arizona Station took place dur- ing the year ending June 30, 11)05>. F. C. Kelton was appointed assistant engineer in underground water supi)ly investigations. A. W. Morrill, of this Department, was appointed entomologist, pro- 76 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. vitliiint of tbe University of Arkansas. C. F. Ai).\MS, B. Agr., A. M., M. 1 ).. Dinilor. The principal changes in the organization of the .Vrkansas Station during the past fiscal year were brought about by the resignation of W. G. Vincenheller as director, on November 1, and of R. R. Din- 78 KKPOHT OK OFFICE OF KXPEHIMENT STATIONS. widdie ;is |)ath()l()<;ist :iiul l).i(U'ri(>l(i«£is(. ;i( the floso of tlu' year. (\ V. Adams, (lie t'iit()iiM)l(), P^uca- lyptus in California; 107, Grape culture in California. — Improved methods of wine making. — Yeasts from California grapes; 198, The grape leaf-hopper; 101), Bovine tuberculosis; 200, Gum disease of citrus trees in California; and 201, Commercial fertilizers; and Cir- culars 35, Southern California pathological laboratory and citrus experiment station ; 38, The Argentine ant in California ; and 39,^ Instruction in practical agriculture at the university farm. Davis, Cal. The income of the station during the past fiscal year was as follows: I'nitod States nijproiiri.ition, Ilatcli Act $1."). 000. 00 United States apiirupriation, Adams Act 11,000.00 State appropriation 99, 067. 90 Fees, including balance from previous year 19, 200. 48 Farm laoducts, including balance from previous year_- 2S, 853. 24 Miscellaneous 37, 777. 24 Total 210, 898. 86 A report of the receipts and expenditures for the United States funds has been rendered in accordance with the schedules prescribed by this Department and has been approved. The work of the California Station was developed in many im- portant lines during the year. It was greatly strengthened by added facilities offered by the farm at Davis, and is now being largely focused around three centers, Berkeley, Davis, and Whittier, in southern California. COLORADO. Agricultural Experiment Station, Fort Collins. Department of the State Agricultural College of Colorado. L. G. Carpenter, M. S., Director. The work of this station during the year was along the same general lines as in previous years, but a number of changes in personnel and some improvement in equipment were made. Wendell Paddock, hor- An. Rpt. Office of Experiment Stations, 1909 Plate II. Fig. 1.— New Irrigation Engineering Building, Colorado College and Station. Cuntuin.s ottU-e of director of the station. Fig. 2.— Highmoor Farm Buildings at Monmouth, Me. Purcha.sed bv the State for the use of the Maine Station. COLORADO. 83 ticultuiist, resigned to become professor of horticulture in Ohio State University, and B. (). Longyear, botanist, was made also acting horti- culturist. A successor to W. Jj. Carlyle, aninuil husbandman, was not chosen during the year, but the work in horse breeding, in co- operation with the Bureau of Animal Industry of this Department, to which he had given special attention, was carried on by J. O. "Wil- liams, the department representative, pending the reorganization of the animal husbandry department of the station. Fritz Knorr, as- sistant agronomist, resigned to go into private business. Agronomy, with Alvin Keyser in charge, bacteriology, with W. G. Sackett in charge, and animal husbandry, were organized as inde- pendent departments of the station during the year. Since the close of tlie year, P]. R. Bennett, formerly in charge of potato investiga- tions, has been made professor of horticulture in the college. A poul- tryman, W. E. A'aplon. was added to the station staff. C. A. Lory, professor of physics and electrical engineering in the college, was made president of the college, and A. JNI. Hawley was succeeded by L. ]M. Taylor as secretary of the state board of agriculture (the gov- erning board of the college and station), and disbursing officer of the college and the station. The federal funds were supplemented by a state appropriation of $53,000 for the biennial period ending December 1, 1910, including $8,000 for investigations in plant industry, $10,000 for horticultural investigations, $10,000 for investigations in animal husbandry, $5,000 for horse Ijreeding, $.").000 for poultry investigations, $10,000 for potato investigations, and $5,000 for investigations in farm mechanics. The last legi>lature also passed an act establishing a substation at Cheyenne Wells. A new building (PI. II, fig. 1) to cost $40,000 and to be used for instruction in civil and irrigation engineering and for station and farmers' institute work, was nearly completed, and an agronomy building (seed and crop house) was completed during the year. A project system for recording lines of work of station investi- gation was inauirurated. AVork was done during the year on five Adams fund projects be- gun in previous years, but no ncAv projects were undertaken. Inves- tigations on the composition and digestibility of hays (especially saltbush) were practically^ completed and a bulletin on the subject was published." The study of the relation of bees to transmission of blight was temporarily suspended. AVork on the wheat project was temporaril}' suspende Miscellaneous 19, 349. 50 Total GO, 876. 89 A report of the receipts and expenditures for the United States funds has boon rendered in accordance with the schedules prescribed by this Department and has been approved. The work of the Colorado Station has been well maintained during the year notwithstanding numerous changes in personnel and organi- zation. That its work is aj)preciated is shown by the fact that it is well supported by state appropriation. The conditions and agri- cultural interests of the State are, however, extremely varied, and the station has a very wide field to cover. CONNECTICUT. The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, yew Haven. E. H. Jenkins, Ph. I)., Director. The vear was marked bv many changes in the station staff. H. E.. Stevens resigned as chemist and was succeeded by C. W. Rodman, who also resigned during the year and was succeeded by R. B. Roe. A. F. Hawes, station and state forester, accepted a similar position in Ver- mont. E. M. East, in charge of plant-breeding work, accepted an as- sistant professorship at Harvard University. C. E. Shepard was appointed chemi.st, vice C. A. Brautlecht, resigned, and S. N. Spring and W. O. Filley were appointed forester and assistant forester, re- spectively. The botanist of the station was detailed to go to Japan for the purpose of securing a fungus parasitic on the gipsy moth, which he was successful in introducing. The State made an appropriation of $80,000 for the building and equij)mont of a fire-proof addition to the station laboratory to pro- vide especially for the accommodation of the chemical work. An appropriation of $500 was also made for apiary insjioction. This work, relating ospocially to foul brood, was placed in charge of the station entomologist in his capacity as state entomologist. Tiio work under the Adams fund, as heretofore, was limited to investigations on vegolabic j)rotei(ls and to work in plant breeding. The projects on the vogotablo i)roteids have progressed and prelimi- nary stops were taken to evolv(> suital)lo motiiods for studying the metabolic balance when these protoids are used in feeding experi- ments, together with fats and carbohydrates. The Carnegie Institu- 86 HKI'OHT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. tioii continued its jrriiiil (o llio station for this roscai'ch work. Four papers, inchulin ve, HOO. 00 State appropriation 1. 800. 00 Balance from previous year, state appropriation 1.18 Miscellaneous, including; balance from previous year 048.06 Total 15; 449. 24 A report of the receipts and expenditures for the United States funds has been rendered in accordance with the schedules prescribed by this Department and has been approved. The policy of the Storrs Station in concentrating its efforts along a few important lines is proving valuable in the character of the w^ork done and the importance of the results obtained. DELAWARE. The Delaware College Agricultural Experiment Station, \rirark. Department of Delaware College. H. Hayward, M. S. Agr., Director. Much progress w'as made at this station during the year in per- fecting organization, improving equipment, and developing lines of work. C. O. Houghton, formerly entomologist of the station, was DELAWARE. 89 transferred entirely to college work, while M. T. Cook, plant patholo- gist, and Firman Thompson, chemist, were relieved of all college work. H. D. Eggers. a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, was appointed assistant chemist, and Jacob Taubenhaus, a graduate of Cornell University, assistant plant pathologist. C. L. Peimy, formerly chemist of the station, but recently professor of chemistry at Pennsylvania State College, returned to the Delaware College at the close of the year as professor of chemistry, succeeding T. R. Wolff, deceased. A state api)ropriation of $10,000 for new farm buildings became available during the year, and the much-needed improvements of this kind have been l)egun. Progress was also made especially in estab- lishing orchards on the farm, extending the field experimental work, constructing tanks for studying the fertilizer requirements of orchard fruits, improving facilities for veterinary investigations, and in pro- viding better laboratory rooms for the chemist. The work prosecuted during the year with the funds provided by the Adams Act included a continuation of investigations on functions of tannin in plants, double blossom disease of the genus Rubus, anthrax, and glanders. Several new ijrojects were planned which were not actively entered upon during the year. Certain jihases of the investigations on tannin and double blossom are approaching completion. In the investigations on anthrax the station cooperated with the Bureau of Animal Industry of this Department. In addition to the Adams fund projects named, the station con- ducted variety tests of wheat, corn, oats, soy beans, and cowpeas; and experiments with fertilizers and lime and Avith crops in a four-year rotation; on the relation of typical corn kernels to chemical composi- tion and vigor of the corn plant; on the stooling habit of different varieties of winter wheat; on various lime-bearing materials and their efficiency in overcoming .soil acidity and increasing the yields of field croi)s; on the ellect of different forms of lime on the de- composition of the organic matter of the soil and the consequent liberation of nitrogen; tiie best date for planting late potatoes in northern Delaware and the effect of various fertilizers on potatoes and tomatoes; the effect of various cover crops on peaches; Bordeaux injury to apples; and rotation systems with potatoes and tomatoes. Experiments on the effect of close !)reeding on swine have been started. The extension work of the station was limited entirely to occasional lectures and some farmers' institute work. A very successful '* farm- ers' day" was held at the college and station during the summer of 1900, about 150 persons attending and inspecting the work of the station. 90 HKPUHT OF OFFICE OF EXPKHIMKNT STATIONS. 'I'lic publications of the station diiriii"; the year inchided Bulletins 82, Report on forest conditions in Delaware and a forest policy for the State; (S;}, Diseases of field crops in Delawaic in r.)()7; 84, Annnal report of the director for the fiscal yejir ending June 80. 1908; and 85, Sprayinc: for brown-rot of the peach. 1008. The income of the station durin*; the past fiscal year was as follows : liiitod States apinoin-iatioii. Hatch Act $!."», 0(K). DO United States approitriiitioii, Adams Act 11,(K)0. (X) Farm products 1, 984. G3 Miscellaneous 228. 90 Total 28, 213. 53 A report of the receipts and expenditures for the United States funds has been rendered in accordance with the schedules prescribed b}'^ this Department and has been approved. The Delaware Station was greatly strengthened during the year for both scientific and practical work of great imjjortance to the State. This was due to improvement of both farm and laboratory equi[mient, enlargement of the staff, and clearer diti'erentiation of college and station duties. The equipment of the former with suit- able buildings will greatly enlarge the scope and increase the efficiency of the experimental work of the station. FLORIDA. Agricultural Experiment Station of Florida, Gainesville. Department of the University of the State of Florida. P. II. Rolfs, M. S., Director. The Florida Station made further progress during the year in establishing itself in its new location. Greenhouses, stables for the horticultural department, and barns for the agricultural department were constructed and much of the land was put into shape. The sta- tion farm is entirely separated from that of the college and has its own animals, pastures, fields, and equipment. A number of changes occurred on the station staff. II. S. Fawcett, the assistant plant pathologist, was made plant pathologist. A. Dickinson, Avho sncceeded W. Hess as gardener on Jidy 7, resigned October 1. E. P. Green Avorked as assistant in entomology and Thomas Hamilton as assistant in plant pathology for a number of months during the year. At the close of the fiscal year O. F. Burger commenced work as assistant in plant pathology, B. B. Ezell as as- sistant in phiut physiology, and S. H Collison as assistant in chemistry. The members of the station staff devote themselves almost exclusively to station work, having but little connection W'ith teach- FLORIDA. 91 ing or other work. The $40,000 appropriated b}' the last legislature for a new station building did not become availal)le until some time after the close of the fiscal year, when work on the new structure was begun. The Adams fund projects of the station were all carried forward during the year. Results obtained in connection with studies of diseases of citrus fruits indicate that the scaly-bark disease is due to a fungus and that the malady is aggravated by the wither-ti}) fungus which attacks the diseased portions. Means of control were studied in a private orchard. By producing the disease through inoculation it was shown that the scab attacking the fruit and leave.s of sour orange, satsumas. and grape fruit is due to a fungus. A bacterium accompanying the gumming of citrus trees was studied as a possible cause of the malady. In following uj) the i)roject on parasites of the white fly as a means of control, it was found that '2 species of the insect occur and that one of them {Aleyrodes nuhifera) is readily attacked by the yellow fungus. Spraying trees with spores of the yellow and red fungus Avas found effective in destroying the larva\ and the method has already been taken up commercially (PI. Ill, fig. 1). The spores for the sprays were drawn from the laboratory or obtained from affected leaves. The studies in plant nutrition with reference to physiological dis- eases, carried on with cassava and citrus fruits, showed that such citrus diseases as die-back, yellow spot, melanose, and frenching are not caused by an organism, but are due to malnutrition. A deep russet- ing of the orange was found due to fertilizers and especially to those furnishing ammonia. The j)ineai)ple work in connection with the study of soils and fertilizers in relation to plant growth and develojiment was con- tinued, and a rejjort on the results of analysis of the fruit is about ready for printing. No special effect of any particular fertilizer was observed, but different amounts seemed to affect the composition. Steps liave been taken to study the effect of fertilizer ingredients on citrus fruits. The station al^o has in progress a number of lines of work sup- ported by the Hatch fund. The horticultural department studied and largely worked out the embryology of the mango and also made some studies on the preparation of guava jelly. The l)otanical department gave attention to the improvement and selection of let tuce and celery for disease resistance, and also conducted breeding work with the velvet bean to jiroduce a bush form. Other lines of phint improvement carried on li\- lh(> station are cotton breeding for length of stajjle. >iJkiiiess. and naj): breeding a type of corn adapted to the State: introducing and acclimatizing the Lyon bean brought 92 REPORT OF OFFICE OF KXPKRIMKNT STATIONS. from tlie IMiilippinos; and field experiments with s(H-«>:liiinis and other gnisses and foi'a<;e crops (1*1. III. li^. 'J). The animal husbandman tlevoted his attention larfrely to eomparinj; Florida -: cowpeas and other le<^uminous crops and grasses, and with the Bureau of Chemistry in studying the sugar content of sugar corn in Florida. The director, as super- intendent of farmers' institutes, simke at nearly all of the 55 insti- tutes held during the year, while other monibers of the station staff addressed comparatively few of these gatherings. The publications received from the station during the year were as follows: Bulletins, 1)4, Fungus diseases of scale insects and white fly; 95, Dwarf Essex rape for winter forage; 9G, Steer feeding; 97, White fly studies in 1908; 98, Scaly bark of citrus; and the Annual Rei)ort for 1908. The income of the station for the i>ast fiscal year was as follow^s: I'liitcd States iippropriation. Hatch Act $15,000.00 T'niti'd States appropriation, Adams Act 11.000.00 Balance from incidental fund Hi. 50 Farm products, int-ludinfr fees 913.91 Total 20. 980. 41 A report for the receipts and expenditures for the United States funds has been rendered in accordance with the schedules prescribed by this Department and has been approved. ^ The Florida Station in general is well organized and equipped and shows the effect of efficient management, left mainly to the station experts. It has a loyal following, and since it removed to the new location its mailing list has grown from 2,500 to 11,000 names. GEORGIA. Georgia Experiment Station, Experiment.'^ Department of Georgia State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. M. V. Calvin, Dircetor. The lines of work at the Georgia Station were not materially changed during the year. The only change in the station staff re- sulted from the resignation of the dairyman and animal pathologist, C. L. Willoughby. Most of the Adams fund projects were continued, but one or two were discontinued or held in abeyance through lack of material. The « Telegraph, freight, and express address, Griffin. An. Rpt. Office of Expenn-.en! Stations, 1909. Plate III. Fig. 1.— Spraying a White-fly Infested Orange Grove with Spores of a Fungus Injurious to the Fly, Florida Station. Fig. 2.— Japanese Sugar Cane at the Florida Station. < inc of the best forage crop.s for the State, GEORGIA. 93 botanical department continued the studies on cotton anthracnose and the investigations on Mendelian and De Vriesian laws in appli- cation to the cotton plant. Attention was mainly given to determin- ing how the organism causing anthracnose lives over winter, and to the growing of cotton ])lants for the selection and breeding of re- sistant strains or varieties. The particular features to which resistance may be due were also studied. The bacteriological department took up the stud}^ of the effect of stable manure on the bacterial flora of soils. The number of bacteria in treated and untreated soils was determined, the changes in the predominance of species noted, and the ability of the treated and untreated soils to nitrify cotton-seed meal and sulphate of ammonia was compared. Work on the Texas fever project was begun in December. The coMS under observation had had Texas fever and the work Avas under- taken merely to determine the effect of the ticks on the blood and the general condition of the animal due to their presence. The horticulturist took up the project on the application of Men- del's law in hybridizing black and white varieties of Muscadine grape. The work on the wilt of the Japanese plum, which was under way, W'as again taken up. The inquiry into a new feeding standard for cattle by means of the nitrogen balance was repeated with eight calves. This work consisted of frequent digestion experiments and of tests of the metabolized nitrogen. Under the Hatch fund, the animal husbandman conducted feeding experiments with milch cows for the purpose of comparing a ration made up of cotton-seed meal, cotton-seed hulls, and oat straw with one consisting of corn silage, cotton-seed meal, and oat straw. The results of this test were not very decisive, but taking into consider- ation the cost of the rations and the health of the cows, the use of silage was found preferable. A test w^as also made of silage as a summer feed, and a comparison of rations with and Avithout corn meal. At the present high prices, corn meal was not found to be an economical suninier feed. In a feeding experiment with hogs, special attention was given to testing the value of S03' beans in the ration. The dairy department studied the conditions required for making fermented beverages with starters furnished by the manufacturers. A studv of buttermilk showed that the buttermilk made bv churning whole milk contained nnich more fat than that obtained from churn- ing cream. It was concluded that this difference accounted for the difference in palatability. The horticultural department recorded the time of blossoming of eighty or more varieties of peaches and also made records of various other kinds of fruit. Culture, fertilizer, and variety tests were con- 94 KEPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPEKIMENT STATIONS. (luctod with cabbn'rc. toinntoi's. strawbrrrios. melons, .ind sweet potntoi's. Field experiments were carried on aloiiir former lines. Cidture, fertilizer, and variety tests were made with cotton, corn, wheat, and oats. The department of a«!:ronomy has about 00 acres at its disposal for experimental purposes. Ill rJanuary, lOtM), a dairy extension dej)artment was ()r<::anized, the dairy division of the l^ureau of Animal Industry, of this Department, cooperatinof with the station in this work. Observations were made on the milk production of difleient cows and other dairy matters. The following jiublications were received from this station durint^ the year: Bulletins SO, Cooperative dairy investigations; 81, The effect of carbonates upon nitrilication ; 82, Sugar corn and tomatoes; and 83, The Mendelian and De Vriesian laws applied to cotton Itreed- ing; and the Annual Report for 1008. The income of the station during the past fiscal year was as fol- lows : United States appropriation. Hatch Act iflo. 000. 00 I'nitcd States apiiropriation. Adams Act 1 1, 000. 00 State appropriation 710. 10 Farm products, includinj; live stocli 4,612.47 Balance from previous .year, farm products 1,341.09 Total 32,663.60 A report of the receipts and expenditures for the United States funds has been rendered in accordance with the schedules prescribed by this Department and has been approved. The Georgia Station is conducted in an orderly way and is follow- ing a number of lines of work of both practical and theoretical importance. GUAM. Guam Agricultural Experiment Station. Under the supervision of A. C. True, Director. Office of Experiment Stations, United States Dejiartmeiit of Aj^riculture. Joiix I>. Thompson, P>. S., ^itee'ml Agent in Clinrgc. The work of the Guam Station during 1909 was largely that of a pioneer nature. Toward the end of the fiscal year John B. Thomp- son, a graduate of the Kansas Agricultural College, who had had several years' experience with the Bureau of Agriculture in the Philippine Islands, was placed in charge of the station and made its temporary disbursing officer. Under the direction of H. L. V. Costenoble a tract of land contain- ing about 27 acres was leased and fenced, and considerable effort made toward bringing it into cultivation. This land had formerly been cultivated but had not been so used for several years and had reverted HAWAII. 95 to almost a tropical jungle. A considerable portion of the time diirino; the fiscal year was spent in clearing this land and getting it again into cultivation. The experimental work thus far begun has consisted largely of the introduction of forage plants, (iuinea grass and Bermuda grass have been introduced through the Hawaii Experiment Station, and the plants appear to do well, considering the exceptionally dry season. Three varieties of sorghum were tested for their adaptability for forage, and they are reported as having grown exceedingly well and produced an excellent crop. Some attempts have been made to carry on experiments in restoring the fertility of the soil, and numerous leguminous plants have been introduced to grow in rotations between the rows of sorghum. A considerable number of pineapple plants, several varieties of bananas, and a number of avocados from Hawaii were planted and are reported as growing vigorously. Other economic plants have been introduced from Java and elsewhere, and as rapidly as supplies are on hand they will be distributed to the people for cultivation. Tests are being made of the different varieties of corn, comparing them with the form generally grown in Guam. Breeding experi- ments have been begun with corn and other plants, and attempts are being made to introduce and test varieties of vegetables and other plants. A coconut disease which threatened that industry has been found to be due to a species of mealy bug, and an introduction of ladybirds from Hawaii has been successfully made and it is hoped that they will reduce the number of destructive insects. The income of the station during the past fiscal year was as foll^*ws: United States appropriation $5,000.00 Farm products 000 Total 5,00G.ftO The work of the Guam Station for some time will consist princi- pally of demonstrations in methods of agriculture and the introduc- tion and testing of field and horticultural crops. From rei)orts that have been received the people of the island .seem to be taking an active interest in the work thus far conducted, and it is hoped that through this agency it will be possible to restore and develop the agriculture of this island. HAWAII. Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Station, UnniiliiUi. Under the supervision of A. ('. True, I)iro<'tor, Office of Experiment Stations,. United States Department of Aj^riculture. E. V. Wilcox, Pb. D., Special Aprnt in Charge. A few changes were made in the staff of the Hawaii Station during the fiscal year. Walter P. Kelley, of the Indiana Experiment Sta- 96 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. tion. was npiwiiitod chemist ; D. L. Van Dino, for six years entomolo- gist of tlio station, was transferred to the Bureau of I^nt(unolo«;y of this l)ei)artment ; I). T. FuHaway, formerly assistant entomologist, was promoted to the head of that department; ann(loav()i'intliods of testiii'j^ (•ream for hiilter fat and (o determine tlieii* accnracv. (lenerally ac- r in good representatives of the best berf and dairy bnvds. A method of investigation was worlccd out for the pi-oject on the relation of hnmns to crop jjrodiiction nndcr different svstems of soil mana";enient. A considerable number of ex]x>riments were carried on by the various dejiartments of the station with the Hatch fund. The de- partment of horticulture continued its experiments with apples and plums in cooperation with individuals, the state horticultural society, and this Department. Observations on cold storage for Iowa- grown apples were brought to a close and the results prei)ared for publication. Other lines of work still in progress included experi- ments with apple stocks for orchard top working in Iowa, with the sand cherry as a stock for the plum and cherry, and with other stocks for use in orchard and nursery. A study was also made of orchard varieties and of trees and shrubs for ornamental j Want- ing and for groves and windbreaks. The work in forestry was continued as previously planned. The cheiTiist, who is cooperating with the animal husbandry de- partment, continued the study of the cause of calodi in sheep, to- gether with digestion experiments with pigs to determine the effect of stock foods combined with corn. (Observations on the sugar content of pumpkins of different generations were also made. The investigations on the corrosion of fence wire in cooperation with the department of agricultural engineering were completed, and the results are soon to be published. The department of soils and farm crops was consolidated into a department of agronomy. The work in soils and farm crops during the past year was along the same lines as heretofore. The investi- gations on the peaty swamp soils of Iowa were completed. The department of animal husbandry brought to a close the experi- ments Avith corn silage for fattening steers, and an investigation to determine the value of succulent feed for lambs was made. Among other studies made by this department may be mentioned sheep feed- ing, milk production of sheep, and feeding experiments with work horses and with hogs. In dairy husbandry the individuality of cows of different breeds was studied, and feeding experiments with calves to determine methods for rearing them without milk were conducted. (PI. V, fig. 1.) The poultry work was principally along the line of breeding for increased egg production. Work was also done on feeding and man- agement of poultry for meat production, the determination of sex of the chick before hatching by examination of the air cell during incubation, and on methods of caring for chicks in the brooder. The botanist continued the testing of seeds and the studies of fungus diseases and of weed eradication. An. Rpt. Office of Experiment Stations, 1909. Plate V. Fig. 1.— Dairy Barn of the Iowa Station. Fig. 2. — New Gkeenhuuse at the Lou'Siana University and Station. IOWA. 109 The experimental work of the dairy department deah with mois- ture in butter, use of starters in butter makintr, and fjeneral errors in samplin('p;ir1iniMit i/f Kmiisms SImIc Au'riciiltur;! I ('<)lU'}i«'. K. II. Webster. M. S.. IHmior. A number of chano^es occurred in the station staff, the principal one being in the directorship. E. H. Webster, formerly chief of the Dairy Division of this Department, taking charge as dii'ector January 1, 1009. O. A. Stevens, who was appointed assistant botanist, but resigned later in the vear to become assistant in charge of the newlv established seed inspection laboratory at the North Dakota Station, was succeeded by AV. E. Davis. J. C. Cunningham was appointed assistant horticulturists. J. B. Parker, assistant entomologist, T. K. H. Wright, assistant in animal nutrition, and A. Mi3^awaki, assistant in dairying. C. K. McClelland, superintendent of the Fort Hays sub- station, resigned to take effect January 1, 1010. and the station is to be placed in charge of A. M. Ten Eyck. The work at this sub- station is to be materially enlarged. The State made an appropriation for the station of $30,000 for the biennimn 1010-11, which is the first state appropriation to be received by it. AVork on the different Adams fund projects was conducted during the year, and varying progress was reported. Xo new projects were undertaken. The study of cerebritis in horses received but little attention. Much of the time of the veterinary department was taken up with the construction and equipment of the new veterinary build- ing. The better facilities available for the following year give promise of greater progress. The hog-cholera work was carried forward but no definite results have as yet been obtained. The results of observations with reference largely to the use of horse serum in the treatment of hog cholera were published as a report of progress. The entomologist continued his investigations of the Hessian fly and of plant lice injuries to wdieat and corn. A special study was made of the green bug and of methods of controlling the pest by means of a parasite. Special laboratory appliances were devised for this work and field experiments paid for from other funds were conducted as supplementary to this project. KANSAS. Ill Fiirther work was done by the department of chemistrj' on the digestibility and nutritive value of Kansas feeds. Digestion experi- ments were conducted with 4 sheep fed alfalfa and prairie hay in various combinations and a report on the work was prejnired. The nitrogen balance was determined in addition to other data collected in a digestion experiment with two steers. The wheat-breeding work was carried forward as previously planned. More ground was allotted for the work, and laboratory ap- paratus was designed for special color tests and for testing the hard- ness of grain. A special system of treatment was devised and atten- tion was given in particular to the inheritance of characters. The yellow berry of wheat was studied in this connection to determine its true character and the extent to w^hich it is hereditary. The possi- bility of breeding pure strains of wheat free from the yellow berry under all conditions was discussed in a bulletin. In a number of other lines supported by Hatch and state funds substantial progress was made. The veterinary department in addi- tion to regular work carried on some experiments relating to opsonic index and contagious abortion in cattle. The new veterinary build- ing furnishes better facilities than heretofore for that department's work. The department of entomology and zoology paid special attention to the corn earworm. An etfort was made to determine the most injurious broods, and trials were made of methods of repression. The damage done by moles and mice, particulaly in cornfields, was considered together with means for reducing or preventing injuries of this kind. Certain phases of the Hessian-fly work were con- ducted in cooperation with this Department, and a station was main- tained for the purpose at Wilson. The mound-building prairie ant, which is troublesome mainly in alfalfa fields, was studied, and a description of its habits, together with directions for its destruction, published in bulletin form. The department of agronomy conducted fertilizer experiments with corn, wheat, oats, and alfalfa, together with work on the prepa- ration of the seed bed and the cultivation of wheat and corn. Other activities of this department included variety tests, selection, grading, and distribution of seed and rotation experiments. A feeding experiment by the dairy husbandry department pointed out the efficiency and low cost of feeding alfalfa hay and corn silage as compared with mill feeds. Studies were also made relative to the cause of irregidarities in results secured with the Babcock test and to the moisture content of creamery butter. The animal hus- bandry department conducted feeding experiments with cattle, hogs, and sheep to determine the relative values of alfalfa hay and meal, 112 REPORT OI- OFI'ICK OF EXPKKIMENT STATIONS. witli tlu' icsiilt that ai)p!ir('ntly the meal has no aclvanta«i:c' for the Kansas farnicr. Dry and wet food for hojjfs wore coniparod and so far in ihi' course of the oxix'riniont wet feed has been most advan- tajri'ous. For thri'o yoars the birth weight of pigs from sows of ditforont ages has been recorded. The horticuhural department pursued experiments in spraying for San Jose scale, sununor pruning, and fertilizers for sweet pota- toes. Observations on the development of fruit buds, distance of planting, and pollination were also made. The bacteriologist studied the effect of the depth of cultivation on the number of soil bacteria in upland and lowland soils cultivated from 2 to 12 inches deep. Samples were obtained each week and temperature and moisture determinations were also made. The cooperative work of the station is limited to certain experi- ments with farmers on hog cholera and Avith this Department in drv'-farminjr studies at the Fort Havs and Garden Citv substations. The extension work is conducted by an extension department, and the station officials act only in advisory capacity. The following publications were received from the station during the year: Bulletins 153, Deterioration of Red Texas oats in Kansas; 154, The mound-building prairie ant; 155, Alfalfa; 156, The yellow berry problem in Kansas hard Avinter Avheats; 157, Studies on hog cholera and preventive treatment; and Circular 1. Treating seed corn to protect it from burrowing animals. The income of the station during the past fiscal year was as fol- lows : United States appropriation. Hatch Act $15,000.00 United States appropriation, Adams Act 11,000.00 State appropriation for substation 25,000.00 Fees 8, 306. 15 Farm products 7,234.47 Misfellaneons 044. 54 Balanf-e from previous year, other than federal funds__ 6, 672. 06 Total 73,857.22 A report of the receipts and expenditures for the United States funds has been rendered in accordance with the schedules prescribed by this Department and has been approved. A recent reorganization of the Kansas Station has resulted in material improvement from the standpoint of administration and supervision of the work. The station is broadening its sphere, and is making its activities along established lines more systematic and efficient. KENTUCKY. 113 KENTUCKY. Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station, Lexington. Department of tbe State University. M. A. ScovELL, M. S., Ph. D.. Director. The work of this station was in general along the lines followed in 1908. Out of the fees arising from the fertilizer and feeding stuffs control a farm ccsting $7,000 was purchased and a new piggery with numerous feeding lots was provided. Other general and minor im- provements were made during the year in the e.xperimental fields and about the station buildings. Facilities for examining drugs under the state law were provided in the food laboratory of the station. W. H. Scherffius, head of the agricultural division, resigned to take up work in South Africa, and L. A. Browne, of the North Dakota Station, was added to the staff as chemist in the drug division. The Adams fund projects were continued as originally planned. The number of broods and some other facts in the life history of the corn earworm have been worked out. and the results are nearly ready for puljlication. Additional data were obtained in support of the conclusions as to the identity of the organisms causing nodules on alfalfa and sweet clover and the identity of the organisms on red and white clover. Satisfactory protjf was also secured of the iden- tity of the organism causing nodules on alsike clover with that on red and white clover. The forms of organisms on coAvpeas and soy beans were found distinct from those on the clovers. Some pre- liminarv work was begun on the studv of milk fever in dairv cows, and this is to be carried forward as circumstances permit. Some progress in soil studies is reported, much of the time having been given to the study of methods of determining potash. The activities under the Hatch and other funds included experi- ments with breeding, growing, and curing tobacco; tests with forage plants of various kinds; special studies on alfalfa and soy beans; crop-rotation trials; breeding and culture experiments with wheat; corn, barley, oats, and potatoes; soil studies; studies of insect and fungus pests: pig breeding and feeding: hog-cholera immunization, and related lines of work. Tests of various sheep dips against scab were reported in a bulletin published during the year, in which the use of dips made of lime and sulphur, tobacco and sulphur, or one of the coal-tar dips was recommended. Tobacco or coal-tar prepara- tions were found to be more effective than the lime and sulphur dip in destroying the sheep tick or louse, in addition to being a satisfactory treatment for sheep scab. In tobacco experiments it was found that phosphates gave appreciably better gains that potash salts on soil typical of much of the toi)acco soil of western Kentucky, and that nitrates tended to reduce the crop by causing a less perfect stand. 46045°— 10 8 114 KKPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. A larpo anionnt of oooporative work was rarriod on with farniors of the Slate, with other stations, and with this Department. The worlv thr()ii:rasses and other f()ra<^e phints, whik' in con- junction witii this Department studies of systems of rotation, tests of varieties of corn, barley, and hybrid oats, culture experiments and breedin. F. Hochenedel resigned as assistant chemist to engage in com- mercial work. Since the close of the fiscal year, P. A. Yoder resigned as research chemist and AV. Newell as entomologist, the latter to accept a similar position at the Texas Station. A new greenhouse (PI. V, fig. 2), costing about $6,000, was constructed at the State Sta- tion at Baton Rouge, and a residence for the farm nuinager, at an expense of about $1,500, was built at the Calhoun Station. A substation for rice culture was established at Crowley and work was begun during the spring of 1909. This station is conducted in cooperation with this Department. Local parties gave 60 acres of land for the use of the station and subscribed $8,500 for buildings. The legislature authorized its establishment by an act passed July 1, 1908, but no appropriation for the purpose was made at that time. F. C. Quereau was called from the University of Tennessee to the position of assistant director in charge of this station. The research work carried on with the Adams fund included, among other lines, investigations on a number of plant diseases. Some work was done on rice smut and rice blast, and material for study was secured. The wilt disease of pepper was given a good deal of attention and the life history of the soft rot of cotton was studied. Work on cotton wilt included breeding for resistance, better lint, and earlier and more dwarfed types. EHorts were also put forth to determine why alfalfa is difficult to grow at the station. Limincf was tried and 42 varieties obtained from this Deiiartment were put under test to ascertain their resistance to the unfavorable conditions. Observations made on cerebro-spinal meningitis in horses were summarized and published as a preliminary report. Work on anthrax was concentrated on the production of superiuuuunized animals for the purpose of obtaining serum that can be used in hastening the development of immunity from the disease. Progress was made in the study of the nonsugars of sugar cane, and new methods considered thoroughly accurate were worked out for determining the amount of certain organic acids in the cane. More relial)le methods than those previously in use were also devised for detei-mining formaldehyde in sugar products. The results se- cured pointed to the possibility of formaldehyde being a normal con- stituent of cane juice, and it was observed that at the temperature of evaporation of the juice formaUlehyde is formed. IIG REPORT or Ol-riCE OF KXTKHIMKNT STATIONS. Till' Imoteriolo^ical work on llu' inversion of su<;;us consisted of studies of <)rjin work in ID 10. The farm con- sists of 225 acres, of which ()0 acres are now in apple orchards, 75 acres additional under tillage, and the balance in pasture and woods. The station work in orchard management, owing to lack of facilities, has been interrupted for three years, but will now be taken up again on this farm by the newly appointed associate hortic\ilturist. The State has also provided for printing the bulletins and reports i)i the station, an appropriation of $4,500 per annum having been made for this purpose. In its A(hims fund work the Maine Station has made good i)rog- ress. The poultry investigations have pointed out tliat egg pro- ductivity is inherited in a manner not hitherto recognized for sex- ually reproducing animals. Breeding work based on the knowledge gained has been inaugurated. A thorough study has also been made of a series of factors which influenced the fertility of eggs, and it has been demonstrated that the hatching quality of fertile eggs is a character which is definitely inherited. Progress in a physiological study of the oviduct in a laying hen is reported and the data col- lected will soon be published as a monographic account of the correla- tion and development of the hen's egg, such as size, bulk, color, and fertility. A study of the Mendelian principles of transmission is being made in crosses between Indian Game and Barred Plymouth Rock fowls, about 100 fowls being under observation. The results of breeding work with sweet, dent, and flint corn seem to indicate that enviromnent is a more potent factor than heredity, and that local adjustment is necessary in corn improvement. Ad- vance in time of maturity secured through selection was not held when the corn w^as grown in other localities. The work of the ento- mologist on the plant lice of Maine, especially the pea aphis {Maero- siphum pid), the potato aphis {M. solanifoUi), and Pemphigus tessellata, has been continued as a project under the Adams fund. The investigation of fungus gnats, Mycetophilida% with reference to their life history, economic relationships, morphology, and ecology was also taken up as an Adams project. In studying the blackleg disease of potatoes, the organism which also causes a soft rot of the tubers has been isolated and a typical form of the disease prpduced by inoculations with pure cultures. The vegetable pathologist in his investigations on the interrelation of leaf spots, fruit rots, and canker of apple trees has made a dis- tinct contribution to the life history of Coryneum foliicolum and MAINE. 119 Phoma mall, and has completed an extended study of the cultural characters of these two fungi on different culture media. In addi- tion to these fungi, others associated with these plant diseases are studied to determine their relationships and to work out the life history of each. In connection with this work it has been found that certain fungi, either not described or hitherto not considered, are of economic importance. The Hatch work of the station included a careful study by the entomologist of a remarkable outbreak of the saddled prominent {Heterocampa guttivitta) and the results of this work are fully re- corded in a bulletin published during the year. The true sexes of Pemphigvs tesseUata were discovered for the first time, the alternate host for the species ascertained, and the identity of I\ (werifolii as the same species established. These results have been partly pub- lished in other than station publications. The vegetable pathologist found it inadvisable to apply even small quantities of lime to Aroostook potato soils on account of the result- ing increase in potato scab. He made the observation that the crotch injury of apple trees in Maine is a form of winter injury and is not caused by Bacillus amylovorus ; and further it was ascertained that self-boiled lime-sulphur mixture is of value as a preventive of apple scab, but is not as efficient as Bordeaux mixture. These results have all been published in bulletin form. Weather records with refer- ence to winter injury of fruit trees show as a general rule for that sec- tion a fairly well-defined minimum temperature below which certain varieties of apples can not endure. Less danger is found to result from continued low temperature than from abrupt changes from mild to low temperatures. The inspection work of the station is kept quite distinct from in- vestigational duties. The following publications have been received during the year: Bulletins ir)8. Food of num studies; 159, Appliances and methods for pedigree poultry breeding; 160, Fertilizer inspection; 161, The sad- dled prominent: 162, Insect notes; 163, Finances, meteorology, in- dex; 164. Notes on plant diseases, 1908; 165, Poultry notes; 166, Inheritance of fecundity; and 167, Field experiments, 1906-1908. The income of the station during the past fiscal year was as follows: United States appropriation. Hatch Act $15,000.00 T'nitod States ai»propriation, Adams Act 11,000.00 Farm products, ete l,'.)u:i. 00 For cooperative poultry investigations with the U. S. Department of Agriculture 1.000.00 Inspection fees 9. 500. 00 Balance from previous year, other than federal funds.. 1,S.'50. 41 Total 40, 232. 41 120 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. A rc'i)()r( of the reccijits and t'xpt'iidilures for the United States funds has been rendered in accordance with tlic schedules prescribed by this Dei)artnient and has been approved. The Maine Station is prosecutin*; scientilic and practical lines of Avork in an etf'ective numner. and with the <;ratifyin<^ aid of tiie State is prej^ared to enter upon even broader fields of usefulness. MARYLAND. Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station, College Park. Department of Maryland Agricultural College. H. J. Patterson, B. S., Director. The Maryland Station made steady progress during; the j^oar in broadening and strengthening its work mainly along the lines pur- sued in previous years. Some additions to equipment and some changes in the staff were made. N. Schmitz, of the Bureau of Plant Industry of this Department, was appointed agronomist. G. E. Ga^ge, of Yale University, was appointed associate biologist to investigate poultry diseases, and a well-equipped laboratory was fitted up for this purpose. C. W. Melick resigned as dairyman, and P. M. Novik, assistant horticulturist, w'as killed December 9 in a railroad accident. A. L. Stabler, a graduate of the college, was appointed assistant in animal husbandry in connection with investigations with hogs and sheep. R. B. Mayo, assistant pathologist, resigned to engage in private work. Frank Kent succeeded the late J. K. Owens as treas- urer of the college and station. Shortly after the close of the year L. W. Fetzer, assistant chemist, resigned to accept a position in this Office. Considerable improvement was made in the equipment for the poultry investigations. The Adams fund projects of the station were increased by the addition of a study of the rate of diffusion of different lime com- pounds in the soil and of the effect of the internal application of different substances on the structure and physiology of plants. Work ' on the older projects, namely, those relating to city milk supplies, parasitic hymenoptera with special reference to the Braconida?, effects of fertilizers on cell structure of plants, and embryology of chickens, was actively carried on during the year. The investigations on poul- try diseases were materially modified and now include, instead of studies of specific diseases, a fundamental inquiry into the bacterial flora of chickens in health and disease, beginning with observations on the bacterial and animal parasites in the intestinal contents of healthy fowls from incubation to maturity. As in previous years, much the larger proportion of the Adams fund Avas devoted to the investigations relating to milk supply and embryology and diseases of chickens. MARYLAND. 121 In addition to the Adams fund projects, the station conducted invesifrations and experiments on a wide ran^e of subjects, inchiding breeding alfalfa for seed production; tests of alfalfa seed from dif- ferent sources; fertilizer and culture tests with alfalfa; breeding and tests of seed from different sources with red, mammoth, alsike, and white clovers; breeding, variety tests, harvesting, and thrashing cowpeas, and the culture of cowpeas with corn. > The new lines of work in agronomy taken up during the year included breeding of sweet corn, study of the cause of dying out of alfalfa fields, and growing hairy vetch for seed. The variety tests with corn were made at the station farm and in cooperation with 12 farmers in different parts of the State. Experiments with alfalfa were made in cooperation with the Bureau of Plant Industry of this Department. Tests of varieties, improvement by selection and breed- ing, and fertilizer and rotation experiments with tobacco were also made in cooperation with the Bureau of Plant Industry. In the horticultural department experiments were made on the breeding, fertilizing, and spraying of apples, with tests of cover crops for apple orchards; on varieties of peaches, breeding of pears, tests of seedling papaws, and pruning and training raspberries; variety tests, seed selection, mulching, spring cultivation, and preser- vation (for exhibit purposes) of strawberries; adaptability and prun- ing of pecans; varieties and grafting and budding of Persian walnuts; fertilizers for asparagus; variety tests, fertilizing, and breeding for disease and weather resistance with cabbage; comparison of Cali- fornia and home-grown seed of celery ; seed selection, fertilizing, cold storage, and varieties of potatoes; rust-proof Rockyford muskmelons; poultry manure supplemented with phosphoric acid and potash for onions and tomatoes; variety tests of tomatoes and effect of copper solutions and other substances on disease resistance in tomatoes; and improvement and culture of various flowers, including carna- tions, geraniums, roses, and violets. The work in the botanical and pathological department of the station included tests of the effect of various lime and sulphur sprays on different crops, especially the peach and plum, and of methods of preparing the sprays; tests of iron sulphate and other chemicals for killing weeds; classification of a collection of Maryland grasses; and collection of information on cause, prevalence, amount of injury, and treatment of economic plant diseases in Maryland. The chem- ical department carried on studies of the chemical and physical properties of unproductive soils. In the dairy department experiments were completed and compiled for publication on the manufacture of sweet-cream butter, butter making in Maryland, and methods of whipping cream. Work was also undertaken on the sources of contamination of milk in the 122 liKI'ORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. l)ju-n as related (o velocity and direction of the wind and liuniiditv of the atmosphere. 'Hie i)oiiltrv work included tests of poultrj' houses to ascertain the type best adaj)ted to the climate of Marvhuid and breeding of Barred Plymouth Tvocks for e^r^ production. Ktributed to a limited extent in the State, and an inves- tipition of the poultry industry in Maryland was made during the year." The activities of the veterinary department were confined princi- pally to a study of the cow's udder with reference to milk produc- tion. Investigations on tuberculosis and bovovaccination were con- tinued during the year, and a report on these subjects is being pre- pared. A study of the properties of fat cells in milk of different breeds was begun, and investigations on the relation of bacteria, leucoc^'tes, and chemical changes in milk as affected by inflammation were continued. In the entomological department experiments were made with spray mixtures and on the treatment of the codling moth, woolly aphis, green aphis, asparagus beetles, flea beetles, plum curculio, and peach-tree borer. Further experiments were made in the dipping of fruit trees, and in cooperation with the Bureau of Entomology of this Department an investigation of the bee-keeping industry of the State was begun. The state horticultural and nursery inspection work was done by the botanist and entomologist of the station, as in previous years. The members of the station staff also participated to some extent in farmers' institutes and other farmers' meetings. The last legislature passed an act constituting the board of trus- tees of the college the state board of agriculture and making the director of the station the secretary of the board. The following publications of the station were received during the year: Bulletins 126, Manuring and fertilizing truck crops; 127, Mis- cellaneous greenhouse notes; 128, The effect of animal digestion and fermentation of manures on the vitality of seeds; 129, Silos and silage in Maryland; 130, Nurseries and nursery inspection; 131, Mis- cellaneous treatment for San Jose scale; and 132, Irish potato in- vestigations; and the Annual Report for 1908. The income of the station during the past fiscal year was as fol- lows : United States appropriation, Hatch Act $1.5,000.00 United States appropriation, Adams Act 11,000.00 State appropriation 7, 500. 00 Balance from previous year, state appropriation 3,396.24 Farm products, including balance from previous year. 4, 745. 86 Total 41,642.10 o Maryland Sta. Bui. 138. MASSACHUSETTS. 123 A report of the receipts and expenditures for the United States funds has been rendered in accordance with the schedules prescribed 1)V this Department and has been approved. Witli the aid of substantial support from the State, steady progress Avas made during the year at the Maryland Station in developing experimental wovk and in disseminating the practical results of the work among the farmers of the State. MASSACHUSETTS. Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station, Amherst. Department of the Massachusetts Agricultural College. \V. 1'. Bkook.s. I'll. D., Director. But little change was made in the lines of work of the Massa- chusetts Station during this year and no new members were added to the station statt'. C. S. Pomeroy, assistant horticulturist, resigned in October, and R. D. McLaurin at the close of the college year. The State made an appropriation of $80,000 for a building for the departments of entomology and zoology, which is now in process of construction and is to be completed in 1910. In all the various lines of investigation under the Adams fund satisfactory progress was made. The inquiry into the relation of plant-food elements to the characteristics and growth of asparagus was carried on cooperatively by the agricultural and chemical de- partments. Breeding asparagus for rust resistance is carried on in cooperation with the Bureau of Plant Industry of this Department. The investigation upon the principles underlying the fertilizing of the cranl)erry has made progress and a chemical study of the soils has also been undertaken. The department of botany is investigat- ing the effects of meteorological conditions on plant growth and plant diseases. In the greenhouse these investigations concern the influence of light, moisture, heat, and ventilation on the growth of crops and their susceptibility to disease. In the outdoor work records are made of the time of blossoming, prevalence of diseases, earliness or lateness of crops, and the influence of climatic conditions on the plants during winter and summer. The department of chemistry made successful progress in working out a method for the quantitative analysis of the diff'erent insoluble latty acids of butter fat. Results secured with reference to the con- stitution of fats, arid the effect of molasses on the digestibilitv of hay and other feeding stuffs, are being prepared for publication. Analyses of asparagus roots and of cranberry soils were made, and insecticides were studied in cooperation with the department of entomology. In addition to the latter, the department of entomology is pursuing work on the project relating to the digger wasps for 124 ki:port of office of experiment stations. the purpose of learnin*; (lie distrihiitioii. iil)iiii(linic(', and individual work of these insects, and to delerniine their true eeonouiic vahje. Considerable aihance has also been made in the stiuly relative to the pfroups Pvraliihe and Tortrieidse, and the amount of dama«;e caused by these little-known insects has been determined to sonu* extent. In addition to Adams fund work various lines of investiiration were pursued by the diti'erent departments of the station. The ag^riculturist is carrying on extensive fertilizer experiments with field, orchard, and garden crops in order to determine their nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash requirements. The relative valu<* of different substances as sources of the various fertilizing ingredients of various crops has been reported upon in part in the publications of the station. The chemist cooperated with the agriculturist in the study of clover sickness and in addition conducted experiments for the, pur- pose of noting the effect of different amounts of protein for profit- able milk production, determining the best varieties of silage corn, and preparing a satisfactory grain ration suitable as a partial milk substitute for young calves. The department of botany continued its studies of the diseases of a large number of plants, and made observations on the effect of spraying with different mixtures on the plants themselves as well as on the diseases to be combated. A bulletin on shade trees pre- pared in cooperation with the department of entomology' and the Massachusetts Forestry Association was published during the year. Among other work of the department of entomology, studies on wireworms in connection with seed corn were carried on, methods of controlling cabbage maggots and onion thrips were tested, the dates of hatching scale insects were observed, the importance of the second brood of the codling moth in Massachusetts was investi- gated, and efforts were made to discover and to work out the life history of an egg parasite of the asparagus beetle. In horticulture the work was mainly along the line of plant breed- ing, but in addition variety tests, pruning experiments, and com- parisons of orchard cover crops were carried on. The veterinarian has been investigating the transmission of tuber- culosis to calves by means of separator skim milk. He completed a study on the effect of arsenate of lead on stock allowed to graze under trees sprayed with this substance. The usual meteorological observations and records were continued. The following publications were received from this station during the fiscal year: Bulletins 124, Bee diseases in Massachusetts; 125, Shade trees; 126, How to fight cranberry insects; 127, Inspection of commercial fertilizers; and 128. Inspection of commercial feeding MICHIGAN. 125 stuffs; Circulars 15, Cost of testing pure-bred cows; and 10, Seeding mowings; and Meteorological Bulletins 234-246. The income of the station during the past fiscal year was as follows : United States approiiriation. Hatch Act $15,000.00 United States appropriation, Adams Act 11,000.00 State appropriation 13. 500. 00 lialance from previous year, state appropriation 7. 529. 52 Fees 5. 210. 00 Farm products 2. 387. 57 Miscellaneous 4, 825. 17 Total 59. 452. 20 A report of the receipts and expenditures for the United States funds has been rendered in accordance with the schedules prescribed by this Department and has been approved. This .station continues to cover a wide field of effort, which in- cludes many subjects of special importance to the agriculture of the State. The growth of the college work will soon make additional provision necessary in some departments if the station work is to continue to develop. MICHIGAN. Experiment Station of Michigan State Agricultural College, East Lansing. Department of Michigan State Agricultural College. R. S. SiiAW, P.. S. A.. Director. During the year a number of changes were made in membership of the station staff and in the organization of the work at the Michigan Experiment Station. As a part of the extension reorgani- zation of the agricultural work, divisions of animal husbandry, dairy huhbandrv. soils, and farm crops were established with H. W. Nor- ton. A. C. Ander.son, J. A. Jeff'ery, and the director in charge of these respective divisions. H. J. Eustace, expert in fruit storage in the Bureau of Plant Industry of this Department, was appointed horticulturist, L. R. Taft, consulting horticulturist, and Dr. W. J. I)cal was reappointed botanist. Other recent appointments include the following assistants: M. A. Yothers. entomolog}'; F. A. Spragg, farm crops; C. B. Collingwood, wlio resigned later in the year, chemistry; G. B. Schafer and Misses Z. Northrop and L. M. Smith, bacteriology; and J. B. Dandeno. l)otany. Other appointments were O. K. White as fiehl agent in horticultural extension work, and A. R. Potts for similar work with soils and field crops; and C S. Robinson as research chemist in place of S. L. Jodidi. who resigned to accept a similar position in the department of soils at the Iowa Station. The construction of the new agricidtural building, to be occupied by the station and the college, made good progress and when com- 126 KKPORT OF OFFICE OF KXPEKIMKNT STATIONS. pleted will atTord better niid iiioi'e nearly adecjuate (piai'ters for a lumiher of the station deixiitnients. Tlie state lefrislatnie (hirin:ators. Projrress was reported on pi'ac- tieally all the projects. Investigations on the bacterial factors de- termining the (pialities of milk and huUei- were continued, and a second report on the keeping quality of butter was prepared. It was found that salted butter through leakage loses more water when stored than does unsalted butter, and the results further indicated that the quality decreases as the content of amid nitrogen increases. Some of the micro-organisms found in butter were observed to mul- tiply slowly at —0° C. in salted butter. The study of agents rendering available the insoluble elements of the soil is a cooperative undertaking. The soil physicist is studying the temperature relations and is attempting to perfect a new soil thermometer. The chemist is studying the soluble and insoluble phosphates of the soil, the assistant chemist the availability of the nitrogenous compounds in the soil, the assistant botanist the physio- logical efi'ect of root excretions on plant growth, and studies are also in progress on the bacterial factors, with special reference to render- ing soluble the insoluble phosphates. The results secured in study- ing the availability of the nitrogenous soil compounds were pre- pared for publication, and the results of the preliminary study of the agents rendering soluble the insoluble phosphates have apjaeared in bulletin form. According to a preliminary report on the investigation of swine epidemics, it w-as demonstrated that the Dorset-Niles hyperimmuniza- tion process results in the production of agglutinins and inunune bodies for Bacillus cholercp suis, but the nature of these innnune bodies nor the constancy with which they occur has not as yet been determined. In connection with the hog-cholera investigations, the State has provided $1,500 for the manufacture of serum, which is sold at the rate of 2 cents per cubic centimeter, 22 to 25 cubic centimeters being required for 100 pounds live weight of a hog. The fourth project involves extensive investigations of the respira- tory systems of insects, in a study of the method by which contact insecticides are effective. This project, which is pursued by the entomologist and a research assistant, also includes studies on fungus parasites of sawflies and other insects. In addition to the Adams fund investigations, a large amount of work is carried on under the Hatch and other funds. In the depart- ment of animal husbandry, expermients with horses, cattle, and MICHIGAN. 127 sheep are in progress. The work witli hogs was discontinued on account of disease. The third year's work on the production of baby beef was completed and the results are soon to be published. Two years' experiments in the economical wintering of work horses were finished, and a preliminary report suggests the use of a variety of cheap yet efficient feeds in place of oats and timothy hay. The third year's work with feeding succulents to sheep showed no particular advantage over feeding roots when the extra expense is considered. Breeding experiments with sheep and cattle were also carried on. In the dairy department demonstration experiments were made of the value of well-bred dairy cows, the care of milk on the farm, and the production of sanitary milk. The third year's performance of the grade dairy herd was recorded. The poultryman completed the second year's trial of three types of poultry houses designed as models for farm use, and studied in addition the relative value of various feeds for young chicks and the relation of age and breeding of pullets to egg production. The horticulturist conducted experiments in potato spraying, test- ing fertilizers for apple, peach, and grape growing, comparing sucker and pruning wood of apples for propagation, soil sterilization of greenhouses, peach pits as a means of disseminating disease, lime and suli)hur as a summer spray, and cover crops for vineyards in conjunction with commercial fertilizers. Plant breeding and culture experiments were in progress with practically all the important crops. The imj^roved strains doveloj:)od in this work were tested throughout the State in cooperation with the recently established Experimental Union. The extension work is organized and managed under state appro- priations and during the year 3 men were constantly maintained by the college for giving instruction and demonstrations in live-stock management, horticulture, and field crops. Tlie Experimental Union, comprising over 200 members, engaged in cooperative work in crop testing and soil studies. During the year, 872 bacterial cul- tures for leguminous crops were sent out to farmers from the bacteri- ological department, which also furnished virus and serum for immunizing over 2,000 hogs. In the extension work in animal husbandry efforts were directed mainly toward the organization of cooperative breeders' associations, and during the first six months of the year ten associations were formed representing 2,100 cows, and ."il registered sires were purchased. The j)ublications of the station received during the year were as. follows: Bulletins 251, Insects of 1007: 252. Fertilizer analyses: 253, Can the general farmer afford to grow apples; and suggestions on improving and spraying apple orchards; Special Bulletins 42, 128 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. Bacterial associations in the sourinfj^ of milk; 43, The solvent action of soil hactoiiii u\n)n the soluble phosphates of raw l)one meal and natural raw rock phosphate; 45, Sprayiiifr calendar; 4('), Keport of the South Ilaveii Substation for IDOT; 47, Corn improvement; and 48. Keport of the South Haven Substation for 11)08; Circulars 1, Alfalfa; i2, The Babcock test; 3, Corn: Selection, storing, curing, and testing for seed; 4, Methods of breeding for the improvement of Michigan cattle. Organization of cooperative cattle breeders' asso- ciations in Michigan; and 5, Inoculation with nodule-forming bacteria; and the Annual Keport for 15)08. The income of the station during the past fiscal year was as follows : fnitetl Stiites approprintion, Ilatfb Act $];', 000. 00 United Statos ap|)ropi-iatiuu. Adams Act 11,000.00 State appropriation : 14, 148. 10 Fertilizer, lieense.s, fees 3,' 802. 50 Farm products, including substations, etc 1, 200. 76 Total 45, 217. IMi A report of the receipts and expenditures for the United States funds has been rendered in accordance with the schedules prescribed by this Department and has been approved. With the aid of the state funds, Avhich are appropriated in part for the maintenance of substations and in part for experiments along special lines, and Avith the further assistance of a well organized extension department in the college, the Michigan Station is placed in favorable circumstances for accomplishing much of fundamental importance and practical value to the different agricultural pursuits of the State. MINNESOTA. Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Minnesota, University Farm, 8t. I'aul. Department of the University of Minnesota. A. F. Woods, M. A.. Director. A number of changes took place in the station staff during the year, the principal one being the appointment of J. W. Olsen, state super- intendent of public instruction as dean and director, following the resiirnation of E. AV. Randall, who entered commercial life. Since the close of the fiscal year J. W. Olsen also resigned and has been suc- ceeded by A. F. Woods, assistant chief of the Bureau of Plant Indus- try of this Department. During the year numerous changes also occurred in the corps of assistants. State appropriations of interest to the station were made by the last legislature as follows: $15,000 for the completion and equipment MINNESOTA. 129 of the dairy pavilion, $15,000 for remodeling and equipping the dairy- hall, $10,000 for hog-cholera work, $0,000 for a denatured alcohol plant, $1,000 for soil inspection, $4,000 for live stock, $G,000 for horti- cultural investigations, $1,000 for entomological investigations, $3,500 for the breeding of field crops, $1,500 a year for two years for experi- ments in the use of preservatives for timber, $5,000 for the purchase of lands for forestry experiments at Cloquet, $2,500 per year for maintenance of a forestry experiment station at Cloquet, $-2,000 for drainage studies, $400 for work on plant diseases, $1,000 for the study of noxious weeds, $1,000 for alterations in the veterinary building, $10,000 for the establishment and maintenance of a poultry depart- ment, and $100,000 for an engineering building for the department of agriculture. • A farm has been leased for five years to carry on experiments in quack grass eradication. Twelve demonstration farms of SO acres each have been established throughout the State and more recently plans were made for seven similar farms in addition. Since the close of the fiscal year the post-office address of the college and station has been changed to University Farm, St. Paul. Marked progress attended the work of the year on all the Adams fund projects. The investigations of the horticultural department were along the line of plant breeding and were carried on in connec- tion with the general plant breeding work largely followed at the state fruit-breeding farm. In connection with this work, plantings of orchard and small fruits are becoming well established and con- siderable work is carried on in the greenhouses. The entomologist, in addition to the life history studies of Empoasca mali, McKrosiphum granaria, and Brucophagus funehris, continued the investigation of the cabbage maggot. This work has been reiDorted upon in part in a bulletin of the station."^ In the beef production project, calves of different types and breeds are grown from birth to maturity for com- parative slaughter tests and chemical analyses of the carcasses. The cereal breeding project is essentially a study of rust resistance in wheat, oats, and other small grains, carried on by tlie botanist and plant pathologist in the field and in the greenhouse. The problems included are the wintering of rust, the effects of red rust, and some anatomical features such as the correlation between the structure of the leaf and stem of plants and rust. A field laboratory method has ])een developed to induce a local and controllable rust epidemic. In connection Avith this investigation many selections and crosses of wheat have been made. In the work on the food requirements for milk and meat production, particular stress is now laid on meat pro- duction and records are made for beef animals as were made for dairy a Minnesota Sta. I?nl. 112. 46045°— 10 9 130 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. animnls luTotoforo. The investifrnlion of stable ventilation -was con- tinued with improved ecjuipnient. In addition to the Adams fund work, numerous other investiga- tions were carried on by the different departments of the station. The agriculturist Avorked on the origination of varieties of cereals and forage plants by selection and hybridization and of disease- resistant strains by selection from disease infected plants. Obser- vations were made to determine the time required for varieties to come true to type. The study of the etl'ect of rotations and of single crops on the fertility of soil started in 1894 was continued as w^as also the work on the cost of crop production begun in 1002. The division of chemistrj'^ studied the manufacture of denatured alcohol and of the economy of the use of heat in the preparation of foods. The division of agricultural engineering and physics, officially organized August 1, 1908, planned and supervised the construction of underdrains at the state fruit farm, inade plans for the drainage of the Northeast Experiment Farm at Grand Rapids, conducted an irrigation experiment in cooperation wnth this Office, and gave assist- ance to drainage improvements throughout the State. The grati- fying support given this new division by the State will soon enable it to broaden the scope of its work. The work in animal husbandry consisted of feeding trials of sheep and swine and investigations in beef f)roduction. The dairy division com'pleted experiments in feeding for milk production, in which gravimetric analyses of milkings and periodical analyses of all feed- ing stuffs consumed were made. The entomologist conducted experi- ments to determine the least number of spraA-ings wdtli arsenate of lead upon jolums to control the ravages of the plum curculio and to determine the possibility of poisoning fruit trees by the usual proc- ess of arsenical sprayings used by orchardists. Among other w'ork scientific and economic studies were made of the genus Papaipema, or stalk borer. The division of horticulture and forestry carried on variety, fer- tilizer, spraj^ing, and breeding experiments with potatoes in addi- tion to crossing experiments with plums, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and the treatment of conifer seed for the prevention of the damping off disease. Little advantage was derived from the use of fungicides for the prevention of late blight in potatoes at the station. The fruit breeding work of the station has aroused great interest. Private parties have taken up the work and a number of promising new varieties of fruits have been originated. While there has been no increase in the funds available for horticultural work, the State made a larger appropriation for experimental work in connection with forestry and it is now planned to establish an experi- MINNESOTA. 131 mental forest of 2,700 acres in tlie vicinity of Cloquet, Minn, Dif- ferent rotation periods Avill l)e tried and an arboretum and forest garden established. Tlie soil work of the station was continued along the lines previ- ously outlined. The chemical and physical properties of the various soil areas of the State were studied and fertilizer tests were made in different sections to study the relation between laboratory and field methods of determining the deficiency of fertilizing elements. The division of vegetable pathology and botany occupied itself chiefly with diseases of plants, botanical features of weeds, and the study of weed seeds and seed mixtures. In addition to studying rusts and smuts of cereals, spikelet blights of oats, aster blight, damping otf of greenhouse plants and coniferous seedlings, diseases of apples and plums, and bean anthracnose were given attention. Collections of various weed seeds growing in the State were made and the equipment of an up-to-date seed laboratory was about com- pleted. In the veterinary division the principal lines of work w-ere with hog-cholera vaccine, swamp fe^•er, and antituberculosis vaccine. In connection with the vaccine work results valuable from a scientific and practical standpoint were secured, and much information was gained on the nature of swamp fever. The latter was studied in cooperation with the pathological division of the Bureau of Animal Industry of this Department, under a special contract and a special appropriation of $5,000. The work in this department has been considerably strengthened since the completion of the new veterinary building, providing much better facilities than were enjoyed pre- viously. Cement cremation pits were constructed for the destruc- tion of manure from diseased animals. Among other work the substation at Grand Rapids cooperated with tlie "Wisconsin Station in experiments as to the methods and cost of stump removal on cut-over lands. The cooperative work of the station was carried on with farmers in corn-breeding investigations, studies of clover-seed culture, aninuil breeding, particularly with Shorthorn cattle, spraying trials, and preservation of fence posts; while with this Department this work was carried on along the lines of plant and animal breeding, preserv- ative wood treatment, cereal diseases, particularly (lie rusts and smuts, and the swamp fever work already mentioned. At the school of agriculture at Crookston, the experimental field work has thus far been preliminary. The farm was drained and put in nuich better condition than formerly. The live stock includes a number of Shorthorn and Holstein cattle, and a good poultry plant has been established with a large flock of Leghorns and Plymouth Rock fowls, of which cir Department of Nevada State University. J. E. Stubbs, D. D., LL. D., Director. Progress was made during the year in differentiating college and station work, relieving station men of college duties, and providing improved quarters and equipment for the station. An insectary was completed during the year, and a small building was constructed on a ranch about 20 miles south of Elko and equipped for laboratorj'^ work on animal diseases (PI. VI, fig. 1). Shortly after the close of the A'ear C. A. Jacol)son, of the Rockefeller Institute, was added to the station staff as research chemist, and A. A. Heller was appointed assistant botanist and horticulturist during the j'ear. The last legislature appropriated $10,000 for the purchase of a farm in the northeastern part of the State for dry-farming experiments, and durinof the year a tract of IGO acres was selected in the northern jDart of Elko Count}'. The management of this farm was intrusted to the board of control of the experiment station. The station con- tinues to participate in the management of the Lincoln County Ex- periment Farm in southern Nevada, being represented on the board of control of this farm by P. B. Kennedy of the station staff. In accordance with the terms of a state pure food and drugs act, approved March 13, 1909, the work of inspection is placed in the hands of the director and chemist of the station. S. C. Dinsmore, junior chemist of the station, will have immediate charge of the work, for which an appropriation of $6,000 for two years is provided. An. Rpt. Office of Experimenf Stations. 1909. Plate VI. ■•.'■• ■ ^^^^■■%_ ^m?vas made diiriiifr the year in the investip^ations under the Ailanis Act whicli, as in previous years, are confined to plant hreedinr .xtiKiyiii),' iii>|ini|>ri)i(i(>n of nitrogen by cereals Kriiuti in conjunctioii with legumes. NEW JERSEY. 151 tions made and the results obtained in the mosquito work was issued during the year. Studies of insects att'ecting sweet potatoes, straw- berries, and cranberries, as well as a study of fruit maggots, cabbage maggots, flea beetles, and plant lice, are also in progress. Consider- able attention was given to the study of insecticides, which is carried on in cooperation with the department of chemistry of the station. The value of miscible oils in combating insect pests was made a sub- ject of inquiry in this connection. During the year a bulletin on the application of insecticide materials and one on the composition of Paris green and lead arsenate were published. The work on oysters by the department of biolog}'. which has been in ])rogress for a series of years, is now largely confined to determin- ing the relation between the temperature of the water and the time of setting spawn. Dift'erent methods of setting spawn are also re- ceiving attention. This work was conducted under state aid, but provision for its continuance was not made by the legislature. Demonstration work and cooperative experiments continued to be a prominent feature of the stations' activities. The field day for farmers at the station, established by the State Board of Agriculture, was largely attended this year and was an excellent means of ac- quainting farmers with the station work. The publications received from the stations during the year were as follows : Bulletins 213, Insecticide materials and their application, with suggestions for practice; 214, Analyses of Paris green and lead arsenate; 215, Analyses and valuations of commercial fertilizers. Analyses of fertilizer supplies, home mixtures, and special com- pounds; 216, The house mosquito — a city, town, and village problem; 217, Analyses and valuations of commercial fertilizers and ground bone; 218, Vegetable-fruit seed distribution for 1909; and 219, The first season with the peach orchard. The income of the station during the past fiscal year was as fol- lows : State Station: State ai)i)roi)riation (fiscal year endeil October 31, 1909) pS, 806. 18 College Station : T'liilcd States ai)i)ri)iiriaf ion, TTatcli Act 15,000.00 United States approiJi-iation, Adams Act 11,000.00 Total - &4, 806. 18 A report of the receipts and expenditures for the I"^nited States funds has been rendered in accordance with the schedules prescribed by this Dei)artnient and has been approved. The value and the appreciation of the work of the stations is manifested by the close touch of the agricultural population of the State with the institutions. 152 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. In addition to their inspection and special Avork, the stations are exertinj^ a stroncr influence in the State, whicii is reflected in im- proved methods of farm practice and larger returns. NEW MEXICO. Agricultural Experiment Station of New Mexico, AgrictiUural College. Department of New Mexico College of Agricultiuv and Mechanic Arts. Luther Foster, M. S. A., Director. Numerous chancres on the staff of the apicultural experiment sta- tion occurred during the year and at its close. L. A. Pringle, assist- ant in chemistry, was succeeded by A. P. Bjerregaard, and E. Heringa, assistant in the soil physics department, was succeeded by W. L. Powers. J. B. Stoneking w^as employed as an assistant in the irrigation department. At the close of the year, P. C. Standley, assistant in botany, accepted a position with the Smithsonian Insti- tution, and was succeeded by E. I. Werber. W. G. Hummel resigned his position as assistant in agronomy and his place was filled by the appointment of J. H. Squires. Since the close of the fiscal year, B. P. Fleming, in charge of the irrigation work, has accepted a position in the ITniversity of Iowa and has been succeeded by F. L. Bixbv, of this Office. Wilson Hall, the new agricultural building, was completed and ready for occupancy about the middle of the year. This building furnishes offices and laboratories for the departments of agronomy, animal husbandry, horticulture, and irrigation engineering, in addi- tion to an office for the director and room for the station library. Other minor buildings were constructed in different departments for the protection of machinery and for storage purposes. The legis- lature gave no direct assistance to the station at its last session, and failed to make the usual appropriation for farmers' institutes. The Adams fund projects under way Avere carried forward during the year and in some of them material progress w^as made. In the cactus studies, additional data were obtained this season from the older bearing plants in regard to the quantity of fruit which w^ill probably be produced by these plants when they reach bearing size. The results have also pointed out the necessity of spines as a protec- tion against rabbit depredations and the sensitiveness of the plants to change of soil and altitude and to the diminution of the w'ater supply. Culture tests with spineless cacti are in progress and prep- arations for breeding work are being made. A bulletin reporting the results of experiments on the digestibility of prickly pear by cattle was issued during the vear. The results thus far secured in the rubber-plant investigations with the guayule have all been negative. NEW MEXICO. 153 Experiments in connection with the irrifration project indicate a loss of water by percolation below G feet when the land is irrigated to a depth of G inches. Four 3-inch irrigations where a soil mulch was maintained produced the largest yield. Pot experiments in this connection showed that apparently ci 3-inch mulch, the cost of main- tenance considered, is more economical and effective than either a 6-inch or 9-inch mulch on a sandy loam soil, under the climatic con- ditions of the locality. In the improvement work on chillies, the horticulturist has under observation 15 strains of these plants secured by selection. In the crown-gall work, 100 varieties of grapes are being studied to deter- mine their relative resistance to the disease and other points of value. A severe freeze in 1907 destroyed the apple crop and interfered with the progress of the codling-moth project. It was found impossible, however, to starve out this insect, and it was observed that the moth flies longer distances than is usually supposed. Under the Hatch fund studies were made on the adaptability of small fruits to !Mesilla Valley conditions, resistance of peach buds to cold, low pruning of peach trees to prevent sun scald, tests of varieties of grapes and apples for sandy soils, summer, fall, and spring prun- ing, and of sweet potatoes, celery, onions, cantaloups, and other vegetables, as well as some ornamentals. The study of range prob- lems was continued, and a bulletin on the grasses is ready. On the station farm, variety tests of cereals, studies of cost of production, distance experiments, fertilizer trials, and rotation experiments were made. Cattle, lamb, and pig feeding experiments were conducted Avith success, the object being to test the value of alfalfa and various supplementary feeds. The following publications were received from this station during the year: Bulletins GG, The range problem in New Mexico; G7, Chili culture; 68, Injurious insects; and 69, Experiments on the digesti- l)ility of prickly pear by cattle; numerous press bulletins; and the Annual Keport for 190S. The income of the station during the past fiscal year was as follows: United States appropriation, Hatch Act $10,000.00 United States appropriation, Adams Act 11.000.00 Fees — 100.15 rami products 4. 21.S. 22 Miscellaneous ( including cooperative receipts) 1,300.00 Total 31, G13. 37 A rejiort of the receipts and expenditures for the T"^nited States funds has l)oen rendered in accordance with the schedules prescribed by this Department and has been approved. 154 KEPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. Good proji:ress was made by this .station in the study of ]iroblems of the fjreatest importance to the agriculture of tlie Territory, and the results are contributing in an inijiortant way to the advancement of the farming interests of the entire southern plateau region. NEW YORK. New York Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva. W. II. Jordan, D. Sc, Director. The principal investigations of the New York Station during the year differed very little from those outlined in the last report. The State granted an appropriation of $10,000 for a study of grape production in Chautauqua County, including methods of culture and the ravages of insect pests and fungi. No material change was made in the equipment of the station nor in its staff of workers. The Adams fund of the station was applied entirely to studies on the function of phytin in animal nutrition and to investigations on cheese bacteria and the changes they induce. Progress was made in both of these lines of work. In the work on phytin, an endeavor was made to determine whether the acid radical or the base end is responsible for the physiological effects observed when it is fed to animals. Calcium salt of phytin tried on a cow had no effect, and the studies were extended to other farm animals. The bacteriological changes occurring in the process of cheese curing, and the changes in the chemical composition which take place during the entire period of the ripening process, were studied a second time in the past year. The chemist, who cooperates with the bacteriologist in this project, gave special attention to casein salts. The greater number of investigations at this station were conducted with the Hatch and state funds. The horticultural department con- tinued its work on fruit as a main feature. Considerable attention was given to the preparation of a monographic work on plums in New York. The station maintains a collection of 15,000 varieties of fruit, which is held to be of the greatest value in making accurate descriptions of varieties in issuing these monographs. In addition to these lines of work, forcing house studies in plant nutrition, fer- tilizer experiments with apples, tests of tillage and sod mulch in apple orchards, observations on the growth of dwarf apple trees and of grapevines on resistant stocks, cultural and fertilizer experi- ments with grapes, extensive studies in plant breeding and green- house studies with tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and muskmelons were pursued. The chemist studied the soluble constituents of milk by filtering milk with the Briggs apparatus and determining the constituents NEW YORK. 155 in the serum. A chemical study was also made of the lime-snlphur mixture used for sprays. The effect of different kinds of lime was investigated, and it was found that lime containing magnesia does not give as concentrated a solution for spraying as lime containing no magnesia. The entomologist also worked with lime-sulphur sprays to deter- mine whether they are as recommended, whether they can be used in gas-spraying machines, and whether arsenicals can be applied with them. The extent of dilution has received attention, and it is urged that the sprays should be standardized as they are now on the market in commercial form. Studies were further made of cab- bage root maggots, maple Eriophyidw, apple and pear leaf hoppers, clover mite, lesser tarnished plant bug, and the cherry ermine moth. The brown-tail moth, the snowy tree cricket, the leaf blister mite, and the leaf hoppers and their secondary hosts, were also studied. The bacteriological department, in addition to its Adams fund work, also studied the milking machine with reference to the germ content of the milk. It was found that cleaner milk can be obtained with the machine than by hand milking, provided care is exercised. In agronomy some of the pot experiments with fertilizers were con- tinued, and a variety of field experiments were carried on. The cooperative work of the station with farmers included experi- ments in potato spraying and controlling currant cane blight, cabbage black rot, and the cabbage maggot. The cooperative work with this Department consisted in growing sugar beets and studying the control of the Hessian fly. The station did no extension work, but took part in farmers' institute work to some extent. The following publications were received from this station during the year: Bulletins 299, popular edition, May weather and fruit harvests; 302, popular edition. Is it wise to dip nursery stock? 303, Inspection of feeding stuffs; 304, Report of analysis of samples of fertilizers collected by the commissioner of agi'iculture during 1908; 305, Troubles of alfalfa in New York (with popular edition) ; 30G, Control of leaf blister mite in apple orchards (with popular edition) ; 307, Potato spraying experiments in 1907 (with popular edition) ; 308, Methods of paying for milk at cheese factories (with popular edition) ; 309, Variety test of strawberries and cultural directions (with popular edition) ; 310, Director's report for 1908: 311, Potato spraying experiments in 1908 (with popular edition) ; 312, The tus- sock motli in orchards (with jiopular edition) ; 313, InoculatioTi and lime as factors in gi'owing alfalfa (with popular edition) ; 314, A comparison of tillage and sod mulch in an apple orchard (with popular edition) ; and 315, The grape districts of New York and table of varieties; Technical Bulletins 7, The Sporotrichum bud rot 15G REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. of ciirnations and tlie silver top of June grass; 8, The bacterial flora of Clu'tldar cheese; and i), A Myoospluerella wilt of melons; Circulars 8, Dodder in alfalfa seed; 9, Keinedies for the San Jose scale and directions for their use; and 10, Lime and liming; and the Annual Iveport for IDOT, pts, 1, 2, and 8. The income of the station during the past fiscal year was as follows: United States appropriation, Hatch Act $1,500.00 United States appropriation, Adams Act 1,100.00 State appropriation 122.328.09 Balance from proviou.s year, state appropriation 7,230.78 Total 132,158.87 A report of the receipts and expenditures for the United States funds has been rendered in accordance with the schedules prescribed by this Department and has been approved. The New York Experiment Station is in a very prosperous condi- tion and enjoys the generosity of the State and the support of the state commissioner of agriculture, Avho works hand in hand with the institution. The members of the staff devote themselves entirely to station work and enjoy the advantage of having no college duties. The station is strongly organized and equipped in a number of de- partments, and is prosecuting its w'ork in an active and efficient manner. Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station, Ithaca. Department of New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University. II. J. Webber, Ph. D., Acting Director. The Cornell College and Station during the year continued to advance their educational and research w'ork in agriculture, and to increase materially the experimental equipment in several depart- ments. The new greenhouses for the college, for which the last legislature appropriated $30,000, were under construction during the year and when completed two of them, each 23 feet by 50 feet, will be used by the station. The plans of these greenhouses provide for a building with about 10,000 square feet of glass, in addition to labora- tories and potting .sheds with about 6,800 square feet of floor space. A new barn for which $25,000 had been appropriated was under con- struction during the j-ear. This barn will be for station use in so far as experiments are conducted by the dairyman. The concrete tanks for soil investigation, described in the last annual report of this Office, were completed during the year and partially brought into use. M. V. Slingerland, for many years connected with the station as entomologist, died March 10, 1909, He had been an energetic and NEW YORK. 157 efficient investigator in his field. A number of assistants were em- ployed during the year; otherwise no changes on the station staff occurred. At the close of the fiscal year L. H. Bailey was given leave of absence for the ensuing academic year, during which time H. J. Webber serves as acting dean and director. The facilities as well as the personnel for Adams fund work were increased during the year. In connection with these projects a large amount of breeding work was done principally with phlox, tomato, pepper, verbena, and certain other plants, for the purpose of study- ing heredity and segregation of hybrids. Studies of mutations and their influence in the production of varieties included an extensive examination of chemical injections on a pure line of wild Silene. An investigation of the causes and range of variations, including studies of variation in wild and cultivated plants under varying conditions, was conducted with timothy, peas, buckwheat, wheat, oats, and other crops under different soil and fertilizer conditions. With potatoes a study was made of bud variation and of the possibility of fixing and transmitting certain types by selection. The soil fertility project included pot culture experiments with wheat and oats, and a study of poor spots in soils to determine the reason of their existence. Bacteriological studies of the flora of these soils were also carried on. Lime and inoculation experiments with alfalfa were conducted as part of this project to determine whether the plant gives up nitrogen to the soil while it is growing. Timothj'^ grown with alfalfa contained a higher nitrogen content than that grown alone, and the difference was greater on a soil well supplied with lime than with one deficient in that constituent. The entomological work under the Adams Act was confined to a study of the joint-worm flies infesting grains and grasses. It was considered necessary to extend this project to include certain closely allied insects infesting various seeds. Two species of these seed- infestins: chalcis flies were found to be of considerable economic importance, and the result of the study of this phase of the subject was published in bulletin form." The Hatch fund work included fertilizer experiments with tim- othy in rotation with corn, oats and wheat, observations on the effect of weeds on corn, experiments with lime and inoculation for alfalfa, and breeding work with timothy, corn, oats, wheat, and cowpeas. It was found that the growth of alfalfa increased the nitrifying power of the soil, and that this was more marked on a soil well supplied with lime than one deficient in the latter. Certain non- leguminous crops exhibited definite relations to the formation of nitrates in the soil, but this property differed with different crops. "New York Cornoll Sta. r.iil. 20,',. 158 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. The absorption of nitrate nitro<^on by ^vhoat plants <;rown on a rich soil Mas not proportional to tho •growth of the plants but increased Avith a decrease in the soil moisture content and consequently wilh a decrease in the crop. The extensive studies of timoth}' broujjjht out the existence of a large number of very distinct biotypes Avhich probably originated as nuitations. It was found that by self-fertilizing these types they reproduced true and that such self-fertilized plants lost but little if any in vigor as the result of self-fertilization. Observations on the correlation of characters in corn have brought out a considerable degree of correlation of characters determinable at the time of- blos- soming with high 3'iekl, and some of these characters are considered as possibly serviceable in selecting individuals to breed together at time of flowering. The range of variation in yield, height, time of flowering, and duration of flowering of timothy as affected by sea- sonal changes was also determined. Along entomological lines it was determined that the knottiness of apples caused by the punctures of the red bug has heretofore been confused with a similar injury caused by plant lice and the plum curculio. A study of the life history showed that treatment directed against either of these insects would not control the red bug, and a promising treatment has been suggested. A number of lines of w^ork representing a very- large portion of the experimental work of the college were inaugurated and con- ducted with state funds. The department of soil technology carried on its investigation on soil granulation. The department of farm practice installed an experimental drainage system on the upland fields of the university farm, and continued its work on fertilizers for mangels, the results of which were published during the year.* The horticultural department continued its work on orchard sur- veys and also began a survey of the strawberry regions of the State during the year. Other work of this department included experi- ments Avith various sprays in the control of black rot of grapes, experiments in orchard management, the effects of fumes of ether and chloroform in hastening the flowering of bulbs, experiments with cucumber hybrids, the effect of cloth shade in growing vegetables, and fertilizer tests in growing tomatoes. In addition a systematic study of varieties of the peony and sweet pea was made for the pur- pose of securing authentic descriptions of the various forms under cultivation. The dei^artment of plant jDathology investigated grape diseases, bean diseases, pear blight, and ginseng diseases, and tested in this connection the value of commercial lime-sulphur as a fungicide. "New York Cornell Sta. Bui. 276. NEW YORK. 159 It was clearly demonstrated that bean anthracnose can be controlled by selecting clean pods for seed. The injury from fire blight on nurser}^ stock from large orchards was eii'ectively controlled by the prompt removal of infectetl blossoms and twigs from the trees, together with disinfection of the cuts. The test of lime-sulphur as a summer spray showed clearly that this spray gave fruit entirely free from injury and at the same time as free of scab as apples sprayed with Bordeaux mixture. Arsenate of lead was used with lime-sulphur with perfect safetj'^ to fruit and foliage and was just as effective for the control of the codling moth as with Bordeaux mixture. The individual records of the production of dilTerent cows in about 20 herds were collected, and studies made of sanitary and market milk i)roblems, the operation of cream separators upon the com- pleteness of skimming, the moisture content of butter, Camembert cheese making, and the leucocyte content of milk from different cows. The poultry department worked on numerous projects with refer- rcxice to breeding, feeding, incubation, and brooding. A vast dif- ference in the hatching quality of eggs as due to the method of keeping was observed. Eggs kept at 45 or 50° gave much better results than those kept at a temperature of 70° or higher. It was also learned that eggs lose fertility in hatching power rapidly unless kept under favorable conditions after the third week. The department of animal husbandry continued experiments on feeds for dairy cattle, and the conduct of the advanced registry for dairy cattle based on actual production of butter fat. In connection with the extension work of the college a considerable number of cooperative experiments are being conducted with farmers throughout the State. The station cooperates with this Department in the plant-disease survey work and the breeding of cereals. Xo extension work is conducted by the experiment station staff other than to give occasional lectures in state fair exhibitions. The publications received from this station during the year were as follows: Bulletins 254, Drainage in New York; 255, Bean anthrac- nose; 256, Street trees, their care and preservation; 257, Defects in American Cheddar cheese; 258, The molting of fowls; 259, The peony; 260, American varieties of beans; 261, Third report on the influence of manures on the yield of timothy hay: 268, Necrosis of the grapevine; 264, Experiments in the growth of clover on farms where it once grew but now fails; 265, On certain seed-infesting chalcis flies; 266, The l)lack rot of the grape and its control. Second report: and 267, Fertilizer and seeding experiments with root crops; Circulars 1. Testing the germination of seed corn; 2, Fungicides; 3, Some essentials in cheese making: 4. Soil drainage and fertility; 5, Suggestions from a survey of the trucking region of eastern Long 160 BEPOET OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. Island; 6, Suggestions concerning treiitmcnt of seed corn with de- terrents ngainst crows; and 7, An apparatus for measuring acidity in cheese making and butter making; and tiie Annual Keport for li)08. The income of the station during the past fiscal year was as fol- lows : United States appropriation, Hatch Act ,$13. HOO. 00 United States appropriation, Adams Act 9,000.00 Total 23,400.00 A report of the receipts and expenditures for the United States funds has been rendered in accordance with the schedules prescribed by this Department and has been approved. The State approjoriated $175,000 for the maintenance of the col- lege of agriculture, an increase over last year of $25,000. A new law provides for the appointment by the governor of five members on the Cornell board of trustees, to include the commissioner of agriculture and the state superintendent of education. The station is doing valuable work along a variety of lines. ISrOBTH CABOLINA. North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station, West Raleigh. Department of >sorth Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. C. B. Williams, M. S.. Director. The North Carolina Station followed the same lines of investiga- tion pursued the year before, when the station was brought under the management of a distinct board of control and its connection with the state board of agriculture terminated. The different lines of work were developed during the year and the station proceeded on a more settled and efficient basis. In March, 1909, the legislature passed a bill providing for paying for the printing of the bulletins and reports of the station. A new barn, costing $2,500, was built on the station farm to replace the one destroyed by fire. During the year Tait Butler, veterinarian and animal husbandman, resigned to take up editorial work. J. L. Burgess, formerly of this Department, was appointed to conduct work in the study of leading southern crops, their improvement, and their adaptation to tj'^pe soils. I. O. Schaub, assistant in soils at the Iowa Station, was appointed to carry on similar work at this station, but w^as later put in charge of extension work. The Adams fund projects were materially strengthened during the year by extra equipment and more workers. The work on apple and lettuce diseases was actively prosecuted, and a large collection of apple-leaf spot made for preliminary study; the life history of the lettuce drop disease, and a bacterial disease of lettuce were worked NORTH CAROLINA. 161 out. The studies in nitrification have shown the ohl sohition method to bo unreliable and work on devising new methods was instituted. Seventy-one per cent of the Kaleigh soils failed to nitrify. State- ments concerning this part of the work were recently published in Science. In studying the relation of the geology and chemistry of soils to productivity and fertilizer requirements, data have been collected for 44 plats on the station farm where different fertilizers have been applied to corn and cotton. Chemical and bacteriological studies of the soils are made in this connection. The object of one phase of the work is to determine how far plants can use ammonia. Investigations on '• double flower " and sterility in blackberries and dewberries were pursued. Many varieties planted at the station are observed to deter- mine the cause of sterility and how it may be overcome. Investigations on the toxicity of cotton-seed meal were essentially experiments with pigs first fed whole meal and afterwards various extracts carefully prepared. Superficial observations and examina- tions of the blood and urine as well as post-mortem examinations were made. Some of the extracts appeared more harmful than others. Under the Hatch Act the new fig anthracnose was studied, investi- gation of cabbage diseases was undertaken, feeding experiments with live stock and poultry were conducted, and studies of some insects "were made. The poultryman compared meat meal, cotton-seed meal, and bone meal with corn and bran in different combinations as feed for poultry, and nuide breeding experiments with reference to Qgg production and vitalit}'. In feeding experiments with pigs a corn ration was compared with rations containing 7 parts of corn to 1 of cotton-seed meal, 4 of corn to 1 of cotton-seed meal, and 1 of linseed meal to 4 of corn. Feeding experiments with cotton-seed meal were also made with horses and mules. The data thus far collected in this work are regarded as pre- liminary. Apparently by using a large cotton-seed meal ration in feeding dairy cows more butter was produced and a saving effected of 20 cents per hundred pounds of feed, together with the production of more manure. The entomologist made experiments in fumigation to find a sub- stitute for carbon bisulphid in destroying the corn weevil. Studies on the verification of the life history of the plum curculio were made and the harlequin cabbage bug was also studied. The following publications were received by the Office during the year: Bulletins liJ7, Some insect enemies of garden crops; 198, Han- dling and marketing of milk and cream: and 109, Feeding experi- ments with cows and calves; and the Annual Keport for 1908. 4G04.5°— 10 11 162 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. The income of the station for the past fiscal year was as follows: United States aitproprintiou, Hatch Act $15,000.00 United States appropriation, Adams Act 11,00(3.00 Farm products 2, 903. 88 Miscellaneous 1, 840. 30 Total 30, 744. 18 A report of the receipts and expenditures for the United States funds has been rendered in accordance with the schedules prescribed by this Department and has been approved. The affairs in general of the station appear in good condition, and the funds which are derived from federal apropriations are econom- ically used. Agricultural Experiment Station of the North Carolina State Department of Agriculture, Raleigh. B. W. KiLGOKE, M. S., Director. Tlie principal lines of work at this station and its organization during the past year were practicalh' the same as heretofore. The experimental work included soil investigations to determine the plant food requirements of crops grown on different soil types, the improvement of crops through breeding and selection, the introduc- tion of new varieties of orchard fruits, trucking crop and nut culture experiments, feeding tests with beef cattle, and the study of the insect enemies of the various crops. The field work was conducted mainly on the 4 branch substations of the department in Iredell, Buncombe, Edgecombe, and Pender counties. Considerable demonstration work is done to carry the results of these branch stations and of the laboratory direct to the farmer. In addition to this considerable farmers' institute work is performed. It is planned to have the demonstration work gradually cover the State. Bulletins and circulars are freely sent out. The range of the horticultural work in the State is unusualh' wide, and much interest on account of the great possibilities is exhibited along this line. The station carried on cooperative work with the Bureau of Plant Industry of this Department in the study of the Scuppernong grape at the Pender substation. Cooperative work with tobacco was also followed. The income of this station from the department of agriculture is about $120,000 and about $60,000 is devoted to experimental work in the field and laboratory and in popularizing the results. Bulletins presenting the results of the work of the station were issued during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1909, on the following subjects: Reports on fertilizers and fertilizer inspection; commer- NORTH DAKOTA. 163 cial apple culture in mountain regions; varieties of fruit for grow- ing in North Carolina: annual report of farmers' institutes, 1908; stock feeds; report on food adulteration for 1908; variety, distance, and fertilizer tests with corn and cotton: peanut culture; the prepa- ration of fruit and vegetables for market ; and orchard spraying. NORTH DAKOTA. North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, Agricultural College. Department of North Dakota Agricultural College. .7. ir. Worst. LL. D.. Director. The North Dakota Station continued its work largely along lines previously taken up, and was favored by state aid in the development of its equipment and its experimental activities. G. L. Martin was appointed dairyman in the station, and a number of assistants were added to the .stalf. The erection of new buildings has allowed the agricultural department laboratory space for its soil work and for rural engineering, the botanist additional space for seed analysis, and has also improved the facilities of the veterinarian and domestic science Avorkers. A poultry house was constructed and other minor improvements were made from general funds. An extension at the exi^ense of $1,500 was made to the experimental mill building. The last state legislature appropriated, among other items, $30,000 for a veterinary building, $3,000 for a state serum institute, $2,500 for seed inspection. $-24,000 for the biennial period for demonstration farm work, $10,000 for the biennial period for establishing the Hettinger substation, and $5,000 for wheat and flour investigations. A substation was established at Langdon on a quarter section of land donated by the citizens of Cavalier County. Work on the sub- station was begun during the year. A pure-seed law was enacted by the legislature under which a seed inspection laboratory will be established at the station. The chemcial laboratory building was destroyed by fire December 24, 1909, at a loss on the building and equipment of $03,000. Work on Adams projects is mainly in the departments of chem- istry, veterinary medicine, and botany. In the project on soil fer- tility in relation to the wheat plant, chemical examinations were made of soils from the demon.stration farms and special attention given to their humus content. In following a chemical study of the nitrogen of wheat, samples of different kinds of wheat from different parts of the United States were examined. The Adams fund work of the botanist was centered mainly on rust resistance and yielding capacity of cereals as possibly connected with .soil organisms. Four distinct seedling parasites of the wheat plant which persi.st in the soil were discovered, and it is believed that the=e may largely account for the 164 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. deterioration in yields. The work on swamj) fever was actively prosecuted with (l horses and an attempt was made to produce im- nnmity hy inocuhilion with eciuine bhxxl. Under the Hatch Act, the chemist .\)rtli Dakota Station continues to be administered efficiently, and to be a highl>' important factor in the development of the agri- culture of the State. It enjoys the confidence and support of the farmers, and the improved facilities and the greater state aid it has received have enabled a steady extension and broadening of its influ- ence and usefulness. OHIO. Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station, Wooster. C. B. Thorne, M. S. a., Director. A steady and logical development of the work of this station was made during the year. No changes took place in heads of depart- ments, and such changes as occurred in organization were mainly the addition of assistants to the staff. The state appropriations available for the year amounted to $118,990 as against $84,000 the previous year. In addition the State furnished the paper required for the station's printing and correspondence, amounting: in value to several thousand dollars annually. The state appropriations provided for the purchase of the Strongsville experi- mental farm of 125 acres. Some minor additions to equipment were made during the year, including a piggery, with yards, and improve- ments in the water system. Steps were taken to develop the work in animal husbandry and milling and baking tests of cereals. An expert miller was emjDloyed to aid in the latter work. Special attention was also given to the development of cooperative and extension work. Several demonstra- tion farms were established during the year. A larjre amount of work centered around the three Adams fund projects of the station, viz, the increase and fixation of desirable properties in plants, the roles of phosphorus and other mineral elements in animal nutrition, and the roles of lime and phosphorus in the maintenance of soil fertility. The present outcome of these investigations is that the hope is being realized that the long- continued experiments of this station will throw light upon the relation of soil fertilization to plant composition and ujDon animal nutrition. In addition to the Adams fund projects the following subjects received attention during the year: Methods of culture, comparison of varieties, and production of new varieties of the cereal crops, clovers, and other forage plants ; the feeding of horses, cattle, sheep, and swine for the production of work, meat, and wool; the examina- tion of seeds for purity and germination ; the identification of weeds OHIO. 167 and weed seeds; the control of weeds by spraying; the study of the diseases of farm crops; analytical work required in the various lines of work elsewhere enumerated, and the pursuit of special studies on the composition of soils and the eftect of variations in such com- position upon that of the produce of the soil; sjoecial studies on the catalpa midge, the raspberry Byturus, and the codling worm, to- gether with general studies on numerous other insect pests; propa- gation of forest trees and the continuance of a forest survey of the State; further comparisons between the mulch and clover crop sys- tems of orchard culture; demonstration work in orchard manage- ment, conducted in various sections of the State, and the beginning of an orchard survey of the State; and the continuance of the station's work on the maintenance of soil fertility. The above work is supplemented by a department of cooperative experiments, which conducted dairy, variety, and cultural tests cover- ing fourteen lines of work, in cooperation with more than 2,000 persons, located in 59 of the 88 counties of the State. The State is now divided into four districts, with a field assistant in each district, who visits as many of these cooperators as possible each year. This department is also conducting investigations in farm manage- ment, in cooperation with the Bureau of Plant Industry of this De- partment, and the station department of agronomy is cooperating with the same bureau in the study of varieties of barley, oats, timothy, and soy beans. The department of forestry is conducting work in forest tree planting in cooperation with several hundred farmers, and also with several public institutions. The depart- ments of horticulture, entomology, and botany are united in a series of tests, conducted in cooperation with the owners of orchards in different sections of the State, the object of which is to demonstrate the possibility of profitable apple culture in the State. The depart- ment of entomology has investigated the apple-root louse in coopera- tion with the division of orchard and nursery inspection of the state department of agriculture. The following publications of the station were received during the past year: Bulletins 184, The maintenance of fertility — statistics of production in field experiments with fertilizers and manures from 1894 to 190G, inclusive; 185, Meteoroh)gical summaiT — Press bulle- tins — Index; 193, Silage for fattening cattle; 191, The more im- portant insects affecting Ohio shade trees; 195, Feeding work horses; 196, Meteorological sunnnary — Press bulletins — Index; 197, The catalpa midge {Cecidomyia catalpte) ; 198, Spring practice in eco- nomic zoology; 199, Calendar for the treatment of plant diseases and insect pests; 200, Second annual report on forest conditions in Ohio; 201, The mineral elements in animal nutrition; and 202, The raspberry Byturus {Byturus unicolor) ; Circulars 77, Cooperative 1G8 EEPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. potato experiments for 1908; 81, Millet; 82, Cooperative forestry- work; 83, Plans and summary tables of the experiments at the central farm, Wooster, on the maintenance of soil fertility, arranged for reference in tlie field; 84, Coojx'rative wheat variety work; 85, A visitor's guide to the more important features of the station's work; 86, Score cards for dent corn; 87, Papers read at the summer meeting of the Ohio State Horticultural Society held at Gypsum, Ohio, August 12, 1908, in the orchards of Mr. William Miller; 88, Recent experiments with oats; 89, Meetings of the Ohio State Horticultural Society; 90, Seasonal report of potatoes, 1908; 91, Alfalfa culture; 92, Plans and summary tables of the experiments at the central farm, Wooster, on the maintenance of soil fertility, arranged for reference in the field; 93, Carriers of phosphorus in fertilizers; and 95, Apple spraying in 1908; Reprints of Circulars 1-50; and the Annual Re- ports for 1907 and 1908. The income of the station during the past fiscal year was as follows : United States appropriation, Hatch Act $15,000.00 United States appropriation, Adams Act 11,000.00 State appropriation 118, 990. 00 Balance from previous year, state appropriation G1,G28. 28 Farm products 12, 047.04 Miscellaneous L 8,414.81 Total 227,080.13 A report of the receipts and expenditures for the United States funds has been rendered in accordance with the schedules prescribed by this Department and has been approved. This station is using the liberal funds with which it is provided in the systematic and logical scientific development of its well estab- lished lines of work, and in disseminating the practical results of this work throughout the State. OKLAHOMA. Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station, StiUivatcr. Department of Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College. J. A. Craig, B. S. A., Director. The Oklahoma Station concentrated its efforts in 1909 on the lines of work followed during the previous year. Changes on the staff were made by the appointment of C. E. Sanborn as entomologist in place of J. F. Nicholson, who entered commercial work, of A. L. Lovett as assistant in entomology, of G. M. Lambert as assistant dairyman, and by the resignation of C. Beatty as station chemist. A new hog barn was built during the year at a cost of about $1,200 (PL VI, fig. 2). A sheep barn is under w^ay and also a large farm OKLAHOMA. 169 barn, which will be used partly for station purposes. The State now appropriates $2,500 annually for investigations in the use of vaccine for blackleg and serum for hog cholera. Seven Adams fund projects are being studied, but so far no reports on the work have been published. A new project recently begmi consists of breeding studies for the purpose of establishing a breed of sheep combining mutton, wool, and early breeding qualities. An- other project just begun includes a study of bud development of peach and apple trees as affected by soil fertility and moisture con- tent and of the influence of the starch stored in twigs on cold resist- ance during winter and early spring. Promising headway was made by the veterinary department in its work on artificial impregnation and the effect of cotton seed when fed to breeding stock. The results of some of this work are ready for the press. Progress was also made in the study of soil moisture, air and soil temperatures, humidity, receptivity of pistils, viability of pollen, and other factors in their relation to the setting of fruit on the tomato, and definite results will be arrived at in the near future. The breeding of drought-resistant corn and sorghums was continued, together with the study of the morphological characters of the plants to determine their influence on drought resistance. The crosses and selections made in connection with this work were tested under con- ditions of low rainfall. The investigations carried on under the Hatch Act were quite numerous. Tlie veterinarian experimented with serum to prevent hog cholera, and this work has been of genuine service to the hog raisers of the State. The prevention of blackleg by means of black- leg vaccine was also given attention. Since July 1, 1908, 46 black- leg vaccinating outfits have been sent to stockmen, and the depart- ment has distributed up to the present time 768,370 doses of vaccine. Bulletins on the bacterial content of butter and the bacterial analysis of water are in preparation. The horticultural department was engaged in weed studies, plant- ing and testing forest and orchard trees, comparing methods of orchard cultivation and cover crops, and experimenting with garden crops. The department of agronomy continued its work in establishing Bermuda-grass pastures, grass roots having been sent to 62 farmers of the State in the spring, and in distributing improved seed, of which samples were sent for trial to 80 farmers since March, 1008. In continuous grain culture tests the plat growing wheat continu- ously without manure has yielded a 6-year average of 14 bushels, while the adjoining plat treated with barnyard manure for a similar period has yielded an average of 25 bushels per acre. Plant breed- ing and culture tests were conducted with different field crops, spe- 170 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. cial attention boinp; jjiven to corn and alfalfa, which are preemi- nently adapted to the bottom lands of the State. Tlie dairy department continued experiments relating to the cost of a pound of butter and to the influence bearing on the incorpora- tion of moisture in this product. The animal husbandry department devoted its attention largely to feeding experiments with hogs and sheep, and worked in cooper- ation with the veterinary department and the department of chem- istry in determining the influence of feeding cotton-seed meal to hogs. The station recognizes that stock farming must nece.ssarily keep a leading position in the agriculture of Oklahoma, and for that reason the foundation for some work in feeding and breeding is being prepared on an extensive scale. The department of entomology is in charge of the nursery in- spection of the State, having inspected 97 nurseries since July, 1908, and is studying the hibernation of the chinch bug and methods of spraying for the destruction of orchard insects. The nursery in- spection has brought this department into close touch with the nur- serymen throughout the State. Since Jul}', 1908, the chemical department has made 314 analyses of feeds, dairy products, and miscellaneous materials. The work for the feed-inspection service was also done in this laboratory. The following publications were received from this station dur- ing the year: Bulletins 81, Texas fever; 82, Alfalfa in Oklahoma; and 83, Alfalfa seed in Oklahoma; Circulars 11, The cattle tick; and 12, Summary of experiment station w'ork; a press bulletin; and the Annual Report for 1908. The income of the station during the past fiscal year was as f ollow s : United States appropriation. Hatch Act $15,000.00 United States appropriation, Adams Act 11, 000. 00 State appropriation 2,500.00 Miscellaneous (including receipts from dairy) 33,402.07 Balance from previous year, miscellaneous 58.37 Total 61, 960. 44 A report of the receipts and expenditures for the United States funds has been rendered in accordance with the schedules prescribed by this Department and has been approved. The affairs at the Oklahoma Station are apparently tending to- ward a better and more permanent organization, and the work of the institution is undoubtedly far-reaching in its effect upon the farming industry of the State, OREGON. 171 OREGON. Oregon Experiment Station, Cnrvallis. Department of Oregon State Agricultural College. James Withycombe, M. Agr., Director. Practically no change was made in the organization and policy of this station during the year. Previously well-established lines of work were developed and a number of changes and new appointments of assistants were made. H. S. Jackson succeeded C. C. Gate as assistant plant pathologist, and H. V. Tartar, B. Pilkington, and Lyman Bundy were appointed assistant chemists, the first giving his whole time to a chemical study of the lime-sulphur spray. E. J. Kraus was made assistant horticulturist vice R. W. Allen, who was ap- pointed superintendent of the Umatilla substation. A. G. Lunn was added to the staff as assistant poultryman, and James Koeber and W. L. Powers as assistant agronomists. P. H. Spillman succeeded C. C. Clark as horticulturist at the Eastern Oregon substation, and Robert Withycombe was made superintendent of this station. A dry farm of 220 acres, under station direction, was established at Moro, Sherman County, during the year, with a state appropria- tion of $5,000 for the biennium, supplemented by an equal amount from the Bureau of Plant Industry of this Department in coopera- tion. Horticultural work was also begun on the Umatilla project experimental farm at Hermiston with a state appropriation of $6,000 for the biennium, supplemented with an equal amount by the Bureau of Plant Industry. The construction of the main section of the large agricultural building was begun. This building com- pleted, with greenhouse, is to cost $G0,000. Eight Adams fund projects received more or less attention during the year. Investigations on pollination and irrigation of the apple, apple anthracnose, gummosis of the cherry, lime-sulphur sprays, and incubation of hens' eggs were actively prosecuted. Preliminary re- ports on the latter and on pollination of apples have been published.* Studies on active principles of hops were temporarily suspended during the year. The soil leaching studies were continued. In addition to these Adams fund projects, the following subjects received attention during the year : Long and short rotation sj^stems for increasing soil fertilit}^; alfalfa for hay and pasture; kale as a winter dairy feed and soiling crop; varieties of vetches adapted to the climatic and soil conditions of the Wilhimetto Valley; breeding vetches for higher protein content ; breeding kale to increase its yield and quality; cultivation versus no cultivation without weeds (in cooperation with the Bureau of Plant Industry of this Depart- " Oregon Sta. Huls. 100, 103, 104, 172 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. inent) ; irrio^ation on (lie station farm for vetches, clover, and alfalfa (in cooperation with this Office) ; sniud carried on as proviously, supported by a state api)r()priati()ii t>t'$r),U(JO. A lar^e miniber of cooperative experi- ments throii«;;liout the State to test the fertilizer needs of the soil for tobacco were in j)roed, of the staff, is on leave taking advanced work in soil bacteriology in Germany. W. L. Mallory was appointed assistant in animal husbandry and agronomy for work on Adams fund projects. The dairy division was installed during the year in its quarters in the basement of the new agricultural building. The equipment of this division is now very much better than formerly, and its efficiency in experimental lines is consequently in position to increase. Satisfactory progress was made in a number of the Adams fund projects. The horticulturist has under way a large breeding study for the purpose of determining how late blooming varieties of apples may be obtained for use in Virginia, where late frosts often injure the apple crop. A study of the history of fruit bud formation in VIRGINIA. 195 the common orchard fruits has been made, preliminary to an investi- gation rehiting to the eti'ect of soil environment on fruit bud forma- tion. The fermentation studies, showing the possibility of control- ling cider fermentation by means of selected yeasts, have been in part reported upon, and the final results will appear in the report for 1900. The study of problems in the biology of canning, pertain- ing mainly to apples, potatoes, beans, and corn, has been begun. The study of the cause of self-sterility in fruits was continued, principally with pears. This work has been transferred from the field to the greenhouse, and the accumulated data are being summarized for publication. The study of the fixation of phosphoric acid in the soil, by the department of chemistry, has now been carried on for four years in the laboratory, the greenhouse, and the field, and a progress report will soon be published. The project on the eifect of different methods of treatment and of grazing on pasture grasses is being studied on 20 acres of plats at the station and at a number of different places in the State. In connection with this work an effort is made to determine means for the eradication of " broom sedge " from pastures. In the study of soil bacteria good progress was made. At the station, inoculated soy beans yielded an increase of 1 ton of hay and 10 bushels of seed per acre, as compared Avith a similar plat of unin- oculated soy beans. Other results gave a reasonable basis for the estimation that the inoculation of soils from legume nodules will increase the nitrogen content of the soil without the presence of the host plant. By means of pot experiments it was found that the presence of denitrifying organisms in the soil decreased plant growth, and that denitrification Avas more common in open loam than in clay soils. The application of fresh manure increased the denitrifying activitv to a greater extent than did the use of new straw. The department of animal husbandry made a systematic study of the curative effect of jjood feedinc: and care in the eradication of tuberculosis from dairy and breeding herds. Careful records were kept of all the animals and they were examined and tested by the veterinarian from time to time. Some of the animals will be slaughtered soon and post-mortem examinations will be made. Work carried on with other funds included a study of the lime resources of the State and of the comparative value of ground lime- stone and burned lime l)y the department of chemistry. Studies of inheritance in garden vegetal)les with jiarticular reference to Menders law, varietal studies of orchard fruits, fertilizer experiments with apples, and a culture test of basket willows in cooperation with the forest service were conducted by the department of horticidture, and continued efi'orts to imi)rove the crops most commonly grown in 196 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. Virginia, and cxporinients with grasses, forage, fertilizer, and crop rotations were made by the department of agronomy. The dairy department studied the production of sanitary milk and the efficiency of farm sejDarators, while the department of animal husbandry gave special attention to feeding tests in order to determine the most eco- nomical use of silage in feeding steers and the comparative value of various substitutes for milk in feeding calves. The station cooperates freely with other agencies conducting agri- cultural work in the State. Three projects are carried on in coopera- tion with the United States Department of Agriculture, two with the Virginia Truck Experiment Station, and plans are being made to cooperate with the state department of agriculture. During the year all station field work and equipment was segregated from that of the college, which is resulting in a more effective and more eco- nomical management for both. The six local experiment stations established by the State are under the joint control of the station and the Bureau of Plant Industry of this Department. These stations, located in the several tobacco districts of the State