44 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



act relative to the standard milk can. The present Dairy 

 Inspector will undoubtedly submit in his report the total num- 

 ber of samples of dairy products obtained this year and I will 

 not take further space regarding my work in the investigation 

 of the production and sale of dairy products. 



On May ist I assumed the duties of Field Agent in charge of 

 seed and plant improvement work as carried on by the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture in conjunction with farmers, especially 

 those who are members of the Maine Seed Improvement Asso- 

 ciation. In fact, prior to ]\Iay ist considerable of my time was 

 devoted to making plans for this season's work. Varieties of 

 oats and wheat, together with corn, were sent out by the De- 

 partment of Agriculture to about thirty members who desired 

 seed for a basis of selection and improvement. All seed sent 

 out to farmers was tested for germination. The only trouble 

 with sending out seed corn for variety tests is that corn is so 

 delicate that it is susceptible to ready changes when planted 

 only a few miles from the region where it has developed during 

 previous seasons. Hence, the farmer would ordinarily do bet- 

 ter in breeding corn to select the best varieties that have become 

 acclimated to the region wherein his farm is situated. In the 

 future it would seem advisable to encourage this practice and 

 not send out varieties of corn from the Department of Agricul- 

 ture unless some particularly meritorious variety should be 

 tested out. In the problem of improving grains the Department 

 of Agriculture could do a most valuable service by sending out 

 to farmers a few of the standard varieties of oats, wheat, barley 

 or other grains in order to find out to what conditions each 

 variety was best adapted and the most productive strains to 

 grow under widely differing conditions of soil and climate in 

 this State. Five tenth-acre plots of grain on each of two farms 

 in each county of Maine would certainly yield some valuable 

 data relative to the value of dift'erent grains. 



In regard to the improvement of potatoes, one of the first' 

 requirements should he to determine exactly what types of 

 potatoes the southern seed trade and other markets demand. 

 More should be known about j^otato markets anrl their require- 

 ments so that Maine farmers interested in the production of 

 potatoes for seed stock could have some source of information 

 relative to varieties of potatoes that it is desirable to grow 



