MICHIGAN. 87 



The horticultural work of the station is now divided between Pro- 

 fessor Taft. who has charge of the work at Soutli Haven, and Pro- 

 fessor Fletcher, who has charge of the work at the college. The 

 work in progress and that planned includes studies of pollination, 

 renovation of old orchards, the commercial production and the dis- 

 eases of lettuce, breeding experiments with potatoes with reference 

 to starch content and blight resistance, selection of tomatoes for rot 

 resistance, cold storage of apples and pears, fall spraying for San 

 Jose scale, and the fall planting of hardy garden seeds. 



The bacteriologist is studying the action" of soil bacteria in ren- 

 dering soil materials available for plants, and is also investigating 

 the nodules of legumes, the use of cultures of nitrogen-fixing bacteria, 

 and bacterial diseases of plants. The chemist is cooperating with 

 other departments, and is studying in water cultures the hostility of 

 crops to succeeding crops in a rotation. The entomologist is pre- 

 paring a bulletin on insects affecting vegetables, which will embody 

 original studies of a number of insects and methods of treatment. 

 He is now studying greenhouse insects. 



The last legislature dealt liberally with the college and station. 

 It removed the limitation to the amount which the college might re- 

 ceive under the one-tenth mill tax, thus increasing the annual income 

 from the State from $100,000 to $157,000. An appropriation of 

 $55,000 was made to replace Wells Hall, which was destroyed by 

 fire during the winter, $'20,000 was appropriated for the purchase of 

 live stock and the maintenance of experiments in animal husbandry, 

 including at least $2,000 for poultry, and $10,000 for the removal of 

 barns to a new location. The experimental work of the station has 

 been increased, the organization has been improved, and the outlook 

 for the future work of the station is promising. 



LINES OF WORK. 



The principal lines of work conducted at the Michigan Station 

 during the past year were as follows: Chemistry; analysis and con- 

 trol of fertilizers and feeding stuffs; bacteriology — study of milk 

 supply and the bacteria of the dairy, bacteria of soils and legmnes; 

 field experiments — fertilizer, cultural and variety tests with sugar 

 beets and many other field crops, production of sugar-beet seed, 

 rotation, experiments with cowpeas, soy beans, and other legumes, 

 breeding and selection of wheat; horticulture — variety tests, orchard 

 management, breeding and selection of potatoes and tomatoes, and 

 cold storage; diseases of plants — fungus diseases of the sugar beet, 

 clover, vegetables, and fruits; feeding experiments — utilization of 

 cowpeas, soy beans, and other legumes, comparison of corn silage 

 with dried corn fodder, and with beet pulp, feeding swine, calves, and 

 dairy cows; diseases of animals; entomology; and stable hygiene. 



