08 RKPORT OK OFKTCK OF KXPKRIMENT STATIONS. 



that tluMv is a liluTiil ])i"()fit in feeding some j)rotein-ric-h feed to 

 cattle Iteing fattened on pasture. 



Among the investigations recentlj' started is one comi)aring a pro- 

 prietary oalf meal with othei- rations in rearing calves; studies of 

 noxious weeds in the State; the j)roHts from spraying orchards, and 

 seed and cultivation in potato growing. 



Breeding and selection experiments for the improvement of Avinter 

 wheat, oats, corn, and alfalfa are in progress and are yielding valu- 

 able results in developing varieties having well-defined (pialities or 

 suited to special purposes and conditions. The work of the station 

 on field crops and forage plants is very extensive and continues to be 

 done to a large extent in cooperation with the Bureau of Plant In- 

 dustry of this Department and with over 1,800 farmers in different 

 parts of the State. Cooperation is also in progress in spraying 

 orchards in different parts of the State. Members of the station 

 staff take part in the farmers' institute Avork and station and college 

 men were the principal speakers on the educational trains known as 

 " seed-corn specials," " potato specials," " pure-seed specials," and 

 " dairy specials," which traversed the leading railroad lines of the 

 State advocating improved methods in agricultural practice. 



Experiments at the North Platte substation have been undertaken 

 to test varieties of grains, gi'asses, and forage crops adapted to semi- 

 arid conditions. Macaroni and winter Avheats, Kherson, Sixty-day, 

 and other early varieties of oats; varieties of barley, emmer, corn, 

 sorghum, and Kafir corn are being grown. Much attention is also 

 being given at the substation to the introduction of tame grasses, the 

 improvement of pastures, the influence of tillage on soil moisture, etc. 

 The last legislature appropriated $20,000 for the substation, $8,000 

 of which will be used for buildings and permanent improvements 

 and $12,000 for maintenance for two years. 



Both the State and the university are pursuing a liberal policy 

 toward the station, and the latter is jjrofiting in a general way by the 

 rapid growth of the school of agriculture with which it is associated. 

 The station is doing increasingly valuable work for agriculture, and 

 through its cooperative experiments and the farmers' institutes it is 

 widely disseminating the results among the farmers of the State. 



LINES OF W^ORK. 



The principal lines of work conducted at the Nebraska Station 

 during the past year Avere as follows: Chemistry; botany; meteor- 

 olocrv; soils — sources of moisture, moisture as affected bv different 

 crops, aeration, and fertilization ; field experiments — rotations, breed- 

 ing experiments, grasses and legumes, sugar beets, Avinter Avheat, corn, 

 soy beans, and imported grains ; horticulture — development of hardy 



