WEST VIRGINIA. 145 



Many of the more plausible methods proposed by others have been 

 carefully tested, and some of them materially improved. This sta- 

 tion's original method, which consists essentially in heating com- 

 pressed air by means of an electrical current, still continues to give 

 the best results. A larger equipment is being installed and the work 

 will be continued. 



The agricultural department has continued to give prominence to 

 poultry investigations with special reference to egg and meat produc- 

 tion. A five years' comparative test of stable manure and com- 

 mercial fertilizers as a top dressing for meadows, with reference to 

 the economic production of hay as well as the total yield per acre, has 

 been concluded, and the results are now being published in bulletin 

 form. A comparison of Ayreshires, Jerseys, and crosses between these 

 two breeds has been inaugurated and will be carried on for some years. 

 A test of the maximum and minimum ration of silage and grain feeds 

 for the economic production of milk is being conducted. The station 

 is now conducting a cooperative experiment with a number of farm- 

 ers in the State for the purpose of ascertaining if it be possible to 

 exterminate the stomach worm of sheep {Strongylus contortus) from 

 the flocks and fields. The remedy used is a preparation of coal-tar 

 creosote, and very promising results have been obtained. 



The horticulturist is studying potatoes with special reference to 

 blight resistance, and peaches wdth special reference to the best fer- 

 tilizers to use. This work is carried on in different parts of the 

 State. In the greenhouses at the station special attention has been 

 given to experiments with lettuce and chrysanthemums. A study of 

 the methods of marketing fruits is also being made with a view 

 of impressing West Virginia farmers with' the advantage of greater 

 attention to this matter. About 50 new varieties of potatoes are 

 being tested in cooperation with the Bureau of Plant Industry of 

 this Department. There is also cooperation between this Bureau 

 and the bacteriologist of the station in a study of the plant diseases 

 of the State. The entomological work of the station includes an 

 exhaustive study of the grape curculio and a study of the life history 

 of the woolly aphis. The fertilizer and nur.sery work have been con- 

 tinued. 



Tiie work of the West Virginia Station has been steadily pursued 

 during the past year. Many of its investigations are of direct prac- 

 tical usefulness to the agriculture of the State, and it is encouraging 

 to find that the farmers are taking increased interest in them. The 

 horticultural work should be further developed, and since this line of 

 work must necessarily be conducted principally away from the sta- 

 tion, the station horticulturist should be relieved from duties con- 

 nected with the college. Wliile the farmers' institutes are doing 

 H. Doc. 024, 59-1 10 



