36 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Department of Auiinal Husbandry is devoting its energies to tlie study 

 of different methods of breeding, feeding and care of tlie dairy cows. You 

 know that tlie feeding and the breeding of dairy animals is now being 

 more scientifically performed than Ave feed ourselves. The Department 

 of Animal Husbandry is devoting its energies to investigations along 

 the lines of beef cattle with the feeding of steers and swine production. 

 One experiment that they have been carrying on particularly interested 

 me was the feeding of hogs and hog pastures. Mr. C. B. Cook who 

 used to attend these meetings, and he may be here now, used to talk 

 about poultry and stated that a man to be successful with poultry 

 should be half chicken himself. But I desire to say that a man to be 

 successful with hogs must now be a hog himself; in other words, the 

 usual practice of pasturing the hogs in alfalfa is not now considered 

 the best. It has been found that pasturing moderately with the alfalfa 

 and then supplement with a grain ration will prove most successful. 

 In an experiment that was carried on where certain parts of an alfalfa 

 field was not pastured and one part of it pastured moderately and 

 another intensively it has been possible to ascertain the amount of 

 alfalfa either used or destroyed by the hogs. I think that this ex- 

 periment is going to change our notion altogether on the alfalfa and 

 hog proposition. 



The Department of Farm Crops has been doing some very interesting 

 work for a number of years, especially on the breeding of corn and 

 grain selection. There has already been distributed throughout the 

 State samples of grain for experimentation as to its adaptation to 

 particular locations and we are hoping for some interesting and profit- 

 able results. 



The Department of Chemistry is doing a great work for the farmers 

 of this State. It is analizing the fertilizers used in this State and sold 

 by the commercial manufacturers. It is annually publishing bulletins 

 in the analysis of these fertilizers and within the last couple of years 

 it has taken up through an act of the Legislature the collection of com- 

 mercial sam])les of spraying materials and analyzing them and publish- 

 ing a bulletin. Already one such bulletin has appeared. 



This Dei)artment is also working in co-operation with the Horticul- 

 tural Department on some interesting fertilizing experiments. These 

 have been carried on now through two years at Manistee on peaches, ap- 

 ples, and cherries and we have had some very interesting results especial- 

 ly on the peaches. The orchard in question is not in bearing yet and will 

 not be until next year, so we cannot give out any data on the fertilizing 

 of this orchard until it comes into bearing and the fruit is raised. The 

 De})artment of Potato Culture, which is one of the largest of the State, 

 with its attendant diseases in keeping its hands full these times. 



Among the phases that are interesting to you is that of cankers. You 

 recognize the brown rot of the peach and you are familiar with the can- 

 ker stage of the fire blight and some other of the fungus diseases. This 

 is one of the most serious stages of the fungus and one that we know 

 the least about. There is every effort being put forth to determine if 

 possible, the control of fruit canker. 



The Department is also carrying on fertilizing and spraying experi- 



