DIVISION OF AGROSTOLOGY. 85 



with most excellent results, as may be seen from the I'eports published 

 in Circulars Nos. 21 and 23 of this Division. These experiments have 

 attracted a jireat deal of attention from the ranchers and farmers, and 

 alreadj^ they are beginning to i)ut into practice the methods recom- 

 mended for improving the ranges, the efficac}' of which is being clearly 

 demonstrated at the stations named. The station at Wallawalla, 

 Wash., has been devoted chiefly to the production of seed of the 

 valuable grasses and forage crops that are being grown there, in order 

 that a more abundant supply may be had for use in our cooperative 

 experiments in the Northwest and at other points throughout the 

 country. At this station, as well as at the gi-ass garden at Washing- 

 ton City, much attention has been paid to the selection and develop- 

 ment of hardy varieties of grass and forage crops. Seed has been 

 saved which will be used in our further study of these varieties. 

 During the season additional cooperative work along various lines 

 of grass and forage-plant investigation has been undertaken with 

 the State experiment stations of Marjdand, Massachusetts, Minne- 

 sota, Iowa, Missouri, W^'oming, and West Virginia, and preliminary 

 arrangements made for carrying on these investigations with other 

 stations. 



Prof. J. Burtt Davy, assistant botanist to the California experi- 

 ment station, was authorized to prepare a I'eport giving the results of 

 his investigations on the forage plants and forage resources of north- 

 ern California, and this is now ready for i^ublication as a bulletin of 

 the Division. The results of the cooperative experiments, both with 

 individuals and with State institutions, for the past three years were 

 brought together and published in Bulletin No. 22. These tests, made 

 by practical experimenters in all parts of the country, are of much 

 value, and j)lace the economic and practical work of the grass and 

 forage-i)lant investigations of the Department clearly before the public. 

 From this report, it appears that during the three years closing with 

 1899 seeds of 251 varieties of grasses and forage jDlants were distrib- 

 uted, making nearly 10,000 packages; that 5,120 iDackages were sent 

 to volunteer experimenters on the farms and ranches, 3,000 to State 

 experiment stations, and 1,110 to stations in foreign countries. As a 

 result of the extensive distribution of the seed of Turkestan alfalfa, 

 through this Division and through the Section of Seed and Plant 

 Introduction, a large amount of useful information concerning this 

 crop has been secured, which was published in Circular No. 25 of the 

 Division, for which there has been such a demand that a new edition 

 has already become necessary. 



In view of the fact that these cooperative investigations have taken 

 such an important place in the work of the Division, and that Con- 

 gress through its appropriation bill has made such investigations 

 imperative, it seemed desirable that this work should be more thor- 

 oughly organized and jjlaced upon a systematic basis. Accordingly, 

 the assistant chief of the Division, who has been placed in charge of 

 the experimental work, was directed by you to visit several of the 

 Western experiment stations to consult with the station directors in 

 regard to the prevailing forage conditions, the most pressing need in 

 the way of grass and forage-plant investigations, and the best methods 

 of uniting the funds and facilities of the Department with those of 

 the State institutions for the better prosecution of these investiga- 

 tions. Visits for a like purpose were made to a number of the South- 

 ern and Eastern stations by the Agrostologist. Everywhere we have 



