EXPERIMENTAL GARDENS AND GROUNDS. 275 



COOPERATION WITH THE DIVISION OF VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY AND 



PATHOLOGY. 



Cooperation with the Division of Vegetable Physiology and Pathol- 

 ogy will be along a number of important lines. In assuming my duties 

 as Director of Plant Industry, tlie work of the Division in question 

 was placed in charge of Mr. Albert F. Woods, with whom close cooj)- 

 eration has been eifected. It will be the aim of the Experimental Gar- 

 dens and Grounds to furnish every facility for the important work of 

 this Division on the diseases of j)lants. The trees, shrubs, vines, and 

 other plants on the grounds will serve as valuable subjects for study, 

 and greenhouse facilities will be pro-\dded for working out important 

 l^roblems in plant phj'siology and pathology. Heretofore the impor- 

 tant work in plant breeding carried on by the Division in question has 

 been more or less hampered by lack of proper facilities, l)ut the close 

 union of work arranged for will remove many of the difficulties and 

 make it possible to materially broaden the investigations already 

 under way and to inaugurate new ones equally as important. One 

 feature of this work in which it seems the Experimental Gardens and 

 Grounds can cooi^erate is the propagation and dissemination of new 

 plants obtained as a result of Ijreeding. Already some very promis- 

 ing new plants, such as hardy oranges, pineapples, etc., have been 

 produced in this way, and the proper dissemination of these must be 

 looked after with care in order to achieve the greatest success. 



A line of work which it is proposed to enter on as soon as it is found 

 practicable to do so will have for its object the obtaining of informa- 

 tion relative to the conditions affecting the cultivation of plants under 

 glass. This particular branch of horticulture has developed remark- 

 ably during the past twenty years, and now represents a capital of 

 many millions of dollars. There are many problems connected with 

 the work about which it would be desirable to obtain definite informa- 

 tion and which have an important bearing on success, for instance, 

 the construction of houses, relative value of different methods of 

 heating, and the relation of water and soil conditions to growth. 



It is planned to inaugurate exi3eriments along broad lines in this 

 direction at an earl}' date, and to this end model houses for the culti- 

 vation of roses, carnations, violets, and other plants will be secured. 

 The best methods of handling such crops, the advantages arising from 

 careful selection of stock, proper methods of feeding, watering, etc., 

 are all questions which will receive due consideration. In addition, 

 it is hoped to arouse greater interest in this work by calling atten- 

 tion to improvements in the methods of handling the products, and 

 to carry out this object efforts will be made to bring about closer 

 union of the florists through iDroper organization and encouragement 

 by the collection of statistical data relative to the work. 



COOPERATION WITH THE DIVISION OF AGROSTOLOGY. 



One of the primary objects of the Ex]3erimental Gardens and 

 Grounds will be to develop to the fullest extent cooperation with the 

 other branches of the Department engaged in plant industrial work. 

 To this end arrangements have been made with the Agrostologist, 

 Prof. F. Lamson-Scribner, for cooperative work on lawn grasses. In 

 the matter of lawns and landscape work generally, the grounds should 

 be made an object lesson for the man}- thousand visitors who come 

 here every year, and, furthermore, they should be the medium in 



