DEPARTMENT REPORTS. 35 



The spring term was consumed in giving a course of lectures to tlie Fresh- 

 men class, nearly three weeks of the time being consumed in work in the 

 yards studying the points of the various breeds of cattle owned on the farm. 

 The chiss showed much interest in the course. 



During the summer term I gave the Senior class a course of lectures some- 

 what similar to the one given to the Freshmen, and the additional work on 

 stock-breeding and rotation of crops. The class numbered 22, and gave me 

 their undivided attentiou from first to last. 



INSTITUTES. 



In the regular work of the Faculty I was assigned the Howell Institute to 

 make arrangements for, and also to attend the one at Centreville. These I 

 attended, and also the one at Charlotte, by request of Prof. Beal. I also attended 

 an extra or local Institute at Hudson, and a Grange Institute at Mason, at all 

 of which I lectured once and at several places twice. 



In addition to this I have met with the Ingham Farmers Club, with the 

 Marshall and De Witt Granges, and lectured several times before Capital Grange 

 at Lansing, Mich. These latter were not required, but I have accepted from 

 nrgent invitation, and feeling that I ought in all places to work for the farm- 

 ers of the State of Michigan, and for the good of the farmers' College. 



EXPERIMENTS. 



The experiments for this year, 1879, are only partly completed and the full 

 results cannot be given. Those in relation to wheat, however, can be given in 

 full. On account of the severe attacks of the Hessian fly during the spring of 

 1878 (see Report 1877 supplement), I sowed several plats of Clawson wheat 

 with the same conditions surrounding them, as far as could be seen, except 

 time of sowing, and the plats were watched for results of the work of the Hes- 

 sian fly. 



Plats were sown as follows, viz. : on Sept. 6th, 9th, 11th, 13th, 16th, 18th, 

 21st, 24th, 27th, 30th, and Oct. 2d and 5ch. 



On Oct. 22d these plats were visited by Prof. Cook and myself in company. 

 A tiiorough search showed that larvss of Hessian fly were deposited in every 

 plat sown before Sept 24th, the number found in plats sown Sept. 18th and 

 21st being very few. In the field adjoining wheat sown Sept. 18th showed 1 

 to five larvae in many stools. I also found larvse in nearly all plats of different 

 varieties of wheat sown adjacent to these plats sown at different dates. 



On March 31st, I again visited these plats for the purpose of recording ob- 

 servations as to how these plats, sown at different dates, had stood the winter. 

 At that time the plats sown Sept. 13th and 16th looked the best and seemed 

 strongest and most vigorous. Next to these Avere those sown respectively on 

 Sept. 18th and 6th and 9th. I might remark here that the two plats sown 

 on the 6th and 9th came up at the same time on account of the excessive dry- 

 ness of the soil on the 6th, and a subsequent warm shower on the 9th, just 

 after the latter plat was sown. 



The varieties that were sown this year were, Clawson, Deihl, Treadwell, 

 Arnold's Gold Medal, Mich. Wick, Golden Straw, Tappahannock, Silver 

 Chaff, Jennings White, Armstrong, Powers, Lincoln (badly mixed), Lancaster, 

 Velvet Chaff, kentucky, Louisiana, Wliite Rogers, Hert's White, Post, Trump, 

 Victoria, Rough Chaff, Australian (seed badly eaten by weevil), Asiatic, White 

 Rose, Shaffer, Grecian White (failure), Buckeye, Amber, Shumaker, Fultz 

 and Muskingum. 



