166 Agricultural Experiment Station, Ithaca, N. Y. 



Western New York ; General Observations Resi")ecting the Care of 

 Fruit Trees; Geological History of the Chautancjua Grape Belt. 

 Various other investigations of this type have been completed, for 

 the time, and the reports may be expected soon. Some of these are 

 currant growing, gooseberries, the Japanese pears, and dwarf 

 apples. Other inquiries which have been under way for the past 

 two seasons still need one or two more years' work before they are 

 ready for publication. Some of the most promising of these are the 

 bean industry, dwarf pears, standard pears, plums, strawberries, 

 raspberries. Many other horticultural industries, some of which 

 are sadly in need of investigation, we have not yet been able to 

 touch. Some of the most pressing of these untouched problems are 

 connected with the growing of various vegetable crops for the can- 

 ning trade, some of the forcing-house industries, and the nursery 

 business. 



The experiments which are now in progress in western New 

 York are chiefly concerned with the fertilizing of fruit lands. 

 There are, for example, experiments under way in fertilizing peach 

 lands at Youngstown, Niagara county, and near Morton, Monroe 

 county; in fertilizing apple orchards near Lockport, and in Wayne 

 county; in fertilizing and managing nursery lands at Dansville; 

 and several tests upon grape lands in Chautauqua county. Aside 

 from these definite experiments, we are keej^ing close run of the 

 experiments which are making by vai'ious farmers in our territory. 



At the present time every intelligent farmer is an experimenter. 

 We are in a transition period as respects the methods and objects 

 of farming. But the greater part of all this experiment is lost 

 unless it is carefully studied and collated by a specialist, and the 

 summary results of it given to the world. Much of this cumulative 

 body of experience of the best farmers is capable of yielding better 

 results than similar work which might be undeitaken at an experi- 

 ment station. In fact, there are many lines of investigation touch- 

 ing rural economy, or farm management, which can be undertaken 

 in no other way than by a study of actual farm conditions. An 

 experiment station, which is necessarily constituted for scientific 

 research, cannot touch many of tlie most vital problems of farming. 

 The only ideal station is that which adds the farm of every one of 

 its constituents to its own resources. 



