MASSACHUSETTS. 127 



used exclusively in the research work of the chemical department. 

 At the cranberry substation in Wareham a screen house and labora- 

 tory was erected at a total cost of $2,500. The last legislature made 

 an appropriation of $75,000 for a new dairy building for the college 

 and station. 



The Adams fund work of the station made the usual progress dur- 

 ing the year. The work on milk secretion continued to involve 

 studies of methods for the quantitative determination of insoluble 

 fatty acids. Methods for the purification of unsaturated fatty acids 

 were also studied. Considerable advance was made in the establish- 

 ment of reliable methods. The influence of various factors on the 

 rancidity of fat was investigated, and the effect of molasses and other 

 carbohydrate substances in the ration was given further study. 



The departments of entomology and chemistry continued their co- 

 operation in the study of the conditions under which arsenical com- 

 pounds used as insecticides are injurious to foliage. In this connec- 

 tion, chemically pure acid arsenate of lead, meta-arsenate of lime, 

 and Paris green were prepared. This work is essentially an effort 

 to standardize spraying on the basis of pure materials. The accumu- 

 lated data were partl}^ published and partly prepared for publication 

 during the year. 



The plant-breeding work of the station included a study of the 

 variation of apples, with special reference to the cause of different 

 forms. A close relation between variation and temperature was 

 found to exist. Chemical work on 100 varieties showed each variety 

 to have its special chemical composition and its own course of de- 

 velopment. Biometrical work with peas included the examination 

 of 10,000 ]:)lants during the summer. The results indicated that the 

 common varieties of garden peas are made up of subgroups or strains 

 differing markedly in productiveness, and it was suggested that ad- 

 vantage be taken of this fact in the improvement of the crop. Studies 

 of Mendelian inheritance were continued with beans, squashes, nas- 

 turtiums, and pansies, special attention being given to various char- 

 acters and their correlation. 



In the study of the digger wasps the entomological department in- 

 vestigated the group specially with reference to their value as 

 parasites. 



The investigations on asparagus were carried forward along the 

 same general lines followed the year before. The results thus far 

 secured did not warrant conclusions as to the relations of different 

 plant-food elements to yield, but the results in the past season seem 

 to indicate the value of nitrate of soda in increasing rust resistance. 

 The effect of several elements of fertility on the chemical composition 

 of the plants was also studied. 



