204 REPORT OF OFFICE OP EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



mental work with grains at Denton; feeding experiments at Fort 

 Worth; work with horticultural and field crops at Troupe; rice 

 experiments at Beaumont; experiments with rice, citrus fruits, and 

 truck crops at Angleton ; work with cotton and corn, citrus and other 

 tropical fruits, and truck crops at Beeville; experiments with corn, 

 oats, and cotton at Temple; and tobacco work in cooperation with 

 this department at Nacogdoches. The cooperative forage substation 

 at Chillicothe was discontinued. The State appropriated $32,000 

 annually for the substations, including $3,500 each for the older 

 stations at Beeville and Troupe. Land was bought at all of the sub- 

 stations, except at Fort Worth, where 280 acres of land was secured 

 under a 6-year lease with privilege of renewal. The town of Fort 

 Worth contributes $1,000 per year toward the maintenance of the 

 station. 



Good progress was made the past season in the chemical projects 

 under the Adams fund, especially the soil studies. Particular atten- 

 tion was given to soil potash, along lines similar to those followed 

 with the phosphoric acid of soils, upon which reports have already 

 been published. A bulletin on the studies of soil potash was pre- 

 pared for publication. Work was also continued on active soil 

 phosphoric acid in soils of high phosphoric-acid content, previous 

 work being with soils of low content. The laboratory and pot work 

 on active soil phosphoric acid and potash was extended to coopera- 

 tive field experiments, 130 such experiments being in progress at the 

 close of the year. A report on the results of 85 of these experiments, 

 extending over three years, was prepared. 



In continuation of investigations relating to humus, studies were 

 made of the electrolysis of humus and of a method of determination. 

 Electrolj'sis was studied with special reference to the removal of sus- 

 pended clay from humus solution and to the precipitation of humus. 

 Some of the results of this work have been published in three different 

 station bulletins. The investigation on nitrification in relation to 

 percolation in pots treated in various ways was continued. 



In work relating to composition and digestibility of feeding 

 stuffs, attention was concentrated upon a study of the composition 

 of the ether extract and an investigation of the pentosans. In this 

 connection 16 digestion experiments with sheep, fed on coarse feed- 

 ing stuffs, were carried on, and the material so accumulated was 

 studied. Considerable time was spent in devising methods suitable 

 for the analysis of the ether extract of the particular feeding stuffs 

 under investigation. 



The equipment of the plant pathological and physiological labo- 

 ratory in the station was increased and work was conducted on the 

 relation of soil types to tubercle production by leguminous plants. 



