WISCONSIN. 225 



The investigation of the role of bacteria in the manufacture and 

 ripening of Cheddar cheese was carried forward, and, among other 

 results secured, it was found that the period of activity of the lactic- 

 acid bacteria occurs before characteristic flavor has developed in the 

 cheese. A study was therefore made of the rod-shaped or high-acid 

 producing organisms which followed the development of lactic-acid 

 bacteria and increased in such numbers as to make 50 to 90 per cent 

 of the total bacterial content to determine their influence of flavor 

 production. In this connection, other groups of bacteria, such as 

 colored coccus forms, Avere also taken into account. 



With the Hatch and miscellaneous funds a number of lines of ex- 

 perimental work were pursued. The animal-husbandry department 

 continued its work Avith grain mixtures for fattening wethers for show- 

 3'^ard comj^etition, and carried on experiments in which the value of 

 soiling crops and corn silage as means of supplying summer feed to 

 the dairy herd was compared. The soiling crops, sown from April 

 to June and fed during the dry season from July to September, con- 

 sisted of a mixture of peas and oats, sweet corn, and field corn. A 

 consideration of all the factors involved indicated the profitableness 

 of having corn silage available for summer feed up to the time the 

 crop reaches the milk stage. 



The horticultural department reported a number of investigations 

 in plant breeding, including the development of a forcing cucumber 

 by crossbreeding and also developing tomatoes for forcing and for 

 resistance to the mosaic disease. Data on the segregation of crosses 

 were collected, and two generations of pure strains of tomatoes from 

 large and small seeds were studied. A number of new A'arieties of 

 plums and apples were propagated for distribution for final testing, 

 and tobacco-breeding work was conducted Avith 12 to 15 strains of 

 Improved Connecticut Seed Leaf. An investigation of the troubles 

 in the tobacco seed bed was made, and extensive experiments were 

 undertaken in spraying chen*y trees with Bordeaux mixture and lime 

 sulphur, to test the efficiency of the tAvo fungicides for the control of 

 the fungus diseases of the cherry. 



The work in agronomy consisted largely of testing pedigreed 

 barleys, oats, corn, and rye. Plant breeding was carried on ex- 

 tensively, about 200 acres being devoted to the work. All the im- 

 portant cereals and field peas Avere included in the breeding experi- 

 ments, and an attempt was made to determine some of the principles 

 underlying plant breeding. Experiments were also in progress with 

 alfalfa, clovers, grasses, fertilizers, methods of cultivation, rotations, 

 weed control, and in other similar lines. This department also had 

 charge of the seed-control work of the State. 



56096°— 12- 15 



