228 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



inve^ligatioiiH were largely confined to the stud}^ of methods for test- 

 ing and comparing wools and devising apparatus for this purpose, 

 and to determine the variability in breaking strain in wool fiber. A 

 first paper on these studies was f)ublished in the twenty-first annual 

 report of the station. 



The new department of parasitology took up the life-history study 

 of the sheep tick and, from the preliminary experiments made, it 

 was evidenced that the stages in the life history of this insect are very 

 greatly modified by changes of temperature. 



The studies of poisonous plants resulted in the isolation in crystal- 

 line form of the toxic principle of the death camus {Zygarhnus in- 

 te-nnedius) . A report of the proximate analj^ses of the different 

 parts of the species available in Wyoming was published.^ In the 

 preliminary Avork various methods were used in securing the alkaloid 

 with a view to subsequently isolating a larger quantity by the method 

 found most suitable. Special attention was given to the determina- 

 tion of alkaloid in the leaf and in the bulb of the plant. The resinous 

 matter present in the leaf was found to be nonpoisonous and the re- 

 sults further showed that the flower contained the highest percentage 

 of alkaloid, while the bulb contained a relatively large amount of 

 sugar. 



A chemical examination of Avoody aster was also made and the 

 toxic effects of the plants in general were determined. A report on 

 the analj^ses of the different parts of the plant was made at the close 

 of the year. AYhile the toxic effects were quite well established, no 

 definite results were obtained in regard to the toxic principles. In 

 these studies the animal pathologist cooperated w^th the station 

 chemist. 



Among the lines of work carried on with other funds may be men- 

 tioned the work of the agronomist with oats, barley, spring and win- 

 ter wheat, flax, rye, field peas, and corn under different experiments, 

 such as deep and shallow plowing, manuring and nonmanuring, 

 spring and fall plowing, and other tests of a similar nature, Fifty- 

 three varieties of barley received from this department were tested 

 as to their adaptabilitj' to high and dry altitudes. Extensive tests 

 Avere in progress with sweet clover grown for hay and for green 

 manure. This crop was found adapted to alkaline soil and also to 

 dry farming conditions. It was found successful under conditions 

 which Avere unfavorable to the growth of alfalfa. Irrigation experi- 

 ments Avere conducted in conjunction Avith the irrigation engineer for 

 the purpose of determining the optimum amount of Avater upon oiU>^, 

 barley, field peas, milo maize, sugar beets, field beets, rutabagas, and 

 turnips. Fertilizer te^^ts Avith different crops Avere also in jirogress 



ijour. .\mcr. Chem. Soc., 33 (1911), No. 2. 



