450 KKroKT OK OKFICK (>K KXTKRIMKNT STATIONS. 



A root rot of the ]h>{a{o i''<"/rn>niii- tuhrrnsitni) rcsciiiltlcs in its rll'ccts 

 (he ••lilacU collar" I'onii ol" RJtizoctonin xohinl. This fiiMtrns sccnis to 

 pn'rhidc tlu> irrowiiio- of this crop in I'orto Rico. 



A l)li<'ht on tomato, which has been under in\ cstijjfatioM for over a 

 year and wliich nia\' j)rove to l)e llnc'iUun Hohnnicriiriiiii^ has destroyed 

 man}' i)hits in our expeiinients. Its action is appai-ently downward 

 throuiih the vascuhir huniUes which ontei- the petiole. No amount <tf 

 Bordeaux mixture has any appreciable ellVil. 



REPORT OF J. W. VAN LEENHOFF, COFFEE SPECIALIST. 



As stated in last year's report, a beo-imiini;- was made in January, 

 1002, with the establishment of corte(> sccmI and nurs(>ry Ix'ds. the object 

 beino- the production of select plant material I'oi- exp(>rimental pur- 

 poses and for free distribution amono- cofl'ee planters with whom the 

 station mi<;ht wish to cooperate. (I'l. XX 1.) 



As the station had selected, but had not y(>t been able to secure posses- 

 sion of the desired lands for experimental purposes, these l)eds were 

 constructed in the innnediatc neighborhood and on soil which after- 

 wards proved to be very much impoverished. (PI. XXII, li"-. 1.) 



Up to the present time, except in a very Few instances, coffee planters 

 obtain their seedlings onl}^ from plants grown fi'om ])erries which for 

 dillerent reasons have fallen from the trees and gradually grown up 

 on the same spot, forming in many instances, dense underbrush, mak- 

 ing cultivation of parent trees impossibh; and exhausting the soil 

 to a large extent. As all kinds of berries, from good and ])ad parent 

 trees, ripe and unripe, sick and healthy, large and small, are to be 

 found among fallen ones and a large percentage of them genninate, 

 the seedlings for this reason alone do not otl'er a sullicient guaranty 

 to produce health}' and desiralde plant material. !n fact, the constant 

 use of such material may have produced a degeneiation to which the 

 present small crops per acre may ))e pai-tly attributinl. Once the seeds 

 have germinated, they are permitted to grow under dens(^ shade with 

 hardly any light or ventilation, and conseipiently th(>y become as a rule 

 long, slender weaklings. The roots, grown in uncultivated soil and, 

 because of the crowded condition of the plants, all intermingled, do 

 not have the desirable form of a straight taproot and pyramidal 

 distribution of side roots. Instead of this all kinds of })ent forms, 

 knots, and rottenness are general. Several tliousands of such seed- 

 lings derived from different plantations were inspected, and in many 

 instances not a single one was found with a Avell-formed root system. 



After the germination and the full development of the first leaves 

 in the seed beds, the young plants were transplanted into nursery beds 

 constructed similarly to the seed beds. Before transplanting, 54 of 

 the beds were treated with the following fertilizers: Nitrate of soda, 

 muriate of potash, lime phosphate, bone meal, stable manure, and 



