NOTEWORTHY RESULTS OF STATION WORK. 83 



the pathogenicitj^ of the organisms causing the soft rots of a number 

 of fruits and vegetables has been thoroughly worked out. 



The cause of a new disease of alfalfa has been worked out at the 

 Colorado station, which was found to be due to bacteria. Only the 

 first crop is seriously affected, and this was found to be due to late 

 frosts causing a cracking of the stems, the bacteria finding entrance 

 through the injury. 



The Maine station reports the presence of the blackleg of potatoes 

 in several portions of the United States. The disease is of bacterial 

 origin, and in Germany, where it was first noticed, it has proved 

 very troublesome at times. 



The Ohio station has reported a number of important new diseases 

 of i^lants, among them a bacterial disease of cereals and grasses, in 

 which there seems to be a communism between two distinct organ- 

 isms. The same station has demonstrated the efficiency of spraying 

 with solutions of common salt for the destruction of poison ivy and 

 other weeds. 



A new standard for feeding dairy cows has been worked out by 

 Prof. Haecker in Minnesota, which is more practical and economi- 

 cal for American conditions than the German standards. In this 

 study large numbers of animals have been used, under natural con- 

 ditions, and an immense mass of scientific data has been accumulated. 



The Pennsylvania station, following up the results of experiments 

 in the respiration calorimeter, carried on in cooperation with the 

 Bureau of Animal Industry of this department, found that steers 

 made as good gains when fed in a dry, open lot sheltered on the north 

 and west sides as did a similar number of animals fed in a warm, 

 well-ventilated stable. 



The Oklahoma station determined the fact that Kafir corn ranks 

 close to corn as a feed for cattle and hogs, and also as a raw material 

 for the manufacture of alcohol and glucose. 



A preliminary report of experiments at the Ohio station showed 

 marked differences in the availability of organic and inorganic forms 

 of phosphorus when fed to pigs. 



The method of making cheese from pasteurized milk with the use 

 of commercial acid for ripening the milk has been perfected at the 

 Wisconsin station. This eliminates the difficulty due to defects in 

 the milk, and reduces cheese making largely to a mechanical process 

 which can be controlled at the various stages and carried out by 

 definite rule. The cheese made in this way is mild in flavor, does not 

 require to be ripened at a low temperature, and keeps well on the 

 market. 



The West Virginia station has constructed a device enabling the 

 handling of milk in the cooling process in such a way that con- 



