LOUISIANA. 151 



The fertilizer and feeding-stuffs laboratory gave attention almost 

 exclusively to routine work, comprising miscellaneous analyses of 

 soils, fertilizers, feeding stuffs, waters, and other products. More 

 analyses than during any previous year in the history of the station 

 were made. 



The experiments carried on by the sugar station at Audubon Park 

 covered fertilizer, culture, rotation, and planting tests, and the 

 study of factors influencing stubble cane, the ell'ect of continuous 

 cane culture on the soil, methods of irrigation, and tests of varieties 

 and seedlings originating in Louisiana and in the Tropics, and also 

 of introduced varieties of sugar cane. The work of the sugarhouse 

 was primarily devoted to a study of methods of clarification as 

 mentioned above. In addition to these investigations forage crops, 

 fiber plants, semitropical fruits, vegetables, and other plants were 

 tested, and facilities were provided for testing cane harvesters and 

 agricultural implements. The annual demonstration of the Loui- 

 siana Sugar Planters' Association was also held at the station, in 

 connection with which various kinds of agricultural implements, 

 such as cane loaders, cane cutters, and other machines and devices 

 of interest to the sugar planter, were on exhibition. This meeting 

 was the most largely attended of its kind. 



At the North Louisiana Experiment Station at Calhoun practi- 

 cally all the experiments previously outlined were continued with 

 certain modifications. The work in general embraces rotation ex- 

 l^eriments with cotton, corn, oats, and cowpeas, culture and variety 

 tests with cotton, testing soy beans, especially with reference to the 

 influence of time of planting on maturity of seed, testing miscel- 

 laneous forage and fiber crops, and studying the influence of fer- 

 tilizers on the quality of sirup from sugar cane. In addition, culture, 

 variety, and curing tests were made with peanuts, and the grazing 

 value of different crops devoted to the production of pork was com- 

 pared. A new line of work was begun in an effort to establish a 

 succession of grazing crops throughout the year for pork production. 

 Attention was also given to growing corn for silage. 



The horticultural branch of this station has now over 600 trees of 

 seedling peaches under observation, besides seedling apples, pears, 

 plums, and grapes. Breeding work with beans, cantaloups, and 

 watermelons gave some good results and will be continued. Methods 

 of cultivating j)each orchards and utilizing winter cover crops were 

 also under way. With potatoes, the question of home-grown versus 

 northern seed was studied, and an effort was made to work out means 

 by which northern Louisiana may grow potatoes to be used for seed 

 farther south. Studies were also made on the germination of tubers 

 from the second crop. 



