OHIO. 215 



local demonstrations of the station results and by wliich local prob- 

 lems and conditions may be better studied by the station. 



The Adams fund Avork was carried on along the original lines and 

 no new projects were taken up. llie results secured in the study 

 of certain projects were published during the year in bulletin form. 

 The project on the increase and fixation of desirable properties in 

 plants included work with 130 strains of alfalfa propagated from 

 seed from as many different plants, 245 strains of red clover, 100 

 strains of corn, 569 strains of oats, 125 strains of soy beans, and 1,560 

 strains of wheat. Pedigreed strains of corn have been developed 

 which are thus far yielding 5 to 14 bushels per acre more than the 

 original varieties; pedigreed strains of oats and wheat are yielding 3 

 to 6 bushels more than the original stock; and soy beans 2^ to 6 

 bushels more. In the work with corn it was found that seed ears of 

 less than normal length tend to reduce the yield, and that the con- 

 tinuous use of ears having 1 to 1^ inches of bare cob at the tip 

 decreases the yield of shelled corn per acre. The use of merely 

 crease-dented ears appears somewhat superior in yield to very rough- 

 dented ears, and the weight of ear, other conditions being equal, is 

 apparently a partial guide in the selection of i^roductive seed. The 

 cylindrical shape of the ear proved less important than the other 

 characters mentioned. 



The project of the role of lime and phosphorus in the maintenance 

 of soil fertility is carried on by the director in cooperation with the 

 departments of chemistry and agronomy. In connection with the 

 rotation plats a very large number of analyses of the crops grown 

 were made and from the results thus far obtained with wheat there 

 appeared to be a direct relation between the composition of the wheat 

 and the treatment of the soil. This work is bringing out the differ- 

 ences in composition between soils of the limestone and sandstone 

 areas of the State, and appears to point out that the lack or abun- 

 dance of phosphorus in the soil influences the composition of the 

 crops produced. 



The work on the roles of phosphorus and other mineral elements 

 in animal nutrition has thus far been confined to phosphorus com- 

 pounds, including the value of the various compounds in foods, the 

 separation of the various groups of phosphorus compounds in food- 

 stuffs, and the effects of conditions of growth on the mineral nutri- 

 ents in blue grass. In Bulletin 207 of the station it is shown that 

 the specific or characteristic effects of foods are influenced in impor- 

 tant ways by the ratio of the inorganic acids to the inorganic bases 

 which they contain. In Bulletin 213, published jointly with the 

 Missouri Experiment Station, a comparison of balanced rations 

 shows that the muscular growth produced was generally in accord 

 with the content of the foods in organic phosphorus compounds. 



