THE GUAM AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION AND ITS 

 WORK FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1010. 



By John B. Thompson, Special Agent in Charge. 



THE STATION. 



The tract of land upon which the experiment station was estab- 

 lished in the year 1909 has been purchased during the year just ended. 

 The tract is located on the principal road of the island between Piti, 

 the landing from the Harbor of Apra, and Agana, the capital and 

 largest city. The selection is a desirable one, for a more public loca- 

 tion could not have been obtained upon which to conduct work which 

 must necessarily be largely of a demonstrational nature. The land is 

 evenly divided into level-lying and hill land, giving scope for experi- 

 mentation on soil types that represent a large portion of the soil of 

 the island. A survey of the tract has just been completed which shows 

 its area to be almost 32 acres. Its elevation ranges from 5 to 6 feet 

 at the lowest to about 150 feet at the highest point. The soil has for 

 the greater part a light surface layer deficient in organic matter and 

 a heavy clay retentive subsoil. (PI. XXVII.) 



IMPROVEMENTS. 



At the beginning of the year about 9 acres had been cleared of 

 brush and plowed, while other land still remained in a wild state, the 

 low-lying flat land being sodded to a number of native grasses, dotted 

 here and there with clumps of guava {Psidiwn guajava) and other 

 species, while the hill land was in most part covered with an impene- 

 trable thicket of limoncito {Triphasia trifoUata) and other jungle 

 brush. The work of clearing and plowing this land was a difficult, 

 task which occupied most of the time during the period of heavy 

 rains when little could be done to advance other farm operations. 

 xVbout 15 acres, comprising most of the tillable land not previously 

 cleared, was brought under the plow before the end of the wet season 

 and seeding time arrived. 



Traffic for four months of wet weather reduced the roads, which 

 were earth trails, to an almost impassable condition ; and in order to 

 prevent the necessity of driving over plowed fields and growing crops 

 the construction of better roads was deemed a necessity. Accordingly, 

 during the dry season the construction of nearly 3,500 linear feet of 



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