Report of the Dean xxiii 



Bean mosaic is a disease which has been prevalent in the State for only- 

 two years. It is already very generally distributed, especially on pea 

 beans, and infection in many fields is as high as loo per cent. Some bean 

 fields have been abandoned in midsummer because of the disease. Badly 

 affected plants bear few pods or none at all. The disease is infectious 

 but its cause has not been determined. It cannot be prevented by hill 

 selection, for seeds from plants selected for their healthy and vigorous 

 appearance have developed loo per cent of diseased plants. A strain of 

 pea bean has been found which apparently is resistant to the disease. 

 Tests of this should be made just as soon as possible. 



The work thus far done only serves to emphasize the great necessity 

 for further investigation. Bean growers are discouraged with the low 

 yields they have been getting, and many of them have stated that they 

 cannot continue in the business unless relief comes soon. It has been 

 found that the important problems are not of easy or quick solution. 

 The apparent methods of attack of these problems require long and per- 

 sistent effort, and this is being consistently applied. In the case of remedial 

 treatments, the results of a single season cannot be used as a basis for 

 reliable recommendations; and in the case of breeding, several genera- 

 tions of plants must be secured before it can be determined that types 

 have been fixed. The work certainly should be continued on the same 

 basis as for the current year. 



Staff appointments and changes 



On October i, 191 7, Bernard A. Chandler was appointed Acting Assistant 

 Professor of Forest Utilization for the period of the college year. During 

 the year Professor Chandler has been engaged in forest investigation 

 work, mainly in the Adirondacks. 



From July i, 191 7, to June 30, 1918, Professor A. B. Recknagel, of the 

 Department of Forestry, was on leave of absence, granted by the Uni- 

 versity to permit him to act as Secretary to the Empire State Forest 

 Products Association. During this period Professor Recknagel has done 

 much to advance the cause of forestry among the lumbermen of the State. 



Extension activities in the Department of Animal Husbandry have 

 been materially strengthened by the appointment of Mark J. Smith, 

 a sheep specialist, as an Assistant Extension Professor. 



For the first time definite provision has been made in the Department 

 of Rural Economy for the much-needed development of its extension 

 work, by the appointment as Extension Professor of Rural Economy of 

 James E. Boyle, at present of the staff of the Bureau of Markets of the 

 United States Department of Agriculture, and earlier of the North Dakota 

 Agricultural College and the University of North Dakota. He will take 

 up his work at the beginning of the next college year. 



