64 in Horticulture. 



extension of our efforts and the addition of new members to tho 

 staff, this phase of our work wdl assume a very important relation 

 to the efficiency of the Department's work as a whole. The increass 

 in the volume of oin^ correspondence expresses a healthy desire on 

 the part of our horticultural constituents to learn and know more 

 about the affairs of the orchard and garden. 



DEPARTMENTAL EQUIPMENT. 



The teaching staff of the Department has been materially strength- 

 ened. The number of courses has been greatly increased. But 

 though men are the mainsprings of good instruction and sound in- 

 vestigation, the quality of these is seriously impaired by inadequate 

 equipment. The suite of rooms assigned to the Department of 

 Horticulture in the new Hall of Agriculture may be expected to 

 satisfy the needs of classroom and laboratory only temporarily. A 

 building for horticulture, closely connected with a set of glass 

 ranges, is one of the desiderata in the near future. This leads me to 

 make some observations upon the material equipment of the Depart- 

 ment of Horticulture in the past and as it stands to-day. 



Character of Rxpcriiucntal Grounds. 



The field equipment originally set apart for ihe Department of 

 Horticulture comprised about ten acres of rolling land with a strik- 

 ing admixture of sand, loam and joint cla)' distributed in irregular 

 patches throughout. This variation in make-up is so great as to 

 make it impossible to secure perhaps more than half an acre of uni- 

 form soil in any one place. As the University has grown, this area 

 (being central) has been invaded by other departments from time 

 to time. Moreover, experiments involving the harvesting of fruits 

 — and, to some extent, this is true of flowers — are quite impossible 

 on this area, as it is in the direct path of the student to or from the 

 athletic field ; and fruits are looked upon as the legitimate prey of the 

 average student as he comes from or goes to his exercise. The area 

 will serve a very useful purpose in growing illustration material. 



For experiments in fruit-breeding, orchard-culture and all experi- 

 ments involving the harvesting of fruit-crops, land somewhat re- 

 moved from University activities must be secured. This is one of 

 the urgent needs of the Department. Considering the great fruit 

 interests of the State of New York, this defect is serious and should 

 receive immediate attention. 



