450 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE. 



factiire, creamery operation, and butter making. Minnesota and Wis- 

 consin increased the number of cow-testing associations approxi- 

 mately 50 per cent during the year. There was a 25 per cent in- 

 crease in bull associations in the United States during the year. 

 Milk-utilization work was carried on in nine States, and reports 

 indicate an increase of from 5.5 to 20 per cent in the consumption of 

 milk as a result of this work. American-cheese manufacture was 

 carried on in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia, there being 

 more than 40 factories now operating in these three States. Cream- 

 ery-introduction work Avas carried on in Tennessee, Mississippi, 

 Louisiana, and North Carolina, and effort of the specialists was 

 directed toward improving the quality of the milk delivered to the 

 creameries. During the year dairy specialists made 3,127 farm and 

 factory visits and attended 766 meetings, with a total of 44,006 

 people in attendance. 



ENTOMOLOGY (BOLL- WEEVIL CONTROL). 



Two specialists spent their entire time on the control of the 

 cotton-boll weevil, in seven cotton-producing States. Although they 

 gave attention to all methods, the majority of their time was given 

 to poisoning by dusting Avith calcium arsenate, a method which has 

 IDroven very effective. It is estimated that fully 20,000 people at- 

 tended the meetings and demonstrations, and approximately 12,000 

 people witnessed the two motion-picture films, " Good-bye boll 

 weevil " and " How to poison the boll weevil. 



5? 



HORTICULTURAL WORK. 



The most striking feature of extension work in horticulture was 

 in the formation of several hundred cooperative " spray rings " of 

 from 3 to 15 members each. In most cases, the power sprayer used 

 is paid for jointly by the members, and is operated either by one 

 member or by a man hired for that purpose. In a fcAV cases, one 

 man buys the outfit and charges the other members a certain fee 

 per tree for the season. Iowa has more spray rings than all the 

 other States combined. 



Cooperative fruit grading, packing, and marketing associations 

 are proving very popular in New York and are spreading into a 

 number of other States. 



In the Pacific Northwest, the practice of growing cover crops of 

 alfalfa, vetch, and red clover has been the solution of the apple in- 

 dustry. 



General supervision of the garden and other agricultural work of 

 the District of Columbia was continued, 400 garden plots being 

 planted in East Potomac Park in addition to the large area on the 

 Anacostia Flats. This work has proven very popular with the 

 people of Washington. 



PLANT PATHOLOGY. 



Extension workers in pathology directed their attention to in- 

 troducing control measures for the more important diseases of farm 

 crops. Progress was made in the establishment of practices which 

 tend to check such serious diseases as corn-root rot, stem rust of 



