142 ANNUAL HKPORTS OF DEPARTMKNT OF AGRICULTURE. 



adajitod to the climatic and soil conditions of the Coastal Plain 

 refjion from southeastern Virginia to Texas. Demonstrations con- 

 ducted at the South Carolina station have shown that the injurious 

 results which have often followed the prunin*^ of these grapes can be 

 avoided if the ])runing is done not later than the m<mths of October 

 antl November. Extensive ex])eriments made at the North Carolina 

 station lead to the conclusion that the important varieties of Rotundi- 

 folia grapes are self-sterile and that to insure regular crops a sufTi- 

 cient number of staminate, or male, vines must be planted in the 

 vineyards. 



At the New York state station a new disease of cucumbers and 

 muskmelons in the greenhouse was worked out and its cause deter- 

 mined. The fungus has since appeared upon tomatoes both in this 

 country and in Europe. In cooperation with the Vermont station, 

 the pathogenicity of the organisms causing the soft rots of a number 

 of fruits and vegetables has been thoroughly worked out. 



At the Arizona station it has been found that date ripening may be 

 hastened by spraying the immature fruit with a solution of acetic 

 acid, thus causing choice varieties to ripen in that region. This 

 station has also sho\vTi that many varieties of olives, when grown 

 under Arizona conditions, are well adapted to oil making and that 

 when properly made from them the oil may be of the very finest 

 equality. The recoverable oil content of the Arizona olive compares 

 favorably with that of the California olive. 



The Florida station has studied the effect of fertilizers upon the 

 quality of pineapples. In general it has been found that the eating 

 quality of pineapples, so far as their sugar and acid content is con- 

 cernecl, does not appear to be affected by the kind of fertilizer used, 

 although their shipping quality may be thus influenced. 



The j\Iassachusetts station finds that many of the more serious 

 diseases of greenhouse crops are due to faulty environment and can be 

 successfully controlled by proper regulation of the heat, light, 

 humidity, circulation of the air, and condition of the soil. If this 

 is skillfully done spraj^ing greenhouse crops is considered wholly 

 unnecessars^. 



THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS. 



The growth of sentiment in favor of elementary and secondary as 

 well as collegiate instruction in agriculture has been more rapid than 

 even the most sanguine friends of agricultural education had antici- 

 pated. Since October, 1908, the number of institutions in the 

 United States giving instruction in agriculture has increased from 

 545 to 875, or more than 60 per cent in nineteen months. 



The most notable advance in secondary agricultural education 

 was in the number of departments of agricultural instruction estab- 



