342 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



a fertilizer for potatoes in both of these regions. The crop pro- 

 duction, as well as the quality of the potatoes produced, is far 

 superior in every combination of fertilizer where sulphate is used 

 over any other form of potash. The difi'erence in crop yields indi- 

 cated in our tests, if carried out in commercial practice, will many 

 times over repay the cost of the experiments. 



Truck-crop survey. — The truck-crop survey has been continued 

 during the 3'ear and important additions have been made to this 

 study, which we hope will ultimately make it possible to determine 

 with considerable accuracy the dates of planting, time of harvest, 

 and market possibilities open to each region or crop zone during the 

 period at which it can normally supply the demand. This result, if 

 attained, will have a tendency to adjust the crop planting to market 

 requirements, thus obviating overproduction and depressed prices. 



School gardens. — The distribution of special collections of seeds 

 for school-garden purposes has been continued on a very much 

 larger scale during the past year than during any previous period. 

 It has been j^ossible to supplement the distribution by an additional 

 collection of economic seeds, including the cereals, several important 

 forage crops, fiber plants, and peanuts. The great demand for 

 material for illustrating economic geography led to the assembling 

 of this collection, which contains the 18 economic plants of great- 

 est commercial value in sufficient quantity to enable teachers to 

 plant demonstration areas illustrating the habit of growth of the 

 crop, as well as to afford seed for laboratory study. 



In addition to the seed distribution, plans for a number of school 

 grounds offering instruction in agriculture have been provided. It 

 is believed that this work will accomplish much toward the devel- 

 opment of a taste for beautifying home grounds as well as public 

 places, a taste which has too long remained undeveloped in our 

 American people. The educational value of a well-planned school 

 ground is not less than that of the instruction in the schoolroom, for 

 it teaches not only the pupils themselves, but every passer-by. 



PLANS FOR FUTURE WORK. 



During the ensuing 3'ear the work on the farm at Arlington, as 

 well as the special horticultural investigations, will be continued 

 along the same general lines as heretofore. 



Arlington Experimental Farim. — The general policy now in 

 force in the management of the Arlington Experimental Farm will 

 be continued. The farm has, however, outgrown its present equip- 

 ment, and there is great need for additional buildings, particularly 

 for the scientific corps of the Department, who are interested in field 

 experiments and who require laboratory facilities at the farm. The 

 evolution of the work of the farm has clearly demonstrated its value 

 and the necessity of providing suitable laboratory buildings which 

 will enable the investigators to be in constant touch with their field 

 experiments. 



Floricultural investigations. — A great need exists for a series 

 of investigations of the floricultural interests of the United States. 

 This work is so scattered that individual States, as a rule, are not 



