BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 305 



Among other important lines of work being conducted by this 

 office may be mentioned an extensive series of field ex]3eriments at 

 Akron, Colo., to determine the water requirements of crops in that 

 region and the study of the physical factors determining such re- 

 quirements; the influence of cultural methods upon the temperature 

 and nitrification of some of the Great Plains soils; and the influence 

 of electrical stimulation upon the rate of development of field crops. 



FARM-MANAGEMENT INVESTIGATIONS. 



The work of the Office of Farm Management, which has been con- 

 tinued under the direction of Prof. W. J. Spillman, has for its 

 object the study and application of established agricultural principles 

 and business methods to the farm. The work as at present organized 

 and conducted falls properly within four groups, viz: (1) Studies of 

 farm practice, (2) cost accounting and farm records, (3) farm 

 equipment, and (4) farm problems or extension work. 



For administrative purposes several lines of work which relate 

 only incidentally to farm management have been assigned to this 

 office, viz, investigations of the cactus, range investigations, weed 

 investigations, hay-curing investigations, cassava investigations, and 

 investigations of logged-off land. 



STUDIES OF FARM PRACTICE. 



This work embraces the entire country and is the most advanced 

 of any of the lines of work carried on bj' the office. The investiga- 

 tions in the South are under the direction of Mr. C. L. Goodrich, 

 successor to Mr. D. A. Brodie, who was assigned to general super- 

 visory work. The work in the Northern States is in charge of Mr. 

 C. B. Smith, while that in the Western States is under the direction 

 of Mr. Levi Chubbuck. 



One of the most important problems under investigation is the 

 relation of farm practice to the maintenance of crop yields. The 

 systems prevailing on a large number of farms and the resulting 

 yields are carefully recorded. The data thus accumulated will, it is 

 expected, ultimately enable the office to determine the effect on yields 

 of different systems of tillage and of different crop rotations. It 

 will also show the effect of leguminous crops and of all classes of 

 cover crops used as green manures. The work also includes the 

 study of the effect of different quantities and different methods of 

 applying barnyard manure and commercial fertilizers. It also in- 

 cludes a study of the effect of different types of live-stock farming on 

 the maintenance of yields. Important differences have been found in 

 the effect of a given system on different soils, and careful attention 

 is being given to the relation of farm practice to soil types. 



In connection with this work a study has been made of cropping 

 systems in several different sections, viz, on sheep farms in Vermont 

 and on dairy farms in New Hampshire, which shows that much of 

 the soil of these two States is gradually losing its productiveness 

 under unwise cropping systems; in the potato sections of New Jer- 

 sey ; and in trucking sections where commercial fertilizers and high- 

 priced manure from the cities are important factors. It is believed, 

 from the studies which have been made, that cropping systems in- 

 2316.5°— AGR 1911 20 



