428 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



straight-head disease of rice, by means of improved methods of irri- 

 gation; (5) the rehition of inii^erfect fungi to grain production; 

 and (6) a statistical study of the prevalence of cereal diseases 

 throughout the United States. In continuation of the work along 

 these lines it is planned (1) to extend the breeding of rust-resistant 

 wheats to the winter-wheat region and to increase the resistant types 

 already produced and to test their milling value; (2) to complete 

 and publish the results of the investigations of the head-smut of 

 sorghums; and (3) to test on a large scale such irrigation methods 

 as by experiments may promise effective prevention of the straight- 

 head disease of rice. Later it is planned to undertake (1) an ex- 

 haustive study of corn diseases, particularly smut and root parasites; 

 (2) a study of the diseases of flax and the breeding of flax for re- 

 sistance to wilt and rust; and (3) a demonstration of the feasibility 

 of smut eradication by sj^stematic community effort. 



Cereals for the Southern States. — The breeding of cereals has 

 been continued at Arlington Farm, Va., under the direction of Mr. 

 H. B. Derr. This work has progressed along the lines of selection 

 and plant testing of the standard winter varieties now grown in this 

 area and the continued breeding of several new hybrid wheats and 

 barleys. 



This work can not be properly done at Arlington for the entire 

 cotton belt, and breeding stations should be established at three or 

 four representative points in the area, on different types of soil. 

 The increasing diversification of crops in the South makes imperative 

 the production of new and suitable cereal varieties for that section. 

 Standardization of varieties already grown is also to be undertaken. 

 Attention will be given to the increase and effective distribution of 

 stocks of seed of the best obtainable varieties, 



CORN INVESTIGATIONS, 



The work of corn investigation has been continued under the direc- 

 tion of Mr. C. P. Hartley, The object of the work is the determina- 

 tion of the fundamental requirements of the corn plant and the appli- 

 cation of < iiltural and breeding methods that lead to a more profitable 

 production and utilization of the crop. The field work in the Gulf 

 States is directed by Mr. Ernest B. Brown; in the South Atlantic 

 States by Mr. Curtis H. Kyle; in the semiarid and the Rocky Moun- 

 tain region by Mr. L. L. Zook ; and in the Central States by Messrs. 

 J. G, Willier and Fred D. Richey. 



Team work on fundamental problems, as agreed upon by the in- 

 vestigators in charge, is producing more conclusive results in much 

 less time than would be possible without such close cooperation among 

 the workers. Experiments covering the same problem and by similar 

 methods, but conducted under different environments, frequently 

 throw light from many viewpoints and peraiit of better interpretation 

 of results than would be otherwise possible. 



SUMMARY or THE YEAR'S WORK. 



The limited appropriation for this work has made it necessary to 

 confine field operations to a very few localities, but the results are 

 of great value in demonstrating what can be accomplished elsewhere. 



