2S0 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Exauiinatiou of a large number of saiiiplcs of both l)iau and middlings 

 showed the amount of screenings to vary from less than 1% to 30% 

 Avith the majority of the samples containing over 2 per cent. 



Tt is our opinion lliat the i)resence of screenings in either bran or mid- 

 dlings in excess of 2 per cent is an indication that Ihe screenings were 

 first separated from the wheat and later mixed with the bran or mid- 

 dlings. Such a practice is a form of adulteration and the products so 

 ]>repared should be classed as mixed feeds, and, as such, he subject to 

 the ]irovisions of the law. The large millers of the Northwest and other 

 states have, in no instance, taken exception to our ruling on this point. 

 The Attorney General has also supported our ruling in an opinion 

 handed down on this point. 



In several instances the exact meaning of the law is not clear, espec- 

 ially in Section 2 which defines the term concentrated commercial feed- 

 ing stutfs. The law should be amended at the next session of the legisla- 

 ture. 



HATCH FUND, 



The study of the factors causing disintegration of cement drain tile 

 has been finished and the results have been published as Special Bulletin 

 No. 75. Some further work has been done during the year on certain 

 phases in connection wdth the manufacture of impervious tile. The in- 

 vestigation has now brought to a close. 



Definite results are looked for this year, from fertilizer experiment 

 being conducted in conjunction with the Horticultural division, in the 

 orchard of J. E. Merritt, Manistee, Michigan. The experiment was first 

 started in the peach orchard in the spring of 1914 and the trees should 

 bear a good crop of fruit this j^ear. The w^riter visited the orchard Oc- 

 tober 1st, 1915, and took careful measurements of all the trees in each 

 plot and those fertilized Avith nitrate of soda averaged 1.5 inches larger 

 in circumference one foot above ground and 12 inches taller than those 

 not receiving nitrate of soda. Phosphoric acid and potash have appar- 

 ently been of no influence as far as growth of the tree is concerned. The 

 effect of the fertilizer treatment has not been so apparent w^here applied 

 to cherries and apples. 



ADAMS FUND. 



The addition of the services of two men, Mr. O. B. Winter and Mr. E. 

 J. Miller, to those formerly engaged in w^ork on Adams fund projects 

 has made possible the accomplishment of a great deal during the past 

 year. 



One stage of Project 2b, ''Adsorption in Kelation to Soluble Fertilizer 

 Salts" has been completed and the manuscript is now undergoing final 

 revision before being presented for publication. The work described in 

 it is a continuation of that reported in Technical Bulletin No. 19. It 

 constitutes a valuable addition to our knowledge of the nature of soil 

 acidity and the effect of ai)plying various soluble fertilizer materials to 

 soils. 



The work under Adams 2ba, ''The Organic Nitrogenous Compounds of 

 Peat Soils" has been continued as outlined in the last report. More 

 work than was originally planned has been done on the quantitative 



