222 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



to make it the leading variety in a number of counties and in a few coun- 

 ties where rj^e is grown extensively, it is planned to make it the only 

 variety grown. 



Corn: In cooperation with the Farm Crops department sixteen coun- 

 ties started variety test plots this spring with a view to determining the 

 best strain of corn for the different localities from the point of view of 

 seed production per acre and also the best strain for silage purposes from 

 the point of view of total nutrients per acre. Saginaw county has forty- 

 five demonstrations with corn. Field selection of seed corn has been con- 

 tinued and seed testing work has been carried on through various chan- 

 nels, including the schools. The Farm Bureau of St. Clair county pur- 

 chased a car load of excellent seed corn from Ontario and the farmers 

 were well pleased with it. 



Oats: Twenty counties report demonstrations of treatment for smut, 

 use of fertilizers or value of the better varieties of oats. Considerable 

 time was given to helping the. Farm Bureau secure and distribute larger 

 quantities of pedigreed oats such as the Worthy and Alexander. In the 

 counties of the Upper Peninsula efforts are being made to determine the 

 best strains of oats for that section; in Dickinson county last season 

 tests were made with iWorthy oats on twenty farms; in Schoolcraft 

 county a policy of the Farm Bureau this season has been the encourage- 

 ment of the production of pure, northern grown seed oats. In some sec- 

 tions a strain of Swedish Select oats is maturing earlier than other vari- 

 eties this season. 



Beans: Eighteen counties report special work on the bean crop in co- 

 operation with the Departments of Botany and Farm Crops. Efforts have 

 been made to get disease-free seed. For this purpose field selection of 

 seed has been emphasized by demonstrations, conferences, circular letters 

 and press articles. Comparative tests of Early Wonder, Idaho-grown 

 and California-grown Michigan seed, Michigan hand-picked and Robust 

 beans have been made in a number of counties ; those with Robust beans 

 in sixteen counties. Fertilizer demonstrations have been conducted and 

 assistance given in control of insects. A large number of field inspec- 

 tions have been made to determine the nature and extent of diseases. This 

 spring the agents gave considerable time toward increasing the acreage 

 of beans by locating sources of good seed and helping the Farm Bureaus 

 to distribute it and by spreading information on the best cultural methods 

 by means of bulletins, press articles and meetings particularly in sec- 

 tions where bean growing had not been practised to any extent. 



Potato Groiving and Standardizing DGmonstrations : The potato pro- 

 ject conducted in cooi^eration with the Department of Botany and Horti- 

 culture through Mr. C. W. Waid has become well established in the state 

 and very encouraging progress has been made with it this year, all of the 

 counties reporting work on practically every phase of this important pro- 

 ject. Growers are working more in groups and associations, and by this 

 method varieties are being i-educed to one or two of a standard commer- 

 cial type; better cultural methods are being ado])ted, diseases controlled, 

 and the way prepared for successful marketing tlirough communities hav- 

 ing car lots of standard varieties more uniform in size and freer from dis- 

 eases. This community action is also doing much toward advertising the 

 ])rod\ict through exhibits and other channels. For the standard varieties 

 in large quantities the growers are receiving from five to ten cents more 

 per bushel. This in turn gives a greater incentive to continued seed selec- 



