44 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



The arboretum and wild garden has beeu in charge of the Professor of 

 botany and forestry. 



I have been assisted in experimental work by Mr. James Troop. A full 

 account of experments tried and carried out is appended here. 



CROSSING CUCURBITACEiE. 



This experiment was tried for the purpose of ascertaining which of the 

 Cucurbitacese family can be cross-fertilized and how soon the effect will show. 



I planted two hills of each of the following kinds of seeds: Long Green 

 Cucumber, Summer Crook-Neck Squash, Boston Marrow and Hubbard 

 Squash, Nutmeg and Cantelope Musk Mellon, Phinney's Early and Peerless 

 Water Melon,, and Pumpkin. 



During early summer these promised good results, but the cold weather and 

 excessive rains during the month of July seriously injured the vines, and 

 heavy frosts on September 9th and lOth entirely ruined them. 



CROSSING BEANS WITH FOREIGN STOCK. 



Planted beans raised in the same locality for many years, with those of the 

 same variety raised in different localities. 



These were planted in drills about fifteen feet long. Three of these were 

 mixed in the same row and two rows kept separate. These matured in spite 

 of the early frosts, and the product will be planted again next year. 



EFFECT OF DEEP OR SHALLOW CUTTING OF EYES IN POTATOES. 



A plat of about two rods square was used for this experiment. The White 

 Elephant and Early Ohio varieties were planted. The cUe2) eyes were in each 

 case cut to the centre of the jootato, while the shalloiv eyes were cut one- 

 fourth of an inch deep. These were planted in separate rows alternating 

 throughout the plat, with two eyes in a hill in each case. Different tubers 

 were used for the deep and shallow eyes. There was a marked difference in 

 the size of the vines from the beginning until they reached maturity, the 

 deejj eyes being much the larger. The extremely wet weather during July 

 injured them very much, so that the result was not what might have been 

 expected. However, in every case, as will be seen by the following table, the 

 rows with the deep eyes yielded the most and the largest potatoes. Beginning 

 with deep eyes in the first row : 



iVb. White Elephant. 



1. 3f pounds, medium size. 



WHOLE POTATOES. 



Along side of the ^' deep and shallow eyes^' was planted one row of whole 



