60 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



OTHER EXPERIMENTS. 



As my estimates of $400 a year, for makiug experiments, were reduced to 

 1300 a year by the Board of Agriculture, and so passed the Legislature, I was 

 obliged to curtail my plans somewhat. Several of the experiments begun 

 some years ago, were by mutual consent turned over to Professor Satterlee. 

 Mr. Troop has been employed for about half a day during the year. His 

 time has been taken up in helping to teach the seniors in laboratory work, 

 where the class was too large for one person to instruct. He has done some 

 work in the museum, rearranging and poisoning specimens, something in the 

 arboretum, and something in the botanic garden, besides making most of the 

 experiments. Owing to excessive rains, a cool summer, and au early frost, I 

 have, in numerous cases, been obliged to abandon experiments, and throw the 

 untrustworthy notes into the waste basket. Prominent among these were 

 some experiments, begun this year, in continuation of those made in former 

 years to prove whether bumble bees and honey bees were of any value ia 

 improving the crop of seeds in red clover, alsike clover, white clover and buck- 

 wheat. 



The plats of red clover sown this spring have done well, and have been of 

 much interest. The seeds for most of the plats were in each case selected 

 from one plant noted for some striking peculiarities. The seedlings do not 

 all take after the parent, and this was to be expected. 



The seedling grapes must be tried another year, as they failed to produce 

 fruit, or failed to ripen any. A few seedling currants, and gooseberries, and 

 raspberries have been left for further trial, as they showed some promising 

 points. 



THE ARBORETUM. 



This has done very well, though the dry weather following the long spring 

 rains in some instances caused fungi to take hold of the leaves and cause 

 them to drop prematurely. A few sorts of trees have been added ; all have 

 been well cared for. They have been trimmed, and thined, and cultivated 

 where it seemed necessary. 



We have completed labeling all the kinds of trees in the arboretum. The 

 labels on trees about the grounds have been renewed. Many of the old ones 

 painted on zinc had lasted thirteen years. 



THE HERBARIUM. 



This has been increased by the addition of some local specimens. We have 

 nearly completed a local collection of plants for students' use. Duplicates of 

 grasses, ferns, and some other things, have been placed in the herbarium for 

 the examination of classes in botany. 



I have purchased with my own money, at a cost of about $80, a set, so far 

 as completed, of Ellis's Fungi of North America. 



THE BOTANIC GARDEN. 



Some improvements have been made, some plants added and quite a large 

 number were lost on account of the unusual rains which flooded a consider- 

 able portion of the garden for five days at three different times. L. H. Bailey, 

 jr., now caring for the botanic gardens of Harvard university, has sent us 

 several very desirable packages of plants. We have sent some in exchange. 



