KEPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. XCV 



tested and improved b^^ the Wisconsin station, among others, has been 

 wide!}' distributed and grown, with results which indicate that its gen- 

 eral introduction will be followed by an average increase of yield which 

 ma}' be safely estimated at from 3 to 5 bushels per acre. As the acre- 

 age of oats in Wisconsin alone in 1901 was, according to our statis- 

 tician, 2,290,288, producing 66,647,381 bushels, worth $25,992,479, this 

 would mean a gain to the farmers of Wisconsin annuallj" of from 

 $2,400,000 to $4,400,000 on the oat crop alone. 



Marked improvement in the yield and qualitv of wheat in the North- 

 western States is resulting from the distribution of improved varieties 

 originated by the Minnesota station. One of the results of the work of 

 the Illinois station on the breeding of corn has been the formation of the 

 Illinois Seed Corn Breeders' Association, a chartered organization, with 

 a limited membership of reputable and well-known corn growers, 

 pledged to select and grow their seed corn according to definite rules 

 formulated by the station and to sell only their own crop. The suc- 

 cess of this enterprise has been phenomenal. All of the available sup- 

 ply of the improved seed is rapidly disposed of to farmers and much 

 of it is engaged in advance. The work of this station on corn is prov- 

 ing to be far-reaching in its results, not onl}^ in improving the general 

 quality of seed corn, but in inducing practical men to undertake 

 breeding for special qualities — for protein, for oil, or for starch — 

 which the station has demonstrated to be entirel}' feasible. The influ- 

 ence of station investigations is also being widely- exerted in the grain- 

 growing region in the introduction of rotations to conserve soil fertilit}'^ 

 in place of the exhaustive S3^stem of continuous grain cropping here- 

 tofore generallj' followed. 



The beneficial effects of the work of the stations in the older States 

 on fertilizers are becoming every year more aj^parent in the economical 

 purchase and intelligent use of fertilizers b}^ farmers. For example, 

 as a direct result of the investigations and advice of the New Jersey 

 station, organizations of farmers have been formed in the truck-grow- 

 ing districts of that State for the purchase of unmixed fertilizing materi- 

 als, thus effecting a saving of from 2.5 to 40 per cent in the cost of 

 their fertilizers, and at the same time securing better results as regards 

 earliness, 3'ield, and qualit}^ of product. 



The recent introduction into a number of States of a S3^stem of 

 inspection by the stations of feeding stuffs, similar to that which has 

 been in force for some time for fertilizers, furnishes a very effective 

 means of protecting farmers against fraud and of inculcating correct 

 ideas regarding feeds and feeding. It is encouraging to note that in 

 man}^ States farmers are now following very closely the advice of the 

 stations regarding the purchase of concentrated feeds and the balancing 

 of rations made from home-grown products. 



The rapid extension of the rational use of silage and the very 



