94 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS. 



improvement work which are being devised may be determined by 

 repeating the soil survey. 



If the Rothamsted experimental area had been carefully surveyed 

 previous to inaugurating the crop experiments which have attracted 

 so much attention, the present condition of the soil, as compared with 

 its condition before the cropping work was begun, would show much 

 more clearly the results of the long test. 



It is hoped by carrying out the above-mentioned plan to overcome 

 this difficulty in our future work. 



PREPARATORY TREATMENT,. 



The Arlington Farm, previous to its acquisition by the Department 

 of Agriculture, had been used for many years as a grazing area for 

 the horses and mules not in service belonging to the War Depart- 

 ment. In general it was fairly well covered with a bluegrass sod, but 

 many shrubs and trees had grown up to interfere with cultivation. 

 The trees and shrubs were removed and the sod plowed and put into 

 condition for the reception of cowpeas or buckwheat, according to 

 the season of the year when the work was completed. 



The area sown to cowpeas was plowed in the fall and allowed to lie 

 fallow during tlie winter. The area planted in buckwheat was seeded 

 to rye by running a disk harrow over the buckwheat and drilling the 

 rye upon the ground thus prepared, without replowing. In the sj)ring 

 of 1902 the rye was turned under about the time it came in head and 

 the ground sown with cowpeas. 



By this method it is hoped to secure a considerable amount of 

 decomposed organic matter, to increase the water content of the soil, 

 and to enhance its power for holding the ijlant foods applied in the 

 form of commercial fertilizers. 



PLAT WORK. 



About 40 acres of land which in 1901 was planted in cowpeas is 

 this 3'ear being devoted to plat work. The plats have been laid off 

 as above described and are planted to various crops according to the 

 line of work underway. Some 4 acres are devoted to nursery jDur- 

 poses, including seedling forest trees, such as oaks, ash, maple, etc. ; 

 fruit trees, such as apples, pears, plums, cherries, and peaches, 

 together with about three-fourths of an acre with strawberries. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH VEGETABLES. 



Experiments with tomatoes, muskmelons, watermelons, and celerj' 

 have been inaugurated this season. 



COOPERATIVE WORK. 



In cooperation with the office of Grass and Forage Plant Investiga- 

 tions there is growing upon the farm a large collection of the annual 

 forage crops, including cowpeas, soy beans, millet, nonsaccharine 

 sorghums, rape, various clovers, alfalfa, and vetches, including in all 

 100 varieties of cowpeas and soy beans. 



PLANT-BREEDING EXPERIMENTS. 



In cooperation with the plant-breeding laboratory'' there are grow- 

 ing upon the farm six isolated x)lats of corn of different parentage, 



