EXPERIMENT STATION REPORTS. 117 



In wheat attempts have heen made along the same line as in corn to 

 improve the crop in gluten content. Prof. Jeffery is selecting the wheat 

 for its gluten content, depending to some extent on the color and physi- 

 cal appearance of the grain as well as upon its chemical analysis, while 

 the farm department of the station is cooperating by selecting heads 

 that contain a large number of kernels produced on straw of the right 

 height, stiffness and vigor. No attempts are made at cross fertilization, 

 a process which is not promising. 



There has recently been presented to the station a problem of more 

 than usual importance and at the same time one very difficult of solu- 

 tion. The cattle on the more sandy areas of the Lower Peninsula seem 

 to be afflicted with a disease characterized by loss of appetite, emacia- 

 tion and final death apparently from starvation. Last year cattle were 

 brought down from West Olive, where the disease prevails, for treat- 

 ment at the College. They were given tonics and plenty of succulent 

 food. Their recovery was rapid and dated almost from the day of their 

 arrival at the College, appetite returned and their gains were almost 

 phenomenal. This plan was again adopted in 1904 and several head of 

 cattle were again brought to the College. No treatment other than sen- 

 sible feeding with succulent food was given but the cattle, when able 

 to stand on their feet, have gained in flesh and thrift with every promise 

 of permanent recover^'. 



Investigations carried forward at the localities where the disease ex- 

 ists seem to point to the conclusion that the disease is confined very 

 largely, if not entirely, to sandy soils and the symptoms and history- 

 give rise to the question as to whether there is a specific disease other 

 than a chronic irritation of the digestive tract due to imported feed, 

 usually confined to very coarse feed without a sufficient supply of pro- 

 tein or possibly without a sufficient supply of some of the ash ingre- 

 dients needed in the animal anatomy. It is possible that the corn and 

 grass grown upon some sections of the State may be deficient in some 

 element quite essential to the health of the animal, such for instance 

 as protein iron. The chemist of the station is at work upon this phase 

 of the problem studying the composition of the water in the soil and of 

 the feeding stuffs grown on the farms where the disease prevails. The 

 work is taken up in connection with the State Live Stock Sanitary Com- 

 mission which has aided in the investigation in every possible way. The 

 bacteriologist is investigating the possibility of some organism in the 

 blood which may account for the emaciation. The botanist has gone 

 over the ground carefully to find some weed of a poisonous quality to 

 which the disease may be attributed. So far his examinations have 

 found no possible cause of the disease in the flora of the affected regions. 

 The veterinarian has also carried on considerable work studying the life 

 history of intestinal parasites of lambs comparing the various methods 

 of treatment. 



The bacteriologist has wisely confined his attention to the germs in 

 milk, since the bulk of his time has necessarily been devoted either to 

 the completion of- a building and moving into it or to teaching and 

 arranging the various laboratories and rooms for his classes. His work 

 in discovering the inter-relation of groups of bacteria apparently opposed 

 to each other as to the acidity or alkalinity due to other life therein, 

 is especially worthy of note. 



