EXPERIMENT STATION REPORTS. 129 



During the winter and spring terms classes of special students were 

 instructed by lectures and experiments in elementary botany, seed test- 

 ing and in the study of the fungous diseases of plants. The difficulties 

 involved in trying to pack a four years' course of a scientific character 

 into six weeks and working with overflowing classes of untrained stu- 

 dents can hardly be properly appreciated by the person who has not 

 tried it, Nevertheless, there is no doubt some compensating good which 

 the student derives even under such adverse circumstances and which 

 he may carry away in the form of a greater interest and enthusiasm 

 in his work of tending and rearing plants. 



The usual work of identifying weeds and weed seeds and the testing 

 of farm seed for inpurities and vitality has been furnished by farmers 

 and others. In this connection a brief bulletin has been written and 

 illustrated by the botanist on the subject of seed testing for farmers. 

 This is a subject about which every planter of farm seeds should know 

 tisomething and it is gratifying to be able to aid in any way the dissemina- 

 tion of such information. 



Two trips were made recently to investigate diseased conditions in 

 plants. The first was to determine the cause of death of young apple 

 trees in the orchard of B. F. Hall at Belding. Out of a block of about 

 2,400 Baldwin trees, set two years ago, nearly one-third were found 

 to be dead or in a dying condition. The trouble was determined as due 

 to the severe winter which killed the roots of the trees, especially on the 

 higher ground, where the snow blew off. Reports of a similar trouble, 

 especially in the case of the Baldwin apple, have not been uncommon, 

 this spring and point to the common observation among horticulturists 

 of the tenderness of this variety. 



At Grand Rapids the hot house grown cucumbers of F. M. Strong 

 were recently found to be affected somewhat by a leaf spot disease 

 due to the Anthracnose of Cucurbits. A wilting of some of the plants 

 in the same house and due to physiological causes was also found. This 

 wiUing occurs in the case of plants which have been started early and 

 forced rapidly with improper light and ventilation, thus causing a tender 

 growth of foliage incapable of resisting the hot sun later in the spring. 

 A similar condition was found in the houses of Mr. John Nellist in the 

 same city. 



Respectfully submitted, 



B. O. LONGYEAR, 



Botanist. 

 Agricultural College, Mich. 

 June 30, 1904. 

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