210 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE 



REPORT OP THE SECTION OF BOTANY. 



To the Director: 



Sir: — ^^Tiie work of the Botanical Section of the Experiment Station 

 has been prosecuted with great zeal by the members of the staff who de- 

 serve commendation for their interest in the work and the time they have 

 put into it, far beyond the ordinary accepted office hours. The follow- 

 ing changes in the staff for the past year may be noted: 



Mr. H. C, Young, Research Assistant in Plant Physiology, was 

 granted a leave of absence to accept a fellowship for the investigation 

 of the fungicidal properties of sulphur, established by the Plant Pro- 

 tection Institute and located at the Missouri Botanical Garden. 



Mr. Ray Nelson, Research Assistant in Plant Pathology, was given a 

 leave of absence beginning with the middle of November to undertake 

 graduate work at the University of Michigan. 



Miss Miriam Carpenter was appointed Half-time Graduate Assistant 

 in Plant Pathology. 



Dr. R. P. Hibbard, who had been for ten months at Johns Hopkins 

 University co-operating with the Department of Botany there on certain 

 important plant nutrition experiments returned to work July 1, 1922. 



Owing to the very inadequate greenhouse space available, it was 

 necessary to rent part of a greenhouse in Lansing to carry on some of 

 the important pathological work on celery diseases and some on potato 

 disease work. It is to be hoped that adequate greenhouse space may 

 be available for the pathological and physiological work of the Botanical 

 Section as the lack of this is crippling the work badly. 



It is to be regretted that it has been impossible to have an Extension 

 Plant Pathologist appointed. Such a man would take care of a large 

 portion of the correspondence and much of the travel throughout the 

 state which must be carried on by Dr. Coons and the pathologists asso- 

 ciated with him, in the absence of an Extension Pathologist. 



My work has been mainly that of consultation with Dr. Coons with 

 reference to plant pathology w^ork, and with Dr. Hibbard with refer- 

 ence to work in plant physiology. At the limited season of the year 

 when the living spores are available, I have for two years carried on in- 

 vestigations upon the rusts of blackberries and raspberries. 



I am appending herewith, and request that they be made a part of 

 my report, the reports of Dr. Coons on the plant pathological investiga- 

 tions and of Dr. Hibbard on the plant physiology investigations. 



Vei^y truly yours, 



E. A. BESSEY, 

 Professor of Botany. 



Dr. E. A. Bessey, Professor of Botany, M. A. C. : 



Dear Dr. Bessey: — I herewith submit a brief report of the work in 

 Plant Physiology for the year ending June 30, 1923. 



