MASSACHUSETTS. 115 



largely to the support of the station. A poultry plant has been pro- 

 Abided, and construction Avill soon begin on new barns for dairy and 

 feeding work. While suffering somewhat from the numerous changes 

 in personnel, the station has made progress in the better differentia- 

 tion of its work from that of the college and by its adherence to the 

 policy of restricting its investigations to a few definite lines of work. 



MASSACHUSETTS. 



Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station, Amherst. 



Department of the Massachusetts Agricultural College. 



W. P. Brooks, I'll. D.. Director. 



During the year the organization of the Massachusetts Station has 

 been given more definite form b}^ the election of a director distinct 

 from the office of president. A division of veterinary science has been 

 established, in charge of the college veterinarian. The station has 

 entered into cooperation Avith the Bureau of Plant Industry and local 

 growers in a study of cranberry growing on Cape Cod, and is carry- 

 ing on cooperative fertilizer trials with asparagus at Concord in an 

 endeavor to produce a more rust-resistant type. 



Some interesting observations are under way on the physical con- 

 stants — heat, light, etc. — in relation to plant and insect development. 

 The botanist has nearly completed studies of light intensity and meas- 

 urements of the light units used by plants, together with the bearing 

 of these points on construction of greenhouses, exposure and related 

 problems. He is also continuing his work on electricity both as 

 regards its influence on plant growth and its stimulating effect on 

 bacteria. The horticulturist has taken up the heat and light require- 

 ments of different stages of plant growth, using the cress as a type. 

 In entomology, the heat units required for the metamorphosis of dif- 

 ferent insects are being worked out as a guide to determining the date 

 of their appearance. 



The botanist is still investigating the diseases of greenhouse crops 

 and the injuries to shade trees by illuminating gas, banding sub- 

 stances, and other agencies. Seed testing for onion and tobacco 

 growers has been taken up, and a pure culture of yeast has been pre- 

 pared for trial in the production of a medicinal wine from the cran- 

 berry. Experiments with soils of different textures as related to the 

 germination and growth of plants have also received attention. 



The horticulturist has developed a collection of dwarf fruit trees 

 which attracts much notice. He is also studying the Mendelian and 

 Galtonian laws of variation on squashes and nasturtiums, the effect 

 of stock and scion in grafting, and pruning with reference to develop- 

 ment of a system. The entomologist, aside from the work men- 

 tioned above, is testing proprietary sprays and studying the relative 



