IOWA. - 105 



IOWA. 



Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station, Ames. 



Department of Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. 



C. F. CuRTiss, M. S. A., Director. 



Important changes in the plan of organization of the Iowa Station 

 have been effected during the past year. The funds from the Adams 

 Act and increased State appropriations have enabled a more clearly 

 defined distinction between the experimental, instruction, and exten- 

 sion work than has formerly been the ca^se. The general direction of 

 the various lines of work in the college and station will still be under 

 the heads of departments, but the assistants are in most cases assigned 

 definitely to one field or the other. During the coming year twelve 

 members of the staff will devote their time exclusively to station 

 work. In addition the agricultural extension work, for which a 

 State appropriation of $15,000 is available, has been organized as an 

 independent department under the direction of the former agrono- 

 mist and a corps of seven specialists. The total staff in the division of 

 agriculture of the college and station now numbers 41. Among the 

 recent additions is a photographer, whose time will be exclusively 

 utilized for station work. 



The work in agronomy has been subdivided into separate depart- 

 ments of farm crops, soils, and agricultural engineering. The farm- 

 crops department has continued investigations for the selection and 

 improvement of seed corn. The demand for its bulletin on this sub- 

 ject was so great that a second edition of 50,000 copies was published. 

 The seed-corn trains were again sent out to all sections of the State 

 and aroused much interest. Breeding experiments are vmcler way with 

 wheat, corn, alfalfa, clover, oats, and various grasses. The depart- 

 ment of soils has completed a preliminary survey of the more impor- 

 tant soil types in the State, and has conducted numerous cooperative 

 experiments with farmers. Extensive studies of the physical and 

 chemical characteristics of soils and of soil fertility are to be in- 

 augurated. Farm engineering problems have included cooperative 

 drainage investigations with this Office, studies of the use of alcohol 

 for heat, light, and power, the draft of farm vehicles, and means for 

 the storage and utilization of power from windmills. 



The horticultural work of the station has been largely increased to 

 include breeding experiments with various fruits, tests of hardy 

 stocks and ornamentals, the winter storage of apples, and extensive 

 spraying experiments. In this and similar work the station has 

 again cooperated with the Bureau of Plant Industry and the State 

 horticultural society and has conducted demonstration experiments 

 with a number of comity poor farms and individual farmers. 



