86 HKI'OHT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



tioii continued its jrriiiil (o llio station for this roscai'ch work. Four 

 papers, inchulin<i: a reference to evervtliini:: that has heen done in the 

 examination of lh(> ve<retal)le proteids, a critical review of the work, 

 and an orderly statement of the results were |)repa!"ed for publication. 



The plant hreedinj]: investiirations included work with the potato, 

 corn, and tobacco. The potato i)roject is neai'inir comjiletion. It was 

 found that the characters so variable after sexual rej)roduction were 

 not too complex for analysis, but were merely obscured by the great 

 reaction of the i)lant to its environment. Ordinary asexual vari- 

 ations were not inherited, but in case of inherited bud variations the 

 change was observed to be due to the loss of a character. From the 

 woik on inheritance on seed characters and plant characters in maize, 

 which was in part carried on in cooperation with farmers, interesting 

 results were obtained, but the work of several seasons is required to 

 complete the observations. Cross-bred strains of corn were found to 

 be more vigorous than pure-bred strains owing to the tendency of 

 these to become homozygous in all Mendelian characters. 



Progress is also reported in the experimental work supported by 

 the Hatch fund. The entomologist made a study of plant lice, con- 

 ducted work in combating the gipsy moth which was nearly stamped 

 out in a known infected area, and prepared extensive papers on the 

 Connecticut Orthoptera and Hymenoptera to be published by the 

 state natural history survey. 



The department of botany conducted spraying experiments against 

 potato blight and worked on the problem of finding the other rest- 

 ing-spore stage of Phytophthora. Disease resistance in melons, peach 

 yellows, tobacco diseases, and white-pine rust were also given atten- 

 tion. The botanist brought home from Japan a fungus which attacks 

 the gipsy moth and which may prove of value in combating this pest. 

 The forester completed and i)ublislied a forest survey of two counties 

 as the first installment of the complete forest survey of the State. 

 Much work was done in planting the state forest, in improving the 

 forest fire service, and in encouraging planting by private owners of 

 woodland. 



The station is cooperating with the Bureau of Plant Industry of 

 this Department in the study of the improvement of tobacco and of 

 the loss by heredity. A few cooperative experiments with farmers 

 were also made in the State. No extension work was undertaken by 

 the station. 



During the year the following publications were received by this 

 office: Bidletins 161, Feeds, seeds, and weeds; 1G2, Forest survey of 

 Litchfield and New Haven counties. Conn.; 163, Agricultural lime: 

 Its sources, composition, and i)rices, with notes on its action in the 

 soil; and the Annual Report for 1007-8, parts 8, Report on com- 

 mercial fertilizers, 1908; 9, Food products, 1908; 1 0, . Commercial 



