IIG REPORT or Ol-riCE OF KXTKHIMKNT STATIONS. 



Till' Imoteriolo^ical work on llu' inversion of su<;;us consisted of 

 studies of <)r<j^iinisnis and the chan<;es they caused in sugars secured 

 from vai"ious sources. Collections of sugar-invertinj; inicro-orpjanisnis 

 were made, and data regarding the conditions under which they 

 were most active wore secured. The influence of some of the products 

 of decomposition on the polarization of fluids containing:; them was 

 studied with a view to findin*; means for rendering sugar products 

 less subject to deterioration from these causes. 



During the year Prof. E. W. Kerr, head of the department of me- 

 chanical engineering in the university, entered upon a series of inves- 

 tigations on the conditions most conducive to complete combustion of 

 bagasse in sugar-house furnaces. 



Work with Hatch and other funds was conducted at the different 

 stations. At the sugar experiment station, as heretofore, attention 

 was devoted primarily to work with sugar cane, which included 

 physiological exj^eriments, fertilizer, culture, variety, irrigation, and 

 rotation tests, and the production of seedlings. The sugar-house 

 work had reference mainly to clarification, use of formaldehyde in 

 the factory, and to other similar lines. Tn addition to this work, 

 tests of forage crops, fiber plants, and semitropical fruits were 

 continued. 



At Baton Rouge experiments were made Avith steers to test the 

 digestibility of lespedeza, molasses, Bermuda grass, low-grade cotton- 

 seed meal, corn chops, mangels, and carrots. In dairy husbandry 

 experiments were conducted to determine the milk-producing value 

 of different rations, consisting in part of potatoes, beets, and car- 

 rots. In agronomy, fertilizer, culture, and variety tests were con- 

 ducted with cotton, corn, oats, and forage crops. Considerable 

 attention was given to the profitable production of beef and pork 

 from local crops and feeds. The horticultural work consisted mainly 

 of testing varieties of comparatively new j)lants, among them vege- 

 table pears and bur artichokes. Experiments were also made to 

 determine the influence of variety, fertilization, cultivation, and 

 handling on canned tomatoes. 



At Calhoun principal attention was given to fertilizer, culture, 

 and variety tests with cotton and with cereals and leguminous crops. 

 The grazing value of peanuts, soy beans, cowpeas, and Bermuda 

 grass was compared, and methods of applying manure were tested. 



The stations conducted fertilizer experiments in cooperation with 

 planters in the State on different types of soil and cooperated with 

 this Department in testing 300 Japanese oil plants, together with 

 varieties of soy beans, fiber plants, vegetables, and peanuts. The new 

 rice culture station also cooperates with this Department in certain 

 lines of work. 



