136 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



(heir resistanoo to ilisoase was carrii'd on in ei^dit apple and five 

 peach orchards in diflerent* places, and is resnlting in a hirge anionnt 

 of data. The breedin*r of peaches to eliminate the purple coloring 

 matter in the twii^s was actively pursued, with interesting results. 



In the study of the possibility of inununizing hogs against cholera 

 and swine j)lague, special attention was given to improvement in the 

 preparation and the utilization of serum. The strictly Adams fund 

 work was combined with j)ractical attempts to control hog cholera, 

 in cooperation with the State Board of Agriculture, and recent 

 ell'orts to inoculate hogs with serum on a large scale have met with 

 good success. 



The work on the nutrition of heifers during their growing period 

 in relation to their subsequent functional activities, size, vigor, and 

 general usefulness, carried on b}^ the department of dairy husbandry, 

 is an extensive and thorough investigation in which a very large 

 amount of data is accumulating. The study of the factors affecting 

 the chemical and pM'sical properties of milk, carried on by the same 

 department, has been in progress for nearh' three years and involves 

 a large amount of chemical and physical examination. 



The programme of Avork conducted with Hatch funds is also quite 

 heavy, and a large amount of data is on hand awaiting publication. 

 Feeding experiments carried on by the department of animal hus- 

 bandly ajDpeared to point out that the condition of the animal when 

 feeding begins is more important than its age as far as economic 

 gains are concerned. The cost of feeding stuffs used supplementary 

 to corn was greater than the cost of corn with only one exception in 

 seven years, during which time 500 animals w^ere under experiment. 

 Feeding tests with hogs and horses followed in addition to the 

 exj^eriments mentioned. Several lines of breeding work are pursued 

 with diflerent kinds of farm animals. Observations made in connec- 

 tion with mule breeding show that telegony is not so prevalent as has 

 been supposed. The effects of breeding immature parents in hogs 

 and inbreeding of hogs and sheep were also studied. 



The department of agronomy is pursuing rotation experiments 

 ■which have gone on for twenty years, in which the effect of the differ- 

 ent rotations on the humus content of the soil is being observed. Cul- 

 ture tests and })lant-breeding experiments are followed with a num- 

 ber of crops, but mainly with Avheat, oats, and corn. In the work 

 with corn, attention is being paid to the relation of leaf surface to 

 yield and to the cause of barrenness. Field experiments are made in 

 different parts of the State in cooperation with the soil survey. The 

 outcome of about 50 cooperative experiments on alfalfa is that in 

 about two-thirds of the cases inoculation was found beneficial. There 

 are now, 92 cooperative experimental fields in 114 counties of the 

 State. Under the state law, county farms may be used for experi- 



