206 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



of manure and commercial fertilizers and giving; special attention 

 to the jirodiiction of nitro<ren-(ixin^ orpmisms when plants are not 

 fjrown. Attention was also <;iven to bacteria connected with animal 

 diseases, especially tuberculosis. 



The dairy division in cooperation with this Department worked 

 on the moisture content of the curd during the process of manufac- 

 ture and also judged butter and cheese sent in from factories. 



The department of chemistry in cooperation with the Dairy 

 Division of this Department, completed studies in the ripening of 

 cheese and the results are soon to be published. It was determined 

 that the flavor of the cheeses under examination was due to the pres- 

 ence of volatile esters produced, in part at least, by the decomposition 

 of the carbohydrates in the milk. The results of work on silica and 

 phosphorus in plants seemed to indicate that organic phosphorus 

 and silica differ in different kinds of plants and that the silica com- 

 pounds appear unstable. A study of the role of metabolic water in 

 nutrition was also followed. 



In agricultural engineering, the erosion of Portland cement by 

 silage and the King s^^stem of ventilation were given attention. The 

 department of soils carried on experimental work on different types 

 of soil in the State with reference to fertilizer requirements and crop 

 adaptation. The liming of acid soils and drainage problems were 

 also considered. 



In dairy chemistry, the study of the relation of food to production 

 in the dairy herd was continued and a study was also made of the 

 relation of body weight of the cow to the fat content of milk imme- 

 diately after calving. 



The department of animal husbandry cooperated in the experi- 

 ments with the dairy herd and conducted investigations on feeding 

 and the cost of producing pigs. Sheep feeding tests and experiments 

 in the preservation and application of farm manures were also fol- 

 lowed. This department is charged with the enforcement of the 

 stallion law. 



As already pointed out, the AYisconsin Station carried on coopera- 

 tive work along various lines with the Bureau of Animal Industry, 

 Bureau of Plant Industry, Bureau of Entomology, and the Bureau 

 of Soils of this Department, the Minnesota Experiment Station, and 

 ■with farmers of the State, especially those belonging to the Wisconsin 

 Agricultural Experiment Association. Among the different activities 

 in this connection may be mentioned cooperative fertilizer experi- 

 ments, drainage and reclamation work, spraying of orchard fruits, 

 potatoes, and cranberries, crop demonstration work on lands belong- 

 ing to the various state institutions, the county farms, and the sub- 

 stations in the northern part of the State, tuberculosis post-mortem 



