202 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



j)ractical)ilily of i-cplniit inji: to peach niitl apple trees land which had 

 previously been occupied by a jieach orchard which had been de- 

 stroyed by old aij^e and yellows; a continuation of the fertilizer 

 experiments which have been carried on for a number of years on 

 the station farm; tests of sprayin*^ nuiterials for the control of potato 

 blight; tests of varieties and northern v. home-grown seed potatoes; 

 control of bitter rot and leaf spot of the apple; fertilizer experiments 

 on apple tree,s; a preliminary survey of the tomato-canning industry 

 of the State; cooperative fertilizer experiments with special refer- 

 ence to increasing production and ripening of fruit; experiments on 

 the control of brown rot of })lums and apple scab; insecticides for 

 San Jose scale; comparative tests of eastern and western methods 

 for destroying the codling moth; experiments on the destruction of 

 the subterranean form of woolly aphis; tests of arsenical poisons for 

 the control of the cabbage worm, involving a study of the residual 

 poison remaining upon the matured crop; cooperative orchard ex- 

 periments with varieties, methods of culture, pruning, and grafting; 

 observations on the cost of establishing and bringing to a productive 

 age a commercial apple orchard ; and a study of means of maintaining 

 vigor and productivity in chickens reared by purely artificial means. 

 This experiment has been under way without interruption for about 

 ten years. Recent additions to the poultry plant have contributed 

 materially not only to the poultry experiments in general, but has 

 made it possible to study the effect of different types of poultry- 

 houses on the health and productivity of laying hens. 



As in previous years, the station has carried on a large number of 

 cooperative experiments with farmers in different parts of the State. 

 These included a continuation of tests of methods of exterminating 

 stomach worms in sheep by treating the breeding stock with vermi- 

 fuges; tests of spraying for the destruction and control of fruit and 

 crop pests; variety tests, culture, and fertilizer experiments with truck 

 crops; demonstrations of the use of legimies and other cover crops 

 for orchards; tests of grasses and leguminous plants as mulch for 

 orchards; tests of varieties, time of planting, methods of culture, 

 and fertilization of tomatoes, with a view to obtaining the best type 

 of fruit for canning; and tests of dairy herds whose owners desire 

 registration in breeders' associations of various kinds. 



The soil investigations wdiich have been made by the station show 

 that fully three-fourths of the infertile soils of the State are acid, a 

 condition wdiich can be easily corrected and productiveness restored. 

 The station has also shown that the continued use of acid phosphates 

 does not render soils permanently sour. This is considered an im- 

 portant discovery in view of the extensive use of acid phosphates by 

 farmers and the widely accepted view of their tendency to increase 

 soil acidity. 



