346 



in this State and the crops which contribute to this industry." Toma- 

 toes, for example, are very extensively grown in Maryland both for the 

 market and for canning. " The ' tomato pack ' of the whole country was 

 estimated at 3,343,000 cases in 1888, and 2,977,000 cases in 1889. To 

 this aggregate Maryland contributes over 23 per cent, or nearly one 

 fourth. The quantity annually canned being from 30,000 to 35,000 tons, 

 there must be at least 40,000 tons of tomatoes ripened yearly in this 

 State, representing the product of 12,000 acres of land." Accounts of 

 investigations on tomatoes by the station are given elsewhere in the 

 report. 



" A similar course of inquiry regarding sugar corn as a canning crop 

 was initiated, but circumstances compelled its abandonment at an early 

 period, to be renewed in a more propitious season." 



The acreage of tobacco and the quality of this crop having declined 

 in Maryland in spite of the fact that large areas of the State are pecul- 

 iarly adapted to this plant. The station, in co-operation with tobacco 

 planters in several counties, undertook inquiries in the following lines : 

 " (1) Can not Maryland tobacco be improved in quality, first, by intro- 

 ducing new varieties of the plant; or, second, by special feeding or 

 other treatment of the kinds commonly raised in the State? (2) Can 

 not the product per acre of tobacco be increased, first, by special fer- 

 tilizers or methods of manuring; or, second, by new or improved 

 methods of cultivation?" No results worthy of record were obtained 

 in 1889. 



A report on feeding trials with cattle, sheep, and swine is to be pub- 

 lished in Bulletin No. 7 of the station. The expediency of co operation 

 in investigations by stations in neighboring States is urged. 



Upon the invitation of the United States Department of Agri-cultnre, this station 

 co-operated with certain divisions of that Department during the season of 1889, in 

 promoting three lines of investigation : (1) ^lecial feeding of cows and making but- 

 ter from them, to ascertain the eifect of peculiar food upon the composition of butter. 

 (2) Growing sorghum in great variety and considerable quantity, under different 

 conditions, as an adjunct to the sorghum-sugar experiments by the chemist of the 

 Department. (3) Raising mulberry trees of different kinds for the information and 

 use of the Silk Section of the Department. 



A number of examinations have been made of peculiar and of characteristic soils 

 in different parts of the State, and the investigation of the marl deposits of the east- 

 ern portions of Maryland has been renewed. Full descriptions of the samples taken 

 and the results of their chemical analyses are given in the report of the station chemist. 

 This work will be continued, and particularly that part of it relating to the marls. 



Reference is made to former investigations of Maryland marls by 

 Prof. J. T. J)ucatel, State geologist, and others, as published in State 

 reports of 1834-40; by Dr. James Higgins, State agricultural chemist, 

 reported in 1852-58; by Prof. P. T. Tyson, State agricultural chemist, 

 reported in 1860 and 1862. " Prof. P. R. Dhler, president ot the Mary- 

 land Academy of Sciences, has lately pursued a geological study of the 

 tide-water portions of the State, and added valuable contributions to 

 previous knowledge of the marl deposits." 



