1050 EXPEEIMENT STATION RECOED. 



Tbe work on the experimental tracts has been confined chiefly to the care of 

 the plantings made in accordance with experiments ontlined in previous reports 

 (E. S. R., 16, p. 144; 17, p. 351). In addition, grafting has connuenced in the 

 new coffee plantings, together witli fertilizer experiments in both the old and 

 new plantings. A great number of the best varieties of coffee in various countries 

 have been brought together for the purpose of selecting for planting those which 

 bring the highest prices in the markets of the world. Inferior varieties are to 

 be discarded and an attempt will be made to distribute the promising varieties 

 as rapidly as possible among the planters. 



In the hope of obtaining a better yield, the station is conducting a series of 

 experiments in fertilizing coffee trees. Coffee is said to bloom in Porto Rico at 

 different periods, according to the altitude and locality. The blooming period 

 on the experiment station tract ranges from February to May, consisting of 1 

 principal blossoming followed by 1 or more smaller blossomings. The berries 

 ripen aliout 7 months after the blooming period. Harvesting begins in Septem- 

 ber and lasts until .January, during which time about 10 pickings are made at 

 intervals. 



With a view of determining how long wet coffee can be kept without damage 

 to quality and also to determine if the sprouting pi-ocess influences the flavor, 

 the following experiment was made : On December 30, 1905, a quantity of fer- 

 mented and recently washed coffee in tlie parchment skin was put in a heap 

 on a cement floor in a basement resembling a malt cellar. The heap was turned 

 daily. During the sprouting process and before turning, the upper layer, having 

 become dry, was sprayed with water of ordinary temperature. As soon as 

 sprouts of the length of the berry had developed these grains were taken out 

 and dried. By January 23, 190(5. the first grains began to sprout, and a month 

 later all the grains had sprouted. The bulk of the coffee was then dried in the 

 ordinary way and hulled. This coffee was submitted to different consumers, 

 roasters, and dealers in the United States, and was generally pronounced to be 

 of good quality and flavor. By some the flavor was claimed to have been 

 improved by the sprouting process. 



FORESTRY. 



The Forest Service of the United States, O. W. Price iCnnad. Forestnj 

 Jour., 3 (1901), A'o. J, pp. lJi-18, pi. 1). — An outline of the essential progress 

 made by the United States Forest Service along the main lines of forest work. 



Report of forest nurseryman, D. Haughs (Bpt. Bd. Comrs. Agr. and For- 

 estry Hawaii. ,3 {1906). pp. 1)7-83). — A report of the work at the government 

 nursery, the Nuuanu station, and the Tantalus forest for the year ending Decem- 

 ber 31, 1906. 



Statements are given of seeds and plants collected, propagated, and distrib- 

 uted, of plantations visited — showing the nature of the advice and assistance 

 given to those outside of the district of Honolulu — the experimental work, and 

 the number of fires during the year. 



The experimental work at the nursery has been along the lines of seed testing 

 and the propagation of new and rare plants, in which various forms of nil)ber 

 trees have been given considerable attention. 



State nursery for forest tree seedlings, L. R. .Jones (Vermont Sta. Bui. 

 1.n. pp. .'/.J-.53). — The Vermont general assembly of 1906 passed an act to aid 

 in the establishment and maintenance of a nursery for forest seedlings at the 

 Vermont Station. The various sections included under this act are given in the 

 bulletin. 



Under section 3, the law requires that the experiment station shall, as soon 



