102 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Originally the tract was very uneven, but it lias been leveled off and 

 made more suitable for experimental purposes and laid out into regular 

 plats. It is now divided into four large portions. The land on one 

 side of the irrigation diteh is paddy soil, and that on the other is dry 

 land. In the "dry" field there are 198 plats, separated by a passage- 

 way varying in breadth from 2 to feet. The plats are connected with 

 irrigation and drain ditches. The paddy held is divided into eight 

 plats by roads and ditches, two ditches being used for irrigation and 

 three for drainage. These plats can easily be temporarily subdivided 

 into smaller ones. The station has been provided with eleven build- 

 ings used for office and laboratory purposes, storage, residences of 

 officials and of workmen and servants, stables, etc. 



The principal lines of work now in progress at the Tokai station are 

 pot experiments on the availability of various forms of nitrogen and 

 phosphoric acid to the rice plant; determination of the availability of 

 nitrogen in organic nitrogenous fertilizers; influence of soil and manure 

 upon rice; availability of natural sources of nutrients to different plants; 

 effect of soil and fertilizers on the properties of the grain, straw, etc., 

 of the rice plant; the effect of various forms of nitrogen on the produc- 

 tion of indigo tin in the leaves of Polygonum tinetorium ; chemical inves- 

 tigations on the rice plant; the changes of coloring matter and compo- 

 sition of the indigo plant during its growth; the preparation of indigo 

 and of dyestuffs from Polygonum tinetorium, and the chemical changes 

 which take place during the process, and methods of analysis; various 

 field experiments on paddy and upland rice — variety tests, use of seeds 

 of different specific gravity, treatment of seed before sowing, time of 

 sowing, distance, methods of manuring, etc. ; variety tests of grasses 

 and leguminous plants; variety, culture, and fertilizer experiments 

 with sweet potatoes; variety, culture, and fertilizer tests with Japa- 

 nese and upland cotton, and similar experiments with the indigo plant. 

 In addition to the above, important investigations are being conducted 

 in the chemical and microscopical laboratory. 



The systematic organization of agricultural research in Japan is of 

 especial interest at a time when this country is called upon to consider 

 measures for the development of island regions where agriculture has 

 hitherto been conducted in accordance with comparatively primitive 

 methods. Evidently Japan has decided that the aid of science should 

 be sought in a broad way to investigate the problems of her agricul- 

 ture and has appreciated the fact that the progress of agriculture, as 

 well as of other industries, depends very largely on scientific investi- 

 gations and technical education. The Japanese experiment stations 

 are attacking vital problems relating to the agriculture of that country, 

 and the great usefulness of their work is illustrated by the publications 

 which these stations have already issued. It is believed that we may 

 learn much of value from this enterprise of the island empire of the 

 East. 



