NOTES 



Cornell University and Station. — A large room has been provided by the 

 horticultural department to be used as a class room and museum, which will contain 

 a collection of spraying apparatus, including every known device for spraying. 



A law has been passed by the legislature of the State of New York appropriating 

 $16,000 to be expended for horticulture in the fifth judicial department of the State, 

 an area lying north and west of Cayuga Lake and including 16 counties. This fund 

 is to be expended " in conducting investigations and experiments in horticulture; 

 in discovering and remedying the diseases of plants, vines, and fruit trees; in ascer- 

 taining the best means of fertilizing vineyard, fruit, and garden plantations, and of 

 making orchards, vineyards, and gardens prolific; in disseminating horticultural 

 knowledge by means of lectures or otherwise, and in preparing and printing for free 

 distribution the results of such investigations and experiments, and such other 

 information as may be deemed desirable and profitable in promoting the horticul- 

 tural interests of the State." All this work is to be prosecuted by Cornell University 

 " under the general supervision and direction of the commissioner of agriculture." 

 Agents and instructors are already in the field. 



Ohio Station. — A substation is being established at Strongsville, Cuyahoga 

 County, on the heavy clay soil which characterizes a large portion of northeastern 

 Ohio. It is intended to dui^licate on this soil the experiments with fertilizers which 

 are being conducted at the station at Wooster and at the substations at Columbus 

 and in Fulton County. 



Pennsylvania Station.— The burning of the State printing ofBce at Harrisburg. 

 February 9, destroyed the manuscript of the Report of the State College and the 

 Experiment Station for 1894. The loss involves a large amount of labor and expense, 

 as the report was to be an unusually elaborate and highly illustrated one. Work has 

 already begun on its reproduction, but its distribution will necessarily be somewhat 

 delayed, as none of the cuts were saved. 



Washington College. — The first annual winter school for farmers aroused much 

 interest and enthusiasm among the farmers. The attendance represented 10 counties, 

 and 303 were enrolled. The winter school will be made a permanent feature of the 

 college work. 



Analysis op Soils and Ash. — In conformity with the expressed desire of the 

 Association of Official Agricultural Chemists at its last convention, that the avail- 

 ability of potash and phosphoric acid in soils should be made a subject of investi- 

 gation during the present year, the " Directions for work on soil and ash samples" 

 of the reporters on soils and ash recently issued provide, among other things, for 

 the determination of the potash and phosphoric acid dissolved by digestion of the 

 soil in 1 per cent citric acid for five hours with frequent thorough shaking; digestion 

 for the same length of time in a solution of 6.3 gm. of oxalic acid in 1 liter of water; 

 and digestion in the same manner in a solution containing 20 gm. of crystallized 

 oxalate of ammonia and 2.15 gm. of anhydrous acetic acid. "The soils selected for 

 study are from experimental fields that have been in cultivation as such for a series 

 of years and the character of the soil is well known. One contains an abundance of 

 available phosphoric acid, but not enough available potash, as shown by its respond- 

 ing to potash fertilizers in the field and not to phosphates. The other responds 



757 



