New York Agricultural Experiment Station. 13 



practical agriculture of the facts discovered in our laboratory 

 research. 



It now appears probable that in 1808 attention can be most 

 profitably given to the potato and pickle interests of Long Island. 

 With this in view, arrangements are already being made to locate 

 €xperiments at at least eight different points, chiefly with refer- 

 ence to the use of fertilizers in potato growing and to the applica- 

 tion of a spraying mixture in controlling the diseases which prey 

 upon cucumbers. 



Experience teaches that it is not enough merely to discover a 

 fact and point out its relations to practical agriculture. The 

 extreme conservatism of the agricultural class seems to render it 

 necessary to go even farther, and by illustration and by precept 

 «pon precept to overcome indifference and skepticism. It is true 

 that such instructional efforts as this are outside of the proper 

 function of the Experiment Station, but conditions seem to re- 

 quire them. 



Chemical Department. 



Fertilizer analysis. — The demands upon this Station for the in- 

 spection of commercial fertilizers are steadil}' and rapidly In- 

 creasing. The records show that in no other state are the 

 requirements for this work so heavy as is the case in New York. 

 During the year 1897, 184 manufactures have filed in this office the 

 required statements concerning 1,728 brands of fertilizers. Not 

 all the registered brands are actually sold in the State, but the 

 real number is unnecessarily and even absurdly large. There is 

 not a single good reason for this multiplication of names in the 

 fertilizer trade, but many reasons why such a state of things 

 should not exist. It is a cause of confusion and of unnecessary 

 expense and should hasten a change to a more economical system 

 of buying and selling plant food. 



During the season of 1897 three traveling agents were em- 

 ployed by the Station for the collection of samples of fertilizers 

 in different parts of the State. These agents were at work during 

 about four and one-half months, and they collected 1.005 sam- 

 ples, representing 748 different brands. This is less than the 



