Commissioner of Agriculture 419 



have a herd that will attract attention, as well as furnishing excel- 

 lent teaching material. 



The herd of tuberculous cows has served its purpose and is 

 being disposed of as rapidly as the cows freshen and make records 

 to support their female Offspring. 



The School has had the misfortune to lose, through acute in- 

 digestion — due in one case to teething, hot weather, and corn, and 

 in the other no ascertainable cause — the pure-bred Percherons 

 purchased two years ago. The death of the second mare this 

 August was the more aggravating in that an order had been placed 

 for a mate for her in the afternoon before her sickness. In both 

 cases everything that a veterinarian could do was done by Dr. 

 Hewitt. 



The sheep, swine, and poultry are on a very satisfactory basis 

 and are furnishing surplus stock which is sold in nearby and city 

 markets. 



HORTICULTURE 



A great deal of attention has been given during the year to the 

 orchards and small fruits, most of the work being accomplished 

 by the students as part of their class work. 



The apple orchard is making excellent growth. This year, par- 

 ticularly, has seen excellent development as a result of careful 

 cultivation. Fungous diseases are being well controlled, and 

 numerous injuries received by the trees during their first year in 

 the orchard are now beginning to heal. Some fruit was set this 

 year and many of the trees are beginning to develop spurs. 



Early Richmond and Montmorency cherries are doing well and 

 should bear a crop this next year. Yellow Spanish, Napoleon, 

 and Black Tartarian are not proving entirely hardy, though quite 

 a number of trees of each variety seem to be making good growth. 



With the exception of the Gregg black raspberries, which have 

 been destroyed by the cane blight, the small fruits are all doing 

 well and furnish a large amount of teaching material. 



The garden has not been a paying proposition. It is not large 

 enough, and the School is not near enough to large markets to 

 make it a commercial proposition. It seems wise, therefore, to 

 consider the vegetable garden purely a laboratory proposition, 

 chargeable to school maintenance rather than to the farm. 



