‘| vial tations, 1899. 
ANNUAL REPORTS. 
CENTRAL TRIAL STATION, (STATE EXPERIMENT 
STATION ) ST. ANTHONY PARK. 
PROF. S. B. GREEN, SUPT. 
The winter of 1898-99 did not cause an unusual amount of root killing 
of plants at the Experiment Station, but there was more killing back of 
their tops than usual, although most have recovered and are in very ex- 
cellent condition. On the whole, our loss from the effects of last winter was 
little, if any, more than we generally expect in severe winters. 
The past season has been a very favorable one for plant growth. There 
has been an abundance of rain, and no especially bad condition at any time. 
The work of the Horticultural Division of the Experiment Station is in- 
creasing in extent of the land occupied from year to year. As our planta- 
tions get older object lessons increase in our orchard, small fruit and for- 
est plantations. We follow the practice of keeping a dust blanket on the 
land during the dry weather. This seems to be the best method adapted to 
this section. We aim not to cultivate deep after the first of August, but to 
cultivate sufficiently to keep the weeds from getting a start. The campus 
about our buildings, as well as our work in the fields, is increasing in in- 
terest year by year. During the last year there has been a good deal of dig- 
ging up of the lawns, due to the putting in of a central heating plant and 
some extra sewers, but as these improvements are completed the chances 
of laying the grounds out permanently are increased, and no serious dis- 
figurement of our grounds has resulted from these improvements. 
It is our aim to keep a good assortment of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous 
plants growing in the beds and about the grounds of our campus, with 
some specimens labeled with their common and their botanical names, and 
with the name of the country in which they are indigenous. This adds to the 
interest of our collection for visitors and students. Two years ago we made 
a change in the method of keeping the records in this division. Previous 
to that time the records had been kept in books, which, as they wefe needed, 
were corrected and revised. Under the present system, all the records are 
kept on cards. The records of the orchards, for instance, are kept by hav- 
ing a white card for each row, and a number for every place for a tree, and 
a card for every tree. In this way it is possible to expand the records and 
keep a sort of debit and credit account with every tree. This method adds. 
but little to the expense of what it was formerly, and it is far more com- 
