42 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 



in the greenhouse ; varieties have been tested ; the cultivation of orch- 

 ards has been investigated ; systems of garden planting have been tried 

 out. In plant breeding, very extensive investigations in the breeding 

 of fruit trees are under way. As products of this work an instructive 

 bulletin on "Apple Bud Selection" and another on "Seed Production 

 in Apples" have been published. 



As might be expected, a very large volume of the work with these 

 horticultural crops has had to do with their protection from diseases 

 and insects. For this work the Illinois Experiment Station has been 

 peculiarly fortunate in having had the life-long service of two of the 

 foremost scientists indeed, world authorities in their respective fields 

 who have devoted themselves to a study of plant protection from 

 bacterial and fungous diseases, on the one hand, and from insect 

 ravages on the other. Hundreds of appreciative farmers from all 

 over Illinois as well as from other states honor this grand team of 

 workers Thomas Jonathan Burrill and Stephen Alfred Forbes. 



To Dr. Burrill is given the credit for that great scientific dis- 

 covery that certain plant diseases are caused by bacterial organisms. 

 It is natural that under such leadership a strong development of this 

 line of work should occur. It is interesting to note in this connection 

 that thirty-four years ago this Station published a bulletin entitled 

 "A Bacterial Disease of Corn" written by Dr. Burrill. Within the 

 past few years there has been a great revival of interest in corn dis- 

 eases and today "the air is full of talk," on this subject. Likewise 

 many years ago Dr. Forbes began his observations on the insect 

 pests that ravish our crops, and this early work has been followed by 

 that splendid series of studies covering the insect depredations of the 

 various classes of our economic crops, the grain and hay crops as well 

 as the fruit crops. 



Thus it has come about that the investigation of orchard spraying 

 for protection from diseases and insect pests has loomed large in the 

 program of our horticultural staff. This work may be briefly sum- 

 marized in a quotation taken from a recent report. 



"Experiments to determine the best methods of controlling in- 

 sects and diseases attacking apple orchards have been conducted in a 

 systematic manner for the last twenty years, and the results of these 

 experiments have been the chief source of information upon which the 

 apple growers of the state have depended for guidance in their spray- 

 ing operations. A definite spray program has been prepared which 

 has helped very materially in putting apple growing on a paying basis 

 in Illinois. The commercial apple crop of the state is valued at ap- 



