100 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



Finally in the winter of 1909 the demand for a substitute for 

 bordeaux in the spraying of apples reached an acute stage. 

 Aroused by the glowing reports of success with lime-sulphur in 

 the Pacific coast apple regions and the appearance on the mar- 

 ket of commercial concentrated lime-sulphur solutions for sum- 

 mer spraying for which unsubstantiated claims were made, our 

 growers insisted on definite data as to the efficiency of this new 

 fungicide under our eastern conditions. Loaded to our full 

 capacity with problems already under way and with no pros- 

 pect of adequate increases in our department budget to meet 

 this new problem, I began to cast about for some means of 

 meeting this legitimate demand of our growers. 



In the midst of this dilemma there came to my hands in one 

 of our scientific journals the description of a new type of co- 

 operation which was being eft'ectively worked between the de- 

 partment of chemistry of a western university and certain com- 

 mercial concerns having problems of a chemical nature. So 

 effective did this cooperation appear to be, not only in solving 

 these problems, but also in training young investigators for 

 further service along these lines, that I thought I saw here a 

 solution of the difficulties in which we found ourselves relative 

 to the problems in plant disease work. 



After careful consideration of this scheme and full discus- 

 sion of the problem with Director Bailey, we worked out a 

 similar plan for cooperation with our constituency. The pur- 

 pose of our first cooperation of this type was to get definite 

 data on the question of the substitution of lime-sulphur for 

 bordeaux in the spraying of apples. Care was taken in entering 

 into the cooperation that no strings should be attached by 

 which the commercial concern supplying the funds could make 

 undue capital out of its relations with the University, and the 

 contract received the full approval of the Director of the College 

 and the Board of Trustees. The fundamental feature of this 

 cooperation was the financial consideration, the Niagara Sprayer 

 Company depositing with the Treasurer of the University the 

 sum of $1500 per year for two years to provide salary and 

 traveling expenses for a young plant pathologist to undertake 

 a careful investigation of the problem. His appointment and 

 all expenditures of the money deposited were to be under the 

 complete control of the Director of the College with provision 



