698 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



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The small supply of seeds was furnished, in the majority of 

 cases, by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



The work carried on in this connection has had, for 

 obvious reasons, no other aim than to study the adapta- 

 tion of some new field crop to our climate, or to com- 

 pare some new variety of a prominent garden crop with 

 those frequently raised in our section of the State. The 

 field set aside for these experiments was in a good state of 

 cultivation. Barnyard manure, supplemented by commer- 

 cial phosphates and potash compounds, had been used in the 

 past as manure ; no alteration was made in this respect dur- 

 ing the past season. 



The list of seeds sown embraces, aside from those already 

 mentioned in previous pages, one variety of mustard, 

 "Southern Giant Curled;" three of pepper, "Cayenne," 

 " Sweet Mountain," and " Golden Dawn ; " two of tomato, 

 "Paragon "and " Improved Mayflower ;" one of cabbage, 

 " Early Summer ; " two of cauliflower, " Early Snow Ball " 

 and "Giant Cauliflower," " Pyrethrum roseum " ; and one 

 variety of potato, " Polaris," in the form of seeds and seed 

 potatoes (two tubers) . 



The seeds were, in every instance, sown in a hot-bed and 

 subsequently transplanted in the field. All matured well, 

 with the exception of Pyrethrum roseum, which is a peren- 

 nial plant. 



Aside from these plants, there have also been cultivated, 

 on a small scale, Asiatic Rhubarb, Sago Bean (Sago Jiispida), 

 wild potato from Colorado, and several reputed new varieties 

 of potatoes, to secure material for future experiments. 



The recently ploughed old grass lands, on the east side of 

 the highway, were planted with potatoes, corn and horse 

 beans, squashes, several varieties of oats, and barley. The 

 lower portion, from five to six acres, has been laid down 

 during the fall into a permanent meadow ; while the re- 

 mainder of worn-out grass land in that locality — from six 

 to eight acres — has been underdrained and ploughed at 

 the close of the season. 



The details of the past year's work upon this part of the 

 land of the Station will be related hereafter, in connection 

 with a description of a more matured system of cultivation. 



