1908.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 19 



Department Reports. 



The reports of the heads of the different departments of the 

 station will be found in later pages. The report of the agricul- 

 turist is elsewhere briefly summarized. 



Department of Horticulture. — The report of the department 

 of horticulture includes papers upon three distinct subjects : — 



1. Notes on the propagation of apples. The experimental 

 work upon which this paper is based was carried on with dwarf 

 trees. The principal object of the experiment was to determine 

 the influence of the scion on the character of the tree. The 

 variety reported upon in greatest detail was the Baldwin, which 

 was grafted upon three different stocks : the ordinary apple ; 

 Doucin ; and Paradise. The method of measurement adopted 

 .shows a distinct influence apparently due to the variation in 

 .scion. The trees on the Doucin stocks were more uniform in 

 shape and taller than those on the Paradise stocks ; the trees 

 on Paradise stocks were much stockier than on Doucin ; while 

 those on Doucin stocks were in turn much stockier than those 

 on the ordinary stocks. 



2. The physiological constant for the germination stage of 

 cress. The methods which have been used in investigations 

 for the determination of physiological constants are briefly out- 

 lined. The method reported upon, which is original, is de- 

 scribed and compared with the earlier methods. The results 

 with cress are reported in detail. 



3. Variation in peas. This paper presents the results ob- 

 tained by careful observations, and includes tabular records of 

 a large number of observations which are carefully averaged. 

 The results obtained are fruitful in suggestions as to the prin- 

 ciples which should be followed in selection in breeding for 

 improvement in any given direction. 



Department of Plant and Animal Chemistry . — The report of 

 the chemist presents first a numerical statement of the amount 

 of analytical work accomplished during the year. This makes 

 it apparent that the demands upon the station for work of this 

 character are rapidly increasing. 



The chemist in charge of the fertilizer control work, H. D. 

 Haskins, reports the analysis of 45 more brands of fertilizers in 



