^yi EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



REPORT OF THE AGRICULTURIST. 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



WM. P. BROOKS, agriculturist; E. S. FULTON, E. F. GASKILL, ASSISTANTS. 



The work of the department of agriculture during the past 

 year has followed the usual lines. These it will be remembered 

 have for their principal object throwing light upon what appear 

 to be some of the more important problems connected with 

 the selection and method of use and application of manures and 

 fertilizers. Much attention has been paid also to experiments 

 designed to show the relative efficiency as sources of nitrogen 

 and phosphoric acid of different materials which may be pur- 

 chased by the farmer as sources of these elements. 



The number of plots used in connection with our field work 

 during the past year was 313. The work in the vegetation 

 house involved the use of 384 pots. The crops used in the 

 crop experiments in the vegetation house were Japanese millet, 

 dwarf Essex rape, the soy bean, tobacco and tomato. The 

 experiments with the two latter crops were carried out in the 

 hope of throwing light on the causes of diseases or physiological 

 troubles affecting these crops. The results are not yet conclu- 

 sive. In addition to the work in the field plots and in the 

 vegetation house we have carried on experiments in 136 closed 

 plots. These have been for the most part used in fertilizer 

 experiments. The results serve as a valuable check on field 

 work. 



The number of letters of inquiry answered in the department 

 during the past year has been greater than ever before. The 

 total is rather over 1,200, as against 824 for the year 1907. 



The pressure for space from the other departments in the 

 experiment station is so great that no attempt will be made 



