150 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



one treating of household pests, and the best remedies to be 

 used against them. 



A preliminary report has been made on the insects inju- 

 rious to the cranberry. The subject is still under investi- 

 gation, but it is thought wise not to publish any results till 

 the investigation is complete. Much extremely careful and 

 arduous work has been done in studying the habits of the 

 gypsy moth, and valuable information obtained. An ex- 

 haustive report will soon be made to the State. 



There is now in course of preparation a monograph with 

 plates of the various grass-eating insects, so troublesome in 

 many sections. A study of the elm-leaf beetle, together 

 with methods best suited to check its depredations, will 

 also appear in the near future. 



In the horticultural department much study has been 

 given to different methods of greenhouse heating and piping 

 (see Hatch station bulletins, 4 and 6), with results quite 

 decidedly in favor of the hot-water method. Considerable 

 attention has also been given to the construction of green- 

 houses, with a view to embodying all the most desirable 

 ideas, such as size of glass, arrangement of pipes and ven- 

 tilating apparatus. All kinds of fruits for which any special 

 merit has been claimed have been tested, and the results 

 published. Experiments have been made with the different 

 forms of apparatus and the most suitable solutions necessary 

 to hold in check the various insect pests and fungi that prey 

 upon fruit trees, vines and farm and garden crops (see 

 Hatch station bulletins, 17, 25 and 29). 



A very large number of field experiments has been car- 

 ried out. A series extending over a number of years was 

 conducted by Dr. Goessmann, to ascertain whether the so- 

 called worn-out land that had been cropped for a long time 

 with corn and grass was suffering from special or general 

 exhaustion. These experiments, conducted on the station 

 grounds, with corn, indicated that the soil was especially 

 lackino- in potash. A somewhat similar experiment was 

 afterwards carried out on farms in different portions of the 

 State by Professor Brooks ; and in by far the great major- 

 ity of cases the original results were confirmed. Such 



