144 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



(d) Sub-irrigation, as affecting lettuce diseases. 



(e) Experiments on the pruning of cucumbers, in rela- 

 tion to the maturity and production of fruit ; also, observa- 

 tions on the various fungous diseases of the cucumber, and 

 the conditions which favor them. 



(f) Experiments on the pruning of tomatoes, in rela- 

 tion to the production and maturity of fruit ; a study of the 

 fungous diseases of the tomato. 



((/) Experiments on the growth of violets in sterilized 

 soil and nematode-infested earth, with special reference to 

 the relationship existing between the size, maturity and pro- 

 duction of flowers in the plants, and abundance of leaf spots. 



(h) Experiments with gases and chemical solutions for 

 disinfecting greenhouses and repression of fungi. 



(i) Further experiments on the relationship existing be- 

 tween electricity and plant growth. 



There are a host of fungous diseases common to our out-of- 

 door plants, some of which have received special attention, 

 such, for example, as the asparagus rust, aster disease, etc. ; 

 but the practice of spraying fruit trees and garden crops has 

 for many years been largely carried out by the horticultural 

 division, which is well equipped with all of the modern spray- 

 ing appliances. 



A few years ago it was generally believed by the majority 

 of people that botany was incapable of being made of any 

 practical use, and it is doing no injustice to truth to state 

 that it did possess little at that time. To-day, however, this 

 state of affairs has entirely changed, and botany, like chem- 

 istry and other allied sciences, has taken its place in the in- 

 dustrial arts, — a fact which is due to the advance of science 

 in general, but more especially to the inherent genius char- 

 acteristic of the American investigator, which naturally em- 

 phasizes the utilitarian aspect of science. The annual loss 

 in the United States to agricultural, horticultural and flori- 

 cultural products caused by pathogenic fungi and their allies 

 will probably equal $10,000,000. It is, therefore, not only 

 important, but perfectly legitimate, that the principal work 

 of botanists in our numerous experiment stations should 

 consist in studying the life history of these organisms with 



