ANNUAL REPORT, 1934 81 



of the staff to take care of this work and to some extent relieve the other mem- 

 bers of the extra burden of constant interruption by visitors and telephone calls. 

 Paul W. Dempsey, who has been in charge of the field work of the station since 

 its establishment in 1917, has been appointed Assistant Research Professor of 

 Horticulture to take care of this important part of the work. This service includes 

 interviews with commercial vegetable, growers and amateur gardeners, testing of 

 soil and making recommendations, giving talks on horticultural subjects to 

 organizations which request them, guiding visitors about the Field Station, and 

 consulting with representatives of commercial concerns and other individuals 

 seeking information about their products. 



PUBLICATIONS 

 Bulletins 



305 Annual Report for the Fiscal Year Ending November 30, 1933. 68 pp. 

 March, 1934. 



The main purpose of this report is to provide an opportunity for presenting in published 

 form, recent results from experimentation in fields or on projects where progress has not 

 been such as to justify the general. and definite conclusions necessary to meet the require- 

 ments of bulletin or journal. 



306 Fertilizer Tests on an Important Pasture Soil Type. A. B. Beaumont. 

 12 pp. illus. January, 1934. 



In order that the results from previous investigations regarding the use of commercial 

 fertilizers on permanent pastures might find more specific and wider application, the work 

 was carried into other sections of the State for trial and demonstration on a different soil 

 type. This bulletin presents results from that work. 



307 Breeding for Egg Production. F. A. Hays and Ruby Sanborn. 28 pp. 

 April, 1934. 



During the past twenty years the Poultry Husbandry Department has conducted nu- 

 merous investigations to determine the influence of various factors, controllable through 

 breeding, on the egg-producing ability of Rhode Island Reds. This bulletin is a compila- 

 tion of results obtained up to the present date, and is intended as a guide to assist the 

 poultry breeder in directing his operations. 



308 Preliminary Studies on Neurolymphomatosis and Some More or Less 

 Related Diseases. Charles S. Gibbs. 32 pp. illus. May, 1934. 



Neurolymphomatosis, generally referred to as "fowl paralysis" has been recognized in 

 Massachusetts fcr many years. All breeds of chickens are susceptible. The clinical course 

 of the disease varies in individual cases, usually extending over a period of several weeks 

 or months. Complete recovery is rare. Temporary improvement may occur followed by 

 relapse and death. The pathological cell appeared to be the same in neurolymphomatosis 

 and lymphocytomatosis, but the former is primarily a disease of young birds from 3 to 10 

 months of age, while the latter is more common in birds 10 months of age or older. On 

 the basis of the experimental data secured in these studies, these diseases may be controlled 

 by eradicating affected birds from the flock as soon as noticed, adopting the best sanitary 

 procedures, and increasing the vigor of the birds by judicious breeding. 



309 Soybeans fcr Massachusetts. A. B. Beaumont and R. E. Stitt. 16 pp. illus. 

 May, 1934. 



The greatest promise of the soybean in New England lies in its possibilities as a forage 

 crop. It can hardly compete with the grasses, clovers, and alfalfa as a principal source 

 of forage, but as a more or less temporary or emergency leguminous forage crop, it has 

 distinct advantages. Twenty, varieties were tested for yield of hay for the three-year period 

 1929-1931, and in two of the years yield of seed was also obtained. The bulletin describes 

 the varieties and the results obtained with each, and also includes a discussion of the uses 

 of soybeans and the best methods of culture. 



