224 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 280 



Unmixed fertilizer materials 10 



Complete fertilizers ? 3 



Lime products 3 



Manufarturing by-products 6 



Farm manures 2 



Peat products 12 



Miscellaneous 7 



Soils, partial analysis 28 



The usual interest has been taken dur'ng the year in the work of the Asso- 

 ciation of Official Agricultural Chemists, Mr. Haskins having served as President 

 of the Association and as Chairman of the Committee on Definition of Terms 

 and Interpretation of Results on Fertilizers and Lime Products. 



DEPARTMENT OF FLORICULTURE 

 Clark L. Thayer in Charge 



Study of the Effect of Plant Nutrients on Carnations and Roses 

 Under Glass. (H. E. White, Waltham). Experimental work has been carried 

 on with different fertilizer materials to determine what effect the sources of nitro- 

 gen and phosphorus n'.ay have upon the growth of carnations and roses. 



There have not been any outstanding differences in the nun Ijer or quality of 

 carnation flowers produced by the plants in the difierent fertilizer plots. Appli- 

 cations of nitrogen in the short, dark days of December did not noticeably in- 

 crease splitting of calyces. Plants receiving calurea, urea, and blood produced a 

 few more split calyces than plants in some of the other treatments, with the 

 exception of the manure plots. Splitting of calyces appears to be a genetical 

 tendency or varietal peculiarity. Spectrum has a greater tendency to split than 

 either Ivory or Woburn. Nitrogen starvation symptoms appeared by midwinter 

 on the manure and peat plots; light applications of .sodium nitrate restored the 

 plants to their normal condition. 



A peculiar physiological disturbance was observed in the sodium nitrate 

 plots. The petals of the affected flowers grew out beyond the calyces but thej' 

 appeared to be glued together. When such flowers were soaked in alcohol, the 

 bases of the petals were found to have adhered. However, the upper portions 

 were easily freed from one another bj^ the alcohol. This condition has been 

 encountered in local greenhouses but so far the causes have not been satisfac- 

 torily explained. The manure plots which showed nitrogen deficiency and re- 

 ceived sodium nitrate produced flowers showing this adhesion. Further investi- 

 gational work is being carried on to determine the cause of this trouble. 



There were no outstanding differenc^es in the fertilizer trials with roses, 'i'he 

 plots are being carried on for another season since the present plants have been 

 in the plots for one year only. If the results warrant it, the work will be con- 

 tinued. 



Breeding Snapdragons for Varietal Improvement and Disease Re- 

 sistance. (H. E. White, Waltham). In the summer of 1930 rust resistant 

 1 lants of the Mains' strains from Purdue were selected in the field and planted 

 in the greenhouse for breeding. Some 50 different crosses were made between 

 these strains and greenhouse varieties. The progeny of these crosses, consisting 



