1912.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 31. 13 



provemcnts in oiir chemicnl laboratory. 1'lioso iinprovcmorits 

 were, however, very carefully ])laniie(l and executed under the 

 general sn])ervision of Dr. J. B. Lindsey and his associates, and 

 the extent to which they were allowed to interfere with the 

 progress of laboratory work was, o)i the whole, snrj)risingly 

 small. 



The following are the princij^al Adams fund problems which 

 at present engage our attention: — 



1. To determine the principles which should underlie prac- 

 tice in the use of fertilizers for the cranberry crop. 



2. To determine the principles which should underlie prac- 

 tice in the use of fertilizers for asparagus. 



3. Work in plant breeding in the endeavor to produce more 

 rust-resistant types of asparagus. (In co-operation with the 

 Bureau of Plant Industry, United States Department of Agri- 

 culture. ) 



4. Investigation of the solubility effect of ammonium sulfate 

 on the soil of one of our experimental fields. (Field A.) 



5. The effect of food on the composition of milk and butter 

 fat and on the consistency or body of butter. 



G. The cause of the digestion depression produced l)y 

 molasses. 



7. Why insecticides burn foliage. 



8. The relations of climate to development of plants and 

 crops both in health and disease. 



9. The causes of calico or mosaic disease as affecting espe- 

 cially the tobacco and the tomato. 



10. Malnutrition of ]dants ; causes and prevention. 



11. The intensity and amount of sunshine as affecting disease 

 of plants. 



12. The causes of winter-killing. 



13. Determination of physiological constants. 



1-1. Plant breeding, especially with peas, beans and squashes, 

 to determine the extent to which the Mendelian laws appear to 

 govern heredity. 



15. The relations of climate to variation in leading varieties 

 of apples. 



16. The economic importance of digger wasps in relation to 

 agriculture. 



