1910.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 31. 31 



be expected by an owner would be large. Moreover, questions 

 of possible damage to the property as a result of experimental 

 work might arise, which would be difficult to settle in a satis- 

 factory manner. Should the second plan bo adopted there 

 is little doubt that the net income derived from the crops pro- 

 duced would be sufficient to constitute a material contribution 

 to the funds available to pay the costs of experimental work. 

 If, therefore, the needed j^roperty can be purchased at a satis- 

 factory price, the methods of support of experimental work 

 would be largely settled. It would seem, therefore, to be ex- 

 tremely desirable either that growers unite in the purchase of 

 the property to be placed at the disposal of the station, or that 

 the State be asked to appropriate money for the purpose. It is 

 quite impossible that the cost either of leasing the needed prop- 

 erty or of purchasing it should be met by the use of ordinary 

 station funds. Such funds are quite inadequate in amount to 

 meet so large an added expenditure. 



The co-operation of the United States government in certain 

 lines of investigation has been asked for, and we are already 

 assured of material assistance in the study of ]Aant diseases and 

 the climatic conditions which affect the crop. 



Fertilizer Experiments. — The fertilizer experiments at Eed 

 Brook Bog, lying at Waquoit, have been continued. This in- 

 cludes 33 plots of one- twentieth of an acre which are subjected 

 to varying fertilizer treatment. The use of fertilizers has been 

 so planned that the results must ultimately afford a valual)le 

 basis for determining wdiat should be the composition of cran- 

 berry fertilizers. It is recognized, of course, that conditions 

 vary in different bogs, and that no one formula can possibly 

 be the best under all conditions. Our object is to learn if 

 possible the specific effects of different fertilizer elements. 

 When these are understood, it will be possible to adapt the fer- 

 tilizer to meet varying conditions in different bogs. 



Most of the plots in our experiment gave a fairly good crop 

 in 1909, but, owing to a misunderstanding on the part of men 

 employed in harvesting the fruit upon portions of the bog out- 

 side the fertilizer plots, the product from a few of the plots 

 was mixed, and a comi^lete record of results would be inipos- 



