1898.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 73 



of new varieties of fruits, vegetables, etc., offered to the 

 public every year at high prices, with the claim of merits 

 for them far above those of the standard sorts, and which 

 the average grower cannot afford to buy and test, it is cer- 

 tain that the stations can save the people much loss and ex- 

 pense. 



In the work of variety testing at this station in past years, 

 the reports show that the new varieties reported as being the 

 most valuable have been those that later were considered 

 most valuable and were most largely grown by the commer- 

 cial grower, while the varieties reported as having little or 

 no value have been everywhere soon discarded by the grow- 

 ers who tested them. This work would be of much greater 

 value, without doubt, if one or more sub-stations in different 

 parts of the State could be established, where the same var- 

 ieties could be tested under different conditions of soil and 

 exposure. 



The large number of new varieties of all kinds of fruit, 

 vegetables, etc., being introduced every year, and generally 

 with extravagant claims of merit, renders this work of the 

 Experiment Station imperative, and the people should refuse 

 to purchase such varieties until they have the endorsement 

 of the stations of several States. A single season's trial of 

 a variety is of very little value. It requires several years, 

 at least, to prove the value of vegetables or even the more 

 early maturing small fruits, while tree fruits require a much 

 longer period. 



Other Experiments. 



Among the other experiments now under way may be 

 mentioned the destruction of greenhouse insects by the use 

 of hydrocyanic acid ; the testing of the value and keeping 

 qualities of some fifty-five varieties of celery ; sub-irrigation 

 in growing lettuce under glass ; the use of different kinds of 

 mulch for strawberries ; methods of overcoming the aspar- 

 agus rust ; testing varieties of dwarf Lima beans, etc. 



Reports will soon be made of the results of the variety 

 tests of fruits, vegetables, etc. ; the use of "Laurel Green" 

 as an insecticide and fungicide ; of arsenate of lead as an in- 

 secticide ; and of other work done during the year. 



