10 EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



The correspondence, as pointed out by the heads of a num- 

 ber of divisions, has largely increased. This increase has 

 affected not simply the heads of divisions, but the director's 

 office as well, and has made necessary the employment of an 

 increased number of private secretaries. The clerical work 

 of the station now affords full employment for from five to 

 six such assistants. 



New Lines of "Work. 



During the past year two new lines of work have been 

 undertaken, in both instances at the solicitation and with the 

 hearty co-operation of persons engaged in the special indus- 

 tries affected. 



Asparagus growing is an important industry in a number 

 of sections. Of late years it has been found difficult to pro- 

 duce satisfactory crops, on account of the prevalence of rust, 

 It is hoped that it may be possible to obtain or to produce 

 more rust-resistant varieties of this crop; and, for the pur- 

 pose of working with that end in view, an arrangement has 

 been made with the division of plant industry of the depart- 

 ment of agriculture for co-operative work. Much of this work 

 will be carried on in Concord, which is the center of what is 

 without doubt the most important asparagus-producing sec- 

 tion in the State. In connection with the asparagus-breeding 

 experiments in Concord, an extended series of fertilizer ex- 

 periments is also to be undertaken. Considerable preliminary 

 work in both directions has been done during the past year. 



The cranberry industry, which is so important chiefly in 

 the seaboard towns of southeastern Massachusetts, has long 

 suffered from a variety of insect pests. An important begin- 

 ning has been made in the study of these pests during the 

 past season. In this work the station has employed an assist- 

 ant, who spent the entire summer in Wareham, which is one 

 of the principal towns of the cranberry district of Plymouth 

 County. The results of his work and important suggestions 

 as to methods of fighting the injury due to some of the more 

 serious insect pests will be presented in a bulletin, which will 

 be ready for publication at an early date. 



