1911.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 31. 21 



xent the diversion of these funds from the uses for Avbicli 

 they are intended. The funds appropriated to the station by 

 the State are not sufficient to cover this line of work and at 

 the same time to provide funds to pay the costs of other lines 

 of work now in progress which should be continiicd. 



The desired relief may be obtained either by transfer of 

 the lines of work under consideration to the extension depart- 

 ment of the institution, or by the appropriation of funds from 

 that de]uirtment to cover the cost of employing competent 

 secretarial assistants. The latter plan would, for a time at 

 least, seem to have advantages, as with secretarial assistance the 

 members of the station departments whose experience gives 

 them the best foundation for it would be able to direct the work 

 and to exercise a close oversight over it. 



General Experiments. 



Under this class are included a large number of experiments 

 relative to the following subjects: soil tests with fertilizers, 

 with different crops in rotation; comparisons of different 

 materials which may be used as sources, respectively, of nitro- 

 gen, phosphoric acid and potash, for different field and garden 

 cro]is ; the results of the use of lime ; systems of fertilizing- 

 grass lands, both mowings and pastures ; comparisons of fer- 

 tilizers for both tree and bush fruits; different methods of ap- 

 plying manures; variety tests of field and garden crops and of 

 fruits ; trials of new crops ; determinations of the digestibility 

 of feedstnffs ; methods of feeding for milk ; systems and methods 

 of management in feeding poultry for eggs ; and co-operative 

 work with selected farmers in the trial of crops and systems of 

 fertilizing them. Few of these lines of experiment call for 

 special comment here. Brief reports on some of them will be 

 found under the departments in which they are being prose- 

 cuted. 



Particular attention is directed to the fact that the plots 

 used in the various experiments, involving the highly varied 

 use of manures and fertilizers, and the many comparisons in 

 progress, become increasingly valuable with the passing years. 

 Many of these plots have been under definite and differing 



