10 N. H. AGR. EXPERIMENT STATION. [Bulletin 203 



As for the wool, practical expert graders have repeatedly stated that "no 

 better is grown anywhere in the country." 



It has, however, been necessarj', while making the principal study one of 

 methods, to use parent breeds that represent extreme contrasts in confor- 

 mation and wool. Now that the more theoretical phase of the experiment 

 is completed, and it is possible to go ahead with the work of actually estab- 

 lishing a new strain, it does not seem necessary or advisable to use such 

 extremes. Several individual crosses with Oxford-Rambouillet give even 

 a higher promise than the Southdown-Rambouillet or Hampshire-RambouiUet, 

 since they more dii'ectly appeal to farmers because of their size. It is pro- 

 posed to extend the work further in this direction, as a proof that the prin- 

 ciples determined can be used in building up a new and improved strain of 

 sheep. Moreover, it will no longer be necessary to retain all offspring, whether 

 good or inferior, as has been essential during the studies in genetics. Only 

 the more promising famUy groups will now be retained as a nucleus. 



A bulletin of the scientific series summarizing the observations and data 

 on inheritance of wool characters is under preparation. 



In the sheep breeding work, as well as in the nutrition studies, the Station 

 has been fortunate in having the co-operation of one of the foremost in- 

 ternational authorities in this field. Dr. C. B. Davenport of the Carnegie 

 Institution of Washington has helped in an advisoi-y capacity, and his 

 untiring efforts and deep grasp of fundamental problems have in a great 

 measure assured the successful progress of the work. 



Effect of Bordeaux Mixture on Plants. 



Wholly apart from its value as a fungicide Bordeaux mixture has been 

 found to have a stimulatory effect upon the growth of plants. The investi- 

 gations by O. Butler (Botany) have been continued with a view to deter- 

 mining what factors are responsible for this; and results will be published 

 shortly. During the past year the study has dealt with the temperature 

 changes in sprayed leaves, with special attention to the rate of change fol- 

 lowing insolation. 



Toxic Action of Fungicides. 



Sulphur and a number of copper washes have been studied by W. L. Doran 

 (Botany) during the year with a view to determining their toxic action upon 

 apple scab, early blight of potatoes, brown-rot fungus and white pine blister 

 rust iVenturia inaequalis , Altemaria solani Sclerotinia fructigena and Cronar- 

 tium ribicola). The conditions necessary for sulphur to act as a fungicide 

 have been determined, and as a result of this study it has been possible to 

 forecast the degree of control to be secured under given climatic conditions. 

 In the case of the copper fungicides the relative toxicity of a variety of Bor- 

 deaux mixtures and other copper washes has been tested. 



Plant Metabolism Studies. 



The question of how plants feed is no less important than that of animal 

 nutrition. Particularly has the relation of this question to fruit production 

 received a great deal of attention during the past few years, as the interest 



