Feb., 1926] PROGRESS OF AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENTS 7 



COWS kept under conditions of practical herd management, such cows 

 to represent four different breeds. This work is ah'eady well under way. 



5. Other Studies. Among other important studies which have been 

 made possible under this fund are: (l)a study of the white pine weevil 

 which is one of the most serious of our forest pests; (2) an expansion of 

 the study of the effect of place on mosaic and leaf-roll, the diseases which, 

 it has been proved, have caused our potato stock to degenerate seriously; 

 and (3) the investigation of one of the important problems of ice-cream 

 manufacturing. 



These studies are only a beginning of the work which has been planned 

 under the Purnell Fund. We are hoping within the next year to start 

 work along some of the other pressing lines on which little research data 

 are available. 



Electricity and Agriculture 



Another important advance made during the year was the beginning 

 of a stud}^ of the relation of electricity to agriculture in New Hampshire. 

 This project, which is to last for a period of at least three years, was 

 undertaken in co-operation with the New Hampshire Committee on the 

 Relation of Electricity to Agriculture at the suggestion of the National 

 Committee, which desired to carry on experimental work for the New 

 England area as a whole, and which selected the New Hampshire Station 

 for the co-operative work in this region. A more detailed review of the 

 subject will be found later in this report. The work is financed by the 

 state committee in co-operation with power and utilities companies, 

 which are members of the New England Division of the National Electric 

 Light Association. 



Need of State Funds 



This electrical project is an example of work which is of the most acute 

 importance to the agriculture of the state but which is of the type that 

 cannot be financed under federal funds. In this particular case it has 

 been possible for work to be supported bj^ co-operating agencies. In 

 most of the lines of state service, however, this is not practicable. Ex- 

 amples of such state service work are: the testing of soil samples; tests of 

 samples for individual farmers of feedstufTs, fertilizers, and seeds; field 

 variety tests; drainage service work; tests of strains of certified seed; 

 assistance to milk plants and creameries; identification of insect pests 

 and plant diseases ; tests of varieties of fruits and vegetables ; service work 

 in connection with orchards, small fruits, etc.; the handling of a great 

 deal of state correspondence; the development and backing up of our 

 extension program with conferences, publicity, and speaking engagements. 

 It is obvious that this work is purely of state importance, and should be 

 supported by state rather than federal funds. 



It is interesting to note that in most of the states of the country, state 

 appropriations are more than sufficient to cover such matters. In fact, 

 the direct appropriations from the various states for the fiscal yfear 1924 

 aggregated $6,000,000, — more than four times the amount of federal 

 appropriations. Even upon the maturity of the Purnell Fund, the 

 amount of federal appropriations would be hardly more than half of 

 the above-named aggregate of state funds. 



The following paragraph is quoted from page 7 of Bulletin 13 of the 



