January 19, 1899J 



NA rURE 



comprehensive and efficient a system of experiment stations 

 been established as in the United Stales. In the scope and 

 amount of their operations, and in the thoroughness with which 

 the useful information they obtain is disseminated among the 

 farmers, the stations are unsurpassed. 



The stations are not the only means for the education of the 

 farmer. Agricultural colleges, farmers' in.stitutes, boards of 

 agriculture, and various other agencies have been established 

 to instruct the farmer regarding the present status of agricultural 

 science as applied to his art. It is the business of the experiment 

 stations, on the other hand, to advance knowledge of the facts 

 and principles underlying successful agriculture, and to teach the 

 farmer new truths made known by their investigations. The 

 act of Congress creating the stations clearly defines their functions 

 to be the making and publishing of original investigations. 

 Wherever a station has neglected this, and merely endeavoured 

 to educate the farmer, we find a weak station, and wherever a 

 station has earnestly devoted itself to original investigations, we 

 find a strong station. The station may very properly lend its 

 influence to strengthening the influence and work of the educa- 

 tional agencies established for the farmers' benefit, but it fails to 

 fulfil its real mission when it resolves itself into a bureau of 

 information, or devotes a large share of its energies to the com- 

 pilation of popular treatises on agriculture. It is gratifying to 

 observe that the original investigations at the stations are in- 

 creasing in number and improving in quality. 



The movement for the extension and popularisation of agri- 

 cultural instruction is growing in importance. The short and 

 special courses in the colleges, the farmers' institutes, and the 

 home-reading circles are attracting larger numbers of farmer 

 students. The effort to introduce nature teaching, largely on 

 subjects relating to agriculture, is being actively prosecuted in 

 several States. 



The investigations upon the " nutritive value of various 

 articles and commodities used for human food " have been pur- 

 sued as hitherto, in co-operation with agricultural colleges and 

 experiment stations and other educational instilution.s. Special 

 investigations with the respiration calorimeter have been made, 

 in which not only the nutritive value of the food consumed but 

 also its relation to the heat and energy evolved by the human 

 body during periods of rest and work have been measured with 

 a completeness and accuracy hitherto unknown. These investi- 

 gations are not only of very high scientific importance, but have 

 also already given promise of useful practical application. The 

 resulls of the careful studies of the dietaries of people of different 

 occupations, made in connection with the nutrition investi- 

 gations, have been widely republished. 



It is believed that the nutrition investigations of the Depart- 

 ment have already done much to establish a scientific basis for 

 the courses of instruction on the food and nutrition of man, 

 which are rapidly increasing in number and importance through- 

 out the country. 



Prai:tiiai. E.ki'Eriments in Nature Teaching ijnuek 

 State AfTHORrrv. 



In New York, the College of Agriculture of Cornell Uni- 

 versity has a special State grant of 25,000 dollars per annum to 

 be used in aiding the introduction of nature teaching into the 

 common schools and the carrying on of simple agricultural 

 experiments in different parts of the State. The plan followed 

 has been to employ experts in the different sciences to prepare 

 brief leaflets containing lessons on various subjects for the use 

 of teachers in the common schools. These leaflets are dis- 

 tributed to teachers throughout the .Stale, and there has been 

 such a large demand for them from teachers in other Slates that 

 arrangements have been made to sell them at a nominal price. 



The professors and other agents of the university attend meet- 

 ings of teachers from time to time, to explain the scope of this 

 work and to show the teachers how to carry out simple instruc- 

 tion on nature topics. Many of these leaflets relate directly to 

 agricultural subjects. For example, in one leaflet the teacher is 

 instructed to have the children plant squash seeds, take some of 

 them up at intervals to learn how the seeds germinate, and 

 watch what happens to the little plants as they grow. At 

 another time the children are encouraged to plant little gardens 

 and carefully watch .some of the things that grow in them ; or 

 they study some insect which preys upon fruit, or make collec- 

 tions of the insects about their homes, or watch them to see 

 whether they are doing things good or bad for the farmer. This 

 movement has rapidly increased in popularity, and the leaflets 



NO. 1525, VOL. 59] 



are used in many city schools as well as in those in the country. 

 Hundreds of simple experiments with fertilisers on potatoes 

 have lieen carried on in different parts of the State with some of 

 the money above referred to. I-'or carrying on all this work the 

 university has employed its teaching force and a small corps of 

 special agents and clerks. 



In Indiana, I'urdue University has undertaken a similar work, 

 though its funds have not permitted it to make it very extensive. 

 \ number of leaflets have been prepared by different members 

 of the faculty, and have been sent out to teachers throughout the 

 State. In a number of other States nature teaching has been 

 introduced into the common schools, but for the mo.st part in 

 the schools in the larger towns and cities, where there were 

 teachers who had had some training in natural science. As a 

 result of the widespread interest in this subject, teachers' 

 manuals and text-books for instruction in this branch are being 

 prepared. 



Animai. Diseases. 



The Bureau has continued experimentation with antitoxin 

 serum for the prevention and cure of hog cholera. Congress, at 

 its last session, made a grant in aid of this work, which became 

 available at the beginning of the present fiscal year. Buildings 

 were erected at an experiment station, and animals purchased 

 to make the .serum in sufficient quantities to conduct extensive 

 research. The results of the previous year have been corrob- 

 orated. Eighty per cent, of the animals treated were saved,- 

 while a like per cent, of the check herds not treated died. This 

 justifies the Department in efTorts to supply in future to herds- 

 men throughout the country such serum as can be made. It is 

 for Congress to determine whether serum shall be given free or 

 a charge be made covering the expen.se of manufacture, which 

 would be about fifteen cents for each animal. 



The study of tuberculoses, with reference to both men and 

 animals, has been continued, and the results .so far obtained 

 indicate that experiments already begun in this line should be 

 continued, as there is a prospect of more satisfactory results. 



Experiments in dipping cattle to kill the ticks which cause 

 Texas fever were continued, with the gratifying result that a 

 substance has been found which will destroy all the licks on arb 

 animal at a single dipping, and will not injure the animal. 



Chemistry. 



The Division of Chemi.stry during the past year has continued 

 its work on the composition and adulteration of foods. An 

 elaborate bulletin, treating of the composition of cereals and all 

 cereal products, represents the results of the principal amount of 

 work in this direction, .\nother bulletin is devoted to the 

 composition and uses of Indian corn, and this bulletin was- 

 prepared especially for presentation at the third International' 

 Congress of Applied Chemistry in Vienna, which met in July 

 1898. 



The Division continued during the year its investigations of 

 the possibilities of producing high-grade sugar beets in various 

 parts of the United States. As a result of the extensive 

 chemical studies conducted, the area suitable to the production 

 of the best beets has been more definitely delineated A few 

 years more of studies of this kind will mark out in a practical 

 manner the areas where beets of the highest grade can be 

 produced. 



Entomology. 



General investigations have been carried on in this Division 

 through the year upon insects injurious to garden crops, to 

 shade trees, and to citrus trees and fruit. The general 

 experimental work, with remedie.s. has comprised especially 

 careful investigations of the availability of hydrocyanic acid gas 

 in the disinfection of seeds in bulk and of plants and nursery 

 material, and further experiments with arsenicals and various 

 oil mixtures in order to determine their effects on plants in 

 dormant condition and in foliage. 



A preliminary attempt has been made to introduce from 

 Southern Europe into California an insect which is responsible 

 f(ir the fertilisation of the Smyrna figs of commerce. The 

 Entomologist visited California in the spring of 1S98, and 

 found that conditions were ripe for such an attempted intro- 

 duction, and an agent in Europe will, during the coming year, 

 endeavour to take the necessary steps to bring about this intro- 

 duction, which, it is hoped, will result in the production by- 

 California of a fig equal to the Smyrna fig. 



.V successful importation has been made of an important 

 jiarasite of certain large scale insects. 



