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parasitic fungi — and it is in dealing with these that perhaps the most 

 advancement in scientific agriculture has recently been made. The 

 insects eat the leaves and suck the sap of the plants, while the parasitic 

 fungi feed upon the rich juices of plants, causing a great check in 

 growth. How much damage is caused by injurious insects and 

 parasitic fungi cannot be estimated in just so many shillings and 

 pence, but it is safe to say that fully one-fourth of the average yield 

 of all farm produce is destroyed by injurious insects alone. That is 

 to say, that were it not for the insects, the yield would be one-fourth 

 greater than it is at present. To one who has not given this matter 

 attention, this statement may be received somewhat doubtfully ; but 

 it is, nevertheless, only too true. 



By the application of proper remedies a large part of the loss caused 

 by injurious insects can be prevented, and that with but little trouble 

 and expense. It is here that the science of entomology comes to the 

 rescue of the agriculturist by bringing forward insecticides to lessen, 

 and indeed in some cases to entirely prevent, the loss caused by the 

 ravages of injurious insects. 



In many cases the loss through damage by parasitic fungi is no less 

 than that caused by the attack of injurious insects. The diseases of 

 the grape have, perhaps, received the most attention at the hands of 

 mycologists, and the beneficial results of their work in this branch 

 of scientific agriculture manifest themselves on every hand. Grape 

 diseases were formerly but little prevalent, but during recent years 

 they have increased in their distribution and destructiveness to such 

 an extent that it is now almost impossible to bring the grapes to 

 maturity without the application of a fungicide to check the growth 

 of the parasitic fungi which are the cause of the grape diseases. 

 This being the case, the viticulturist knows that the application of 

 the Bordeaux mixture is as fully an important part of success as 

 pruning or cultivation. But it has also been recently shown that 

 many plant diseases other than those of the grape can be checked in 

 like manner by the application of fungicides. A prominent example 

 of this is found in the good resulting from the application of Bordeaux 

 mixture to potatoes, recent experiments showing that this fungicide 

 not only prevents the potato rot, but also so very largely increases 

 the yield that it would pay well to apply the Bordeaux mixture for 

 this latter purpose alone, where potatoes are subject to early blight. 

 This increase in yield was a result unlooked for when the experiments 

 were conducted. This same fungicide is used in spraying apple 

 trees to prevent the apple scab, and experiments last season at the 

 Cornell station show that the Bordeaux mixture not only prevents 

 the scab, but it increases both the yield and keeping qualities of the 

 fruit. 



But in other lines of agriculture, science has but recently shown 

 many things of interest. The matter of sub-irrigation has received 

 attention at the hands of some of our stations, and the experiments 

 have shown that this system of irrigation is much superior in its 

 results to the usual methods Agricultural chemistry, dairying, and 

 bacteriology are as yet but new sciences, and this is especially so in 

 the intimate relations which they bear to each other. The matter of 

 the fermentation of milk is now receiving much attention, and 



