REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR. 
To the Board of Control of the New York Agricultural Huperi- 
ment Station : 
GrnrLeMEN — I herewith present my third annual report, embrac- 
ing the period included in the year 1884. 
An examination of the various subjects reported upon will indi- 
cate the variety and direction of our investigations. The reports of 
the assistants are deserving of attention, as embracing much that is 
of more than permanent interest. The horticulturist’s report offers 
data which, in connection with last year’s report, will serve to indi- 
cate the necessity of continuous work in order to eliminate the effect 
of season upon earliness, and the experiments therein given will 
tend to throw light upon certain obscure causes of variation which 
appear in practice. The botanist’s report deals principally with 
fungus troubles, and some of the results gained are of importance 
as clearing the way for future investigation. The chemist’s report 
embraces not only records of analyses made, but much careful work 
upon the churning of milk, a subject of great importance to our 
dairymen and which will receive in the future a greater attention, 
as we have at last succeeded in obtaining duplicate results in churn- 
ing, which will enable us, hereafter, to advance future experiments 
by having a check ever present upon our work. The work in the 
laboratory has increased so much as to require additional assistance, 
which we have now had for three months, and yet we are much be- 
hind in analyses which have been requested by the public. The re 
port from the laboratory will be found to contain much material 
for future use, and which it would be unwise to discuss until our 
work has extended over a longer period. The report of the assist- 
ant deals with cereals, a most difficult subject, and one in which full 
success can scarcely be expected until after several seasons’ observa- 
tions and study. n an appendix, complete daily data are given of 
our thermometer readings, both for 1883 and 1884, for the air and 
soil, and these in the future will be found of great assistance in our 
efforts to interpret the separate provinces and values of the various _ 
factors which united control our agriculture. 
I must repeat in this report what I gave in my last, concerning 
the staff. Each member has given willing and industrious service, 
and the spirit of helpfulness, even in matters without their province, 
