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24 Report or THE Director oF THE 
in one hand the vines and leaves he found infested, but the 
following Monday, as he said, a hay rack would not have held the 
diseased vines, so rapid had been the progress of this disease. 
The gooseberry as is known has largely disappeared from our 
market owing to the mildew, and yet at the Experiment Station 
we have for successive years grown it absolutely free from any 
trace of mildew upon either foliage or fruit. 
Many have doubtless heard of how suddenly the black-knot 
invaded and destroyed several thousand plum trees for Mr. George — 
T. Powell, apparently free one year before; and yet after half a 
century of the ravages of this destructive pest of the fruit grower 
it is but recently that its true character and life-history has 
yecome known and the means of its destruction determined. 
Another line of investigation has been developed within recent 
years and it is found that many of our prevalent diseases in both 
the animal and vegetable kingdoms are due to minute forms of life 
now known as bacteria, not only this but many of the commonest 
phenomena of farm life are found to be attributable to these 
bacteria. 
Agricultural science need never lack friends so long as the | 
memory of Pasteur and his achievements remains. It may be 
recalled how not many years ago a unique consignment passed _ 
through this State consisting of two car-loads of silk-worm eggs 
en-route from Japan to Italy, valued at $250,000, the commercial 
result wholly of Pasteur’s investigations. 
In carrying forward the work for which the Station was 
organized, it is obviously impossible to enter upon eyery line of 
investigation at once, but it is equally clear that no “branch of 
the agricultural industry ” is to Le permanently denied the benefits 
which may follow “scientific investigation and experiment.” It 
is obvious therefore, that such a Station, if itis to accomplish that 
for which it was established, must gradually reach out into new — 
fields of inquiry, extend its researches into new branches of 
agriculture, and be prepared to meet new problems which are 
constantly presenting themselves to the farmer; in short it must 
be a growing institution, and must be constantly presenting its 
needs for the means of‘such development. 
During the past four years, the Legislature has generously 
responded to these demands, and the increased work done appears 
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