
New York AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 45, 
the establishment of agricultural experiment stations in the 
several States, for the purpose of investigating our plans and 
methods of work. 
_ The State Grange also have, through their committee appointed 
_ for that purpose, made several calls upon us during the season, 
_ and have shown an active sympathy and an intelligent interest 
in the progress of our work, and the Station is most fortunate in 
_ having had from the first the friendly advice and codperation of 
_ this numerous and influential portion of our agriculturists. 
The same cordial feeling exists between the Station and the 
_ officers and members of the State Agricultural Society and the 
_ Dairymen’s Association, and the director and some of the staff 
_ endeavor, so far as they may be able, to attend and participate in 
_ the farmers’ institutes and meetings of the Dairymen’s Associa- 
| tion which are arousing such a lively interest and awakening 
_ such intelligent discussions among the farming people of our 
q State. 
_. Much of the work of the past season has been largely in the 
_ way of preparation for the new line of investigation which is laid 
iq out for the future; but, as will be seen in the reports which are 
hereby submitted, the work of past years has been carried forward 
so far as was possible with the diminished force of those engaged 
init; and already a considerable portion of good work has been 
ay accomplished in the new fields of investigation into which it is 
intended to enter more largely in the future. 
_ While it is beyond question true that often, and perhaps gener- 
ally, the results of plat experiments are discordant and unsatisfac- 
_ tory, yet I think it is a matter of general experience among farmers 
_ that the application of fertilizing materials to the soil is productive 
_ of increased crops and justifies the practice. Indeed this is, I 
think, stating the case very mildly, for there are some who even 
hold that the amount of increase of crop may be confidently 
predicted in the majority of cases by the extent to which recourse 
is had to fertilizers. 
It has seemed that by carefully selecting strips through culti- 
' vated fields, inequalities in composition and physical condition of 
soil could be largely avoided, and thus one source of error elimi- 
nated, and in fact the marked differences among parallel strips 
aid off on the Station farm .meadows and treated with different 
fertilizers were obvious to the most casual observer. 
_ » ee - _<—- 
PE eR Ee pin a 
hy) a ee Beas ee ee 
; =p eS Seas 
Sis Sa 
<a 
i 
} 





















Re Si ei = ee ear i a a 
T's x I ee Aghe Fy SS . 
