Report

culties involved, with the expectation of continuing a definite policy for a sufficient time to arrive at reliable results.

Last year the inspecting officer of the government did not very heartily approve of the idea of placing the entire expenses of the farm upon Station account, believing that the Agricultural College should own the farm, and that other funds of that institution should be devoted to its maintainance, and to support so much of the equipment as is necessary and proper for use in the educational work, the funds of the Experiment Station to be devoted wholly to experimental work. Our Board was confronted by the fact that the State had made no appropriation for equipping the farm, and they did not have the money available for purchasing the necessary equipment for developing the work with a view to its educational value. All of the money expended upon the farm has been from Experiment Station funds for experimental work, or derived from the earnings of the Experiment Station. The State has paid only for the land. We owe an apology to the incoming Board for the appearance of the farm, but it must be remembered whenever anyone feels like making criticisms, that the retiring Board did not have the money at its command to do better, and at the same time, a very practical question to ask yourselves will be, where can additional funds be secured to do better. You will. however, find the farm in a fairly good state of repair, the experimental work thoroughly under way, the buildings as good as the average farmer in the State has, and the land about the same as that existing upon the average West Virginia farm. A vigorous effort was made at the last meeting of the Legislature to secure an apporpriation large enough to purchase additional lands much needed for the use of the Experiment Station, if it is proposed to do experimental work in the live stock industry. At present we do not have pasture land upon our farm to maintain in good condition the necessary stock and carry on our experimental work at the same time. You will find all of the land suited for experimental work fully employed, and should carping criticism attempt to insist that we are not carrying on sufficient experimental work, it would

be well for the critics to suggest where more land upon the farm can be found for that purpose, than is now employed.

I desire to direct the attention of the Board to the extensive poultry experiment which is being conducted at the farm, where you will find one of the largest poultry plants in the State in thorough working order. I believe, also, that it is larger than anything being undertaken at any Experiment Station in the country. The retiring Board directed us to devote a large amount of energy to this industry, as it was found that little was being done in the United States in regard to it, although statistics for 1896 show that the earnings of poultry in that year in the United States, amounted to $290,000,000. In 1895, the silver mines in this country produced $72,510,000 scarcely onefourth as much as the poultry. The earnings of the poultry in the country exceeded in value for that year the value of all the silver and gold produced in the country, to which may also be added the entire wool clip and the entire value of all the sheep in the country and the total interest on the mortgages of the country. The earnings of poultry are greater than the entire value of the cotton crop, the corn crop, the wheat crop, the swine industry, or the oat crop. It is larger than the pension roils of the United States government. It is larger than the total expenditures for school purposes in the United States. It is an industry that is well adapted to West Virginia, and the retiring board deemed it of sufficient importance to direct that a large share of the resources of our Experiment Station should be expended upon investigations and experiments intended directly or indirectly to promote the development of this great industry within our State. Under these instructions it has been deemed wise to secure specimens of the leading breeds of chickens of this country, subject them to careful tests calculated to determine their hardiness, their profitableness as meat and egg producers, and investigate the problems connected with economic feeding of chickens, and maintaining and producing chickens and eggs. We have also devoted a large amount of time and attention to the study of poultry diseases and to efforts to devise means

of preventing and curing such diseases as roup, cholera, etc., which prove so destructive to poultry. During the year, very extended experiments have been made in the treatment of

We have also carried on quite a comparative test of incubators as they are sold upon the market; also a series of tests upon the feeding of young chicks; a series of tests are also in progress upon the fattening of grown fowls, the rations being carefully weighed for this purpose. We invite the special attention of the Board to the poultry work that is going on at the farm. This has been under the immediate supervision and control of the Director, and represents his part of the practical work that is going on at the farm.

Our Bulletin entitled "Chickens" has already been issued upon this work, and sufficient notes are on hand for two more Bulletins dealing directly with our experimental work.

To consider in detail the work of the Experiment Station, I shall divide it up in several departments which will enable the Board to form a better idea of the scope of the work, and the manner in which we are conducting it. The Station Staff consists at present of the following:

1. Director John A. Myers, salary $2,500 per year.

2. Entomologist A. D. Hopkins, salary $1,600 per year.

3. Chemist B. H. Hite, salary $1,350 per year.

4. Agriculturist and Horticulturist, L. C. Corbett, salary $800 per year.

5. Assistant Entomologist, W. E. Rumsey, salary $720 per

year.

6. Assistant Chemist, T. F. Watson, salary $840 per year.

7. Assistant Agriculturist and Horticulturist, J. M. Johnson, salary $300 per year.

S. Meteorologist, T. F. Watson, salary $96 per year.

9. Auditor, Joseph Moreland, salary $200 per year.

10. Farm Superintendent, J. M. Hackney, salary one dollar per day, house and cow pasture free.

11. Greenhouseman, Gilbert Johns (at present) salary varies from $25 to $40 per month, according to skill.

12. Stenographer, Elizabeth Heermans, salary $600 per year.

13. Librarian, Mrs. Sadie Houston, salary $28 per month. 14. Janitor, Andy Young, salary varies from $35 to $40 per month.

15. Clerical help, 10 cents per hour, excepting in a few cases of extra skill.

16. Laborers, 10 cents per hour.

The scientific force of the Staff consists of the Director, the Entomologist, the Chemist, the Horticulturist and Agriculturist, the Assistant Entomologist, the Assistant Chemist, and the Assistant Agriculturist.

The plan of organization adopted by the retiring Board has been to elect the Director, and allow him to select the members of his Staff, subject to the approval of the Board. The object of this organization has been to secure for the Station carefully trained scientific men. The retiring Board elected the Director nine years ago, and he has never been disturbed in his work during the volcanic conditions existing in the University during that period, which has involved three reorganizations of the Board, and much change in the University Faculty, and the administration of three Presidents of the University. We have also been able to keep the disturbance in the University in the past from extending into the Experiment Station. Thus, the members of the Station Staff hold their positions under a different system from that which obtains in the University.

In order to secure high class work, it is necessary that scien tific men should be free from anxiety in regard to their future, and undisturbed by religious, personal, or political agitations. These are utterly destructive to all careful, scientific work, whenever introduced into a scientific institution.

You are invited to acquaint yourself fully with the financial management of the Experiment Station, with the plan of work, and with the operations of every Department in it; with the character and attainments of every member of the Station Staff; and I will take pleasure in explaining to the Board why every member of the Staff has been appointed. There is absolutely nothing about the Station that we are ashamed of, or that we fear to open to public gaze, and that we do not be

of preventing and curing such diseases as roup, cholera, etc., which prove so destructive to poultry. During the year, very extended experiments have been made in the treatment of roup. We have also carried on quite a comparative test of incubators as they are sold upon the market; also a series of tests upon the feeding of young chicks; a series of tests are also in progress upon the fattening of grown fowls, the rations being carefully weighed for this purpose. We invite the special attention of the Board to the poultry work that is going on at the farm. This has been under the immediate supervision and control of the Director, and represents his part of the practical. work that is going on at the farm.