The experimental work for the year has progressed uniformly and smoothly. The sugar beet investigations have continued as heretofore, and over 1200 pounds of seed supplied by the United States Department of Agriculture have been distributed to 550 farmers in this State. Although the sugar beet investigations of the Station now date back for over 10 years, still much interest is shown in the work by the people. This season in addition to the regular testing work, experiments have been undertaken to show the effects of different artificial plant foods on sugar production in the root.

The investigations of the Station on surface vs. sub-irrigation have attracted considerable attention, especially as relates to lettuce culture. A number of different kinds of plants, however, are receiving the attention of the botanical department in this connection, and more information on the subject is printed elsewhere in this report.

Some years ago investigations were undertaken by the Chemical department, on the composition of edible fungi, while the Botanical department investigated the botanical side of the subject, and latterly the cultural phase of it. At the present time a small mushroom house is in operation, in which last year a crop of about 100 pounds of mushrooms was harvested. This work now in hand and contemplated promises most interesting results from an economic standpoint.

No extended investigation work has been conducted during the year in the Veterinary Department, owing to the absence on leave for a considerable part of this time of Dr. Bitting, Station Veterinarian, who has been pursuing special studies at Indianapolis.

The general work of the Station has continued along essentially the same lines as during the past few years, no changes of importance having taken place.

The Station Staff has undergone but slight change during the year, and this only in the resignation of Mr. W. B. Anderson, the Assistant Agriculturist, who retired to his farm in the southern part of the State. Mr. J. H. Skinner, B. S., a graduate of the School of Agriculture at Purdue, has become Mr. Anderson's

successor.

Improvements of a much needed character have been effected on the farm this year. The erection of a new piggery for experimental feeding, which was completed in June, was the most important improvement in the working equipment on the farm, that has thus far taken place in years. We now have a modern two

story pig feeding building, constructed with a view to securing the most sanitary arrangements, and a structure that will greatly facilitate the care and feeding of our swine. This building is illustrated and described elsewhere in this report.

The basement of the horse barn has been remodelled, and a number of commodious box stalls constructed in place of the old fashioned open stalls on the north side of the basement. A new harness room has also been built, and the stairway leading to the floor above has been changed to a more suitable location against the west side of the basement, thereby economizing room.

Another important improvement was made in building an addition to the west side of the Tool House. This is 56 feet long and 18 feet wide, and is so constructed that the entire west side consists of a series of large doors hung with rollers on two tracks. At any point on the side of the building tools can be taken in or out by simply pushing a door to one side. This system is an admirable one, and is such as may be adopted to advantage by visitors to to the Station, seeking for improved methods of housing tools.

Publications have been issued as follows during the past year.

PAMPHLET BULLETINS.

Bulletin No. 72, vol. IX, August ,1898, pp. 67-76. Field experiments with wheat. By W. C. Latta and W. B. Anderson.

Bulletin No. 73, vol. IX, October, 1898, pp. 77-92, figs. 17-19. Tests of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and grapes. By James Troop. Bulletin No. 74, vol. IX, November, 1898, pp. 93-100, fig. 20, plates VI. A native white bedding plant. By J. C. Arthur.

Bulletin No. 75. vol. X. January, 1899, pp. 20, fig. 1. The sugar beet in Indiana in 1898. By H. A. Huston and A. H. Bryan.

Bulletin No. 76, vol. X, March, 1899, pp. 21-28. Skim milk as a food for young growing chickens. By W. B. Anderson.

Bulletin No. 77, vol. X, March, 1899, pp. 29-44, Field experiments with corn. By W. C. Latta and W. B. Anderson; Mangel wurzels and the cost of production. By H. E. VanNorman; Formalin for grain and potatoes. By J. C. Arthur.

Bulletin No. 78, vol. X, May, 1899, pp. 45-52, figs. 2-4. The San Jose scale and oher scale insects, and the Indiana nursery inspection law. By James Troop.

NEWSPAPER BULLETINS.

No. 62, July 12, 1898. Scab in heads of wheat. By J. C. Arthur, Botanist. No. 63. July 28, 1898. Varieties of winter wheat. By W. C. Latta, Agriculturist.

No. 64, August 5, 1898. Contagious sore eyes among cattle. By A. W. Bitting, Veterinarian.

No. 65, August 6, 1898. Loose smut of wheat. By William Stuart, Assistant Botanist.

No. 66, August 10, 1898. Disinfecting pens at fairs. By A. W. Bitting, Veterinarian.

No. 67, August 26, 1898. Sugar beets: Prevention of leaf injuryHarvesting. By H. A. Huston, Chemist.

No. 67, September 26, 1898. Sore mouth among cattle. By A. W. Bitting, Veterinarian.

No. 68, October 3, 1898. The grain weevil. By James Troop, Horticulturist.

No. 69, November 2, 1898. Bacterial rot of cabbage. By William. Stuart, Assistant Botanist.

No. 70, December 10, 1898. The cost of creamery buildings and outfits. By C. S. Plumb, Director.

No. 71, January 3, 1899. Live stock diseases in Indiana during 1898. By A. W. Bitting, Veterinarian.

No. 72, March 25, 1899. Sugar beet seed. By H. A. Huston, Chemist. No. 73, April 19, 1899. The soy bean as a farm crop. By W. C. Latta, Agriculturist.

No. 74, May 13, 1899. Points concerning the nursery inspection law. By James Troop, Horticulturist.

No. 75, May 31, 1899. Black leg or black quarter. By A. W. Bitting, Veterinarian.

No. 76, June 24, 1899. The use of cyclone churns. By C. S. Plumb, Director.

The demand for the Station bulletins has become very great. The following table gives the number of copies of each report and bulletin published, number of pages per copy and total pages per edition.

This table shows that the Station published over a million and a half pages of reading matter during the past year. The extent to which much of this was read, is not easy to comprehend. The newspaper bulletins are mailed to 650 different periodicals, in which they are extensively published, so that it can readily be

seen that they are brought to the attention of millions of readers in the central west. These with the 130,000 copies of the pamphlet bulletins, provide a wide distribution of station literature over a wide territory.

Mailing list. How extensively the bulletins are circulated may be seen from the following statement of the nature of our mailing list, which on June 30, comprised 16,512 names. This table shows the growth of the list from 1893 to June 30, 1899 STATION MAILING LIST.

I herewith submit, as a part of the annual report of the Station, a series of contributions from the different departments reporting upon the work in progress or completed.

Respectfully submitted,

C. S. PLUMB, Director.

ROSE GROWING WITH CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS,

By William Stuart.

At the present time the importance of the rose growing industry can hardly be estimated. The winter forcing of roses in America alone has assumed such proportions and represents such an outlay of capital, that any knowledge conducive to a better understanding of the food requirements of the plants, gives to the industry an additional value.

A frequent complaint made from time to time by rose growers is that injurious effects result from the use of acidulated bone meal when applied to the soil in the rose bench. According to these complaints injury may result from an application to the soil previous to setting the plants or from a surface dressing afterwards. Whether or not the injury is a result of the acidulated bone meal or to some adulterant which it contains is not definitely known. Chemists affirm that acid dissolved bone meal rarely if ever contains any appreciable amount of free acid, certainly never in sufficient amounts to do injury. There is good reason for believing that much of the injury is a result of improper feeding, or cultural attention, rather than of the presence of free acid in the bone meal. Such a quality of bone meal was used in connection with the other tests upon roses, and the results are given in the following pages.

In view of the commercial value of the rose and its ever increasing popularity with the masses, as well as the lack of positive knowledge regarding the relative effects of different chemicals upon its growth, it was thought advisable by, the botanical department of this Station to undertake some experiments with roses. These experiments undertaken by the writer, under the supervision of Dr. J. C. Arthur, Station Botanist, were intended to show the relative effects of different forms of phosphoric acid, both separately and conjointly with nitrate of soda and muriate of potash, in the growing of roses.

It is apparent to all that the value of an experiment is increased by the uniformity of the conditions to which all the plants are subjected. The nature of the experiment about to be outlined, precluded the possibility of its being conducted according to the methods usually followed by florists, involving as it did, so many different combinations of fertilizers. The method. adopted, while not in anywise adapted to commercial practice, yet will, I think, show that all plants were accorded the same 1Am. Florist, 6: 282, 1890; 12: 414, 1896. Florists' Exchange, 8: 981, 1896; 9: 73, 1897.