Price Fifty Cents. CORNELL UNIVERSITY. STUDIES -IN- Practical Agriculture. PAPERS REPRINTED FROM THE AGRICUL TURAL EXPERIMENT STATION REPORTS NO IV OUT OF PRINT. PUBLISHED BY CORNELL UNIVERSITY, FOR SALE BY ANDRUS & CHURCH, ITHACA, N. Y. l887. Cornell University. The number of Courses of Instruction given the present year at Cornell University exceeds four hundred. The Technical Courses lead to degrees in Agriculture, Archi- tecture, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engi- neering, and Mechanical Engineering. The Non-Technical Courses lead to degrees in Arts, in Phil- osophy, in Science, and in Letters. In all these Courses the work is prescribed during the Freshman year, and for the most part during the Sophomore year ; in the Junior year, with the exception of two hours in English Composition, and in the Senior year, without exception,, the work is elective. The University makes exclusive use of ten Buildings, twelve Laboratories, and ten Museums. Its Library now con- sists of more than 62 ? 000 volumes, and the list of Scien- tific -and Literary journals taken numbers more than four hundred. Eor advanced work with Seniors and Graduates, the Semi- nary methods are adopted. The Corps of Instruction consists of Seventy-eight Profes- sors, Lecturers, and Instructors. Thirty-six University Scholarships at $200 each, and Eight Fellowships of $400 each are given. Tuition to those holding State Scholarships, as well as to students in Agriculture, and to all Graduate students, is free ; to all others it is $75 a year. Examinations for Admission are held June 15th and Sep- tember 15th, 1887. For more detailed information see pages 3 and 4 of cover. For the University Register containing special information., address E. L. WILLIAMS, Treasurer, ITHACA, N. Y. CORNELL UNIVERSITY. STUDI ES — IN — Practical Agriculture. PAPERS REPRINTED FROM THE AGRICUL RURAL EXPERIMENT STATION REPORTS NOW OUT OF PRINT. J 1890 PUBLISHED BY CORNELL UNIVERSITY. FOR SALE BY ANDRUS & CHURCH, ITHACA, N. Y. 1887. <=>* PREFACE The Agricultural Experiment Station at Cornell Univer- sity was established in 1879. Since that date, reports of experiments carried on at the Station have from time to time been published. Those reports, being out of print, are not now accessible to the public. The frequent requests that come to the University have led to the belief that a real service would be rendered to the cause of practical agricult- ure by a republication of some of the papers that seemed to be of most general and practical importance. By reason of this belief, the following papers are now offered to the larger agricultural public. C. K. ADAMS. Cornell University, Dec. 10, 1886. CONTENTS PAGE. I. Cost and value of stable manure 7 Quantity and value of manure of milch cows 10 II. Silage for young cattle 13 III. Changes in the milk, with changes in the ration, 14 IV. Productive effect of the same ration with differ- ent breeds of cows 16 V. Gain of steers on a fattening ration 18 VI. Effect of a maintenance ration 20 VII. Field experiments with crops 23 VIII. Self-fertilization of corn 26 IX. Miscellaneous analyses of fertilizing material 28 X. Experiments on various fertilizers on Indian corn, 29 XI. The influence of the ration on the composition of the milk 35 XII. Pleuro-pneumonia. , 43 XIII. Field experiments with various crops 76 XIV. Experiments in cattle feeding 95 XV. The relative proportion of nutrients in the tops and butts of corn-stalks 106 XVI. Malt sprouts compared with grain, and ensilage compared with dry feed for milch cows 107 STUDIES IN PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE. EXPERIMENTS ON THE COST AND VALUE OF STABLE MANURE. By Prof. I. P. Roberts. (Analyses by Mr. F. E. Furry (aid Mr. A. M. Breed. I. The Value of Well-preserved Home-made Manure. When the University farm was taken in charge by the present Professor of Agriculture it was found to have been much exhausted by continuous cropping, with insufficient manuring. Commercial fertilizers were applied, with poor success in producing remunerative crops. Hauling manure from the village in the valley, four hundred feet below the site of the farm, proved to be little more satisfactory, on taking into account both its cost when delivered on the farm, and its poor quality. On turning attention to the supply made at home it was found to have been poorly cared for, and badly wasted on leaky floors, in large uncovered yards, or in overheated and fire-fanged piles. To prevent such waste, which subsequent experience proved to be much greater than was at first imagined', a large covered yard was built, and with such satisfactory results that we have long since ceased to buy manures of any kind ; we find that we — 8 — can produce large quantities on the farm, worth three or four times as much per ton as that which was formerly bought in the village. For two successive seasons an attempt has been made to determine the value of this stock of home-made manure, in the same manner and on the same basis as that by which the valuation of a sample of a commercial fertilizer is estimated. The accumulated layer of mixed manure of cattle and horses was at the end of the first season about two feet thick, and packed quite solid by the tramping of the cattle over it. A large number of samples of about ten pounds each were taken at the depth of about a foot, chopped up and most carefully mixed together, and a sample of this mixture was analyzed, with the following results : Moisture 72 . 95 per cent. Nitrogen . 78 " Phosphoric acid 0.4 " Potash . 84 " Allowing for the nitrogen a commercial value of 15 cents a pound, for the phosphoric acid 7 cents, and for the potash 4.25 cents, we have the following estimate of the value of a ton of the manure : Nitrogen 0.78 2000 15 $2.34 Phosphoric acid 0.4 2000 7 .56 Potash 0.84 2000 4.25 .71 Total $3.61 Of this manure 311 loads were produced in the course of the season ; about every tenth load was weighed, and the average weight was estimated to be very nearly 3,000 lbs. Hence the total quantity produced was at least 460 tons, which at $3.61 per ton would have a trade value of very nearly $1,682 ; that is to say, it would have cost this sum to have purchased the same quantity of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, of about the same degree of assimilability, in commercial fertilizers. The investigations of this season were not fully satisfac- tory, because all the manure was not weighed, and the num- ber and kind of animals were not noted from month to month ; this number was, however, about forty-five. — 9 — In the second season, 1884-5, these data were all carefully taken. In five months, from October 1 to March 1, 199.25 tons of manure were produced by a herd of twelve spring calves, seven winter calves, one bull, twenty-four cows, twelve horses, and one colt, making fifty-seven animals in all : allowing that the twenty young animals would equal ten adults, we should have the equivalent of forty-seven full- grown animals. The manure was sampled in the same manner as described above, and the analysis was made by Mr. A. M. Breed, a senior in the Course in Agriculture, with the following results : Moisture 75 .57 per cent. Nitrogen 0.68 " Phosphoric acid 0.29 " Potash 0.7 " As less cotton-seed meal was fed this season than last, it was expected that the manure would not be so rich as then, and the expectation was confirmed by the results of the analysis. The trade value of these three nutrients in a ton of this manure, computed as before, would be : Nitrogen 0.68 2000 15 $2.04 Phosphoric acid 0.29 2000 7 .41 Potash 0.7 2000 4.25 .60 Total $3 . 05 Calling the total quantity of manure produced 200 tons — as we may without seriously affecting the computation — the nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash in this year's product of manure would cost in the fertilizer market, at current rates in 1884-5, $610. In all probability we shall not get returns in crops equal in value to these estimated values of the stable manure spread on our fields from our manure yard ; but nevertheless the land to which this manure has been applied has steadily increased in fertility, while at the same time producing crops whose value was more than twice as great as that of the crops yielded by the same land treated with manure made in the old style. 2 — 10 — From experiments to be mentioned in another part of this report (p. 12) we have estimated that the manure from a milch cow was worth sixteen cents per day. Taking this as a fair sample of the herd, we make the following computa- tion of the value of the manure of the first season in another way. As near as can be estimated, 80 tons of straw were used for bedding, the manure from which is estimated at $3.50 per ton; hence, for the herd of 45 animals, for 195 days : 415 auimals, i!)5 days, at i(i cents per day $1,404 ho foiis of st raw. at S3 . 50 per ton 280 Total $i.f>S4 Lilt is very close to that obtained by the other method of computation. That the quantity of manure obtained in the first year is not. excessively large, as it might seem t<> be, appears from the results of' a compulation singault. He estimated that a horse weighing '.too His., and a cow (weight not giv- en), would produce in wing quantities of liquid and solid main:: Horse, liquid,.. 12,000 lbs. solid ...... 3,000 " Vow. liquid. 20,000 " solid 8,000 " On 1 putation for six and a half months would give for twelve ho: tons, and thirty-three cattle 250.25 tons. These amounts, together wit! of bedding, would make a total ions. The animals kept on our farm are without doubt above the a vera weight, and would con,- ; yield a Ian manure. II. 'i Milch These experiments wen- made on Mai 1 20, with tins . weighing 1,395, 1,120, and 1, 0(H) lbs. — tola! weight. rage weight, 1,192 lbs., very rly. — 11 — The food consumed in the three days amounted to 122 lhs. clover hay, 4 1 lbs. corn-stalks, 45 lbs. cotton-seed meal, 42 lbs. corn meal, 4 2 lhs. malt sprouts; and 45 lbs. of cut corn-stalks were used for bedding, making a total of 337 lbs. The total weight of manure, including' bedding, was 802 lbs., exceeding the weight of food and bedding by 405 lbs. The yield of milk was 285 lbs. for the three days, or an average of 31| lbs. per cow and day. Each row used, in- cluding bedding, 37| lbs. of hay, meal, etc., per day, and the producl for each cow per day was 89-^ lbs. of manure and 3l| His. of milk. This would show that each cow drank 83-g- lbs. of water, at least ; a portion of the water consumed is exhaled through lungs and skin, and does not therefore appear in the manure The market value, at the barn, of the food consumed was as follows : 122 lbs. clover hay. at $8.00 per ton.. $0.49 41 " corn-stalks, at 400 " " 08 45 •' cotton-seed meal, at 26.00 " " ... — 59 42 " corn meal, at 26 00 " " 55 42 " malt sprouts, at 14.00 " " '-!'.' Total value WOO 45 lbs. cut corn-stalks, bedding, at $4.00. 09 $2.09 The composition of this food, computed from Wolff's table, \\ as as follows : Nitrogen. Potash. Phos. Acid. Pounds. Pounds. Pounds. 122 lbs. clover hay . 2.40 2.23 .68 41 •' cornstalks 20 39 22 45 " cotton-seed meal 2.70 66 1.26 42 " corn meal 67 .07 U 42 " maltsprouts 1.65 87 .76 45 " bedding 22 4;i .24 7.74 4.65 3.27 Much less bedding than usual was supplied to these ani- mals, and the manure was correspondingly richer in soluble, and therefore more valuable, plant food. Its trade value for manure is estimated as follows : 7.74 lbs. nitrogen. at $0.18 $1.39 4.65 " potash, at 0.5 2a 3.27 " phosphoric acid, at .08 26 — 12 — It appears from the above that the food consumed by the three cows in three days was worth, as a manure to spread directly upon the land, $1.88 ; or, in other words, it would have cost $1.88 to have purchased the same amount of plant food in the form of fertilizers. Numerous experiments in Germany appear to show that cows iii milk take from their food about 20 per cent, of its manurial value. Deducting this 37 cents from the above, we have $1.51 as the value of the manure of three cows for three days, or 16| cents per cow per day. It will be noticed that the cows selected for this experi- ment, were above the average in weight, and that they were liberally fed. As to the question of profit, we have the following ex- hibit, the milk being reckoned at 2^- cents per pound; that being its value to the University, in the barn, after it was drawn from the cow. Ordinarily, however, it is worth but 1-rr cents, for the manufacture of butter and cheese. Cost of keeping a cows 3 days $2.09 Value of manure produced $i.r>i "milk i.n Balance in favor of products 6.65 $8.64 $8.64 At 1-?. cents per pound for the milk, the balance would be $4.27. The cost of the food required to produce a quart of milk was a trifle less than It, cents. The cows had been fed for some time previous to the ex- periment on virtually the same amount and kind of food as given above, the only difference being that nothing was weighed or measured. During the experiment the cows were kept in their stanchions the entire twenty-four hours; whereas, before this they were allowed to exercise most of the clay in a covered yard. The yield of milk of these three cows for the three days previous to the beginning of the experiment, when they were allowed the liberty of the cov- ered yard, was 293| lbs., or 8-J lbs. more than the yield of the three days when they were closely confined. 13 II. FEEDING EXPERIMENTS— ENSILAGE FOR YOUNG CA TTLE. By Prof. I. P. Roberts. Two yearling heifers, one a thoroughbred, the other three- quarters Holstein, were kept together from fall to January 13. They were of nearly the same age, and looked so nearly alike in all particulars that it was difficult for a stranger to distinguish one from the other. They had grown rapidly during the earlier part of the winter, on hay and a little meal. The following table shows the weight and dates of weighing. Dena, the thoroughbred animal, was fed from January 13 on 10 lbs; of hay, 22-^- oz. cotton-seed meal, 25 oz. of corn meal, and 9 oz. of bran ; Estelle was fed on ensilage alone, the first week, beginning with January 13, 20 lbs. per day ; the second week, 30 lbs.; after that, 40 lbs. Date of Weighing. Dena. Estelle. lbs. lbs. Jan. 18 540 545 " 20 530 540 " 27 540 562 Feb. 3 554 580 " 10 500 538 " 17 564 564 " 24 580 570 Mar. 3 592 592 " 10 610 612 " 17 620 620 From March 17 on, the ration of Estelle was the same as Dena's. Mar. 24 630 620 " 31 652 636 GAINS IN WEIGHT. Dena, January 13 to March 17, 63 days, 80 lbs; January 13 to Mar. 31, 112 lbs. Estelle, " " " " " 75 " " " " " 9i " 1 1 III. THE EFFECT OF SUDDEN CHANGES IN THE h'ATWN OA OSITION OF THE 1///A'. \\\ Pro I . !. [>. Ro ' .1 nali/sis by Mi: /•'. /.'. Furry.) Thksk trials were made lor the purpose of ascertaining', if possible, liow soon a decided change in ihe fodder mani- fests itself in the composition of the milk. Three cows were included in the experiment, all being fed alike, and their milk was mixed together before the sample for analysis was taken. Date. lt A XI ON. Dry Albumin oids. Jan'y i l 1.01 1.23 3.01 ■' 12.97 1.18 3.01 Feh'y i liny ; 12 is 2.75 2 3.91 2.98 •• 1 1 2. 95 1 Hay, ensilage, i km. ol rool s. 3.08 ; 6 qts. cotton-seed meal, 6 ; qts. corn meal perea. cow. ] lost. 3.12 13 I 13.32 3.36 13 37 1 00 3.18 15 If, ; Hay ; 3.01 lost, ■ 1 (S3 3.09 Hay, ensilage, n qts. cotton- | 1 1.71 . d meal, 6 qts. corn ; 3.26 2.70 meal, i lmslie.1 roots. lost. 3.58 March ! , - , •' I 3.20 (i 1 I 11 L2 1 18 13 13.31 1.02 3.32 3.85 3.26 20 25 12.52 2fi 1 2.91 '27 stalks, 12 imarts corn 1 j meal. | 12.4(i 12.28 3.18 ;.0' 10 1 Corn stalks, 8 quarts corn ! ( meal. ; 12.76 3.31 ;;.]:( IB Corn-stalks, ensilage, 1 qts. 13 30 3.76 3.31 li- cotton-seed meal, 4 qts. :'. 37 com meal. — 15 — These figures show no important change in the milk, fol- lowing immediately on a decided change in the ration ; but very great differences in composition sometimes appear in passing from one day to another while the cows are i'ad on the same ration — as, for instance, in passing from the 13th to the 16th of February, or from the 6th to the 12th of the same month, or from the 19th to the 22d. On the other hand, the slight changes in composition will be no- ticed when the very decided changes in ration were made on March 6 and March '2 7. The greater uniformity in respect to the proportion of protein, and the more gradual changes in the proportion are especially noticeable. Evi- dently there are disturbing causes independent of the feed, working sometimes powerfully on the composition of the milk, and affecting the proportion of dry substance and fat more than the albuminoid.'-. While there is nothing specially new or unexpected in these results, they may serve to strengthen the principle that in milk feeding experiments a ration should be continued at least from twelve to twenty days before attempting to study its effect on the milk, and that even then all the milk of the last three or four days should be sampled for analysis, or that it is dangerous to depend on the analysis of the milk of a single day. — 16 — IV. A COMPARISON OF THE PRODUCTIVE EFFECT OF THE SAME RATION WITH DIFFERENT BREEDS OF COWS. By Prof. G. C. Caldwell. {Analysis by Mr. F. E. Furry.) Two lots, of three animals each, were selected, of average quality, one of which consisted of native stock, the other of half-breed Holsteins. The make-up and composition of the ration, the weights of the animals at different periods, and the yield and composition of the milk are given below. The weighings were taken once during each of the. periods given in the first column, immediately after having been fed in the morning and before they were watered. Samples of all the milkings for the last four days of each fortnight by period were taken for analysis. The greater productive effect of the ration when fed to the grade cows is clearly shown in the yield of milk, its composition, and the weight of dry substance and fat per cow and day, in the last six columns of the table. But while the native cows maintained very nearly the same yield to the end of the period, there was a notable falling off in the case of the grade cows. Of course a single trial like this does not establish a principle ; without doubt a herd of native stock, selected with special reference to their milking qualities, might make a better showing than a herd of poor grade Holsteins. The results obtained here are offered only as a contribution to our knowledge of the subject, so far as it pertains to average stock, of the breeds tested. 1 ■These feeding experiments that follow, suggested by Prof. C, were made possible only by the kind co-operation of Prof. Roberts. — 11 — The ration consisted of, in pounds per cow and day : hay, 2 ; ensilage, 40 ; oat straw, 4 ; corn-stalks, 2 ; corn meal, 2 ; cotton-seed meal, 4. It supplied of crude nutrients, in pounds per cow and day: dry substance, 22.5 ; protein, 3.2 ; ether extract, 1.2 ; carb- hydrates, 11.3. It supplied of digestible nutrients, in pounds per cow and day : protein, 2.3 ; fat, 1.0 ; carbhydrates, 11.3. In respect to this last estimation it must be observed that we have very few and quite insufficient data upon which to base our cal- culations in regard to the digestibility of some of the kinds of fodder used ; that, as usual in such calculations, the por- tion of the fiber that is digested is allowed to compensate for the portion of the nitrogen- free extract or carbhydrates not digestible, the digested part of the fiber being regarded as genuine carbhydrates, and capable, therefore, of doing the same work in the animal economy ; but that Tappeiner's well-known conclusions, which have been accepted in all their significance by Weiske, indicate that the digested part of the fiber does not serve for the production of heat or fat, as the starch or sugar of the genuine carbhydrates does. Nevertheless, in order that these results may be compared with others of a similar character, in which the effects of a certain amount of digestible nutrients was tested, we have also followed the same plan. The digestible nutritive ratio of the ration, expressing the proportion of protein or flesh-forming substance to the non- nitrogenous matters not capable of being converted into flesh or tissue of any kind, was in this ration 1 to 6. 1 The first set of results given in the following table refers to the native cows, the second to the grade Holsteins. The rations were in all cases practically eaten clean. 1 Per cent, carbhydrates + per cent, fat y. 2.5 6. Per cent, protein. ~ * ' is — Results in Milk. PEKIOD. GUTS. YIELD, i COMPOSITION. A verage Per cent of Pounds per cow and day of per cow Dry Fat. Dry Fat. and day. Substance. Substance. Dec. 17 26, 3050 21.7 " 27-Jan. 5, 3104 21 7 losl 3.9 0.84 Jai). 6-15, L9.2 " 16 3 1 1 8 20 12.7 3.8 2.5 0.76 " 27-Feb. i. 20.6 Feb. - r , in. 3296 19.9 12.7 :; in 2.5 0.69 '• 11 24, 19.6 I " 25-Mai 12.7 3.56 in Milk. PER GHTS. 1 ll.ll.. COMPOSITION. Per cent . of Pounds per cow and day of Fat. Dry Fat. ance. Substance Dec. 1 •• 27-Jan. " 11.2 4.53 1.0 1.31 Jan. ■• i 3426 4.5 " 27 Feb. ;. Feb. 5-10, 14.2 1.12 " 11-24, " 25-Mar. 3, 26.1 3.7 Mar. i V. imph such ;is were suggested l»v the Professor <>(' Agriculture as in accordance with common practice; the the experiment was to test the fit- ness of such a ration, made up without anj reference U> its chemical composition as a whole, and then to compare its composition with the I lards, so much written about in recent yea 19 — Five steers two years old were selected, of nearly the same weight. Their weights at the beginning of the feeding trial, December -29. were 1,112, 1,120, 1,066, 1,010, and 1,040 pounds. They had been ke]>i for six weeks on the ration specified in the first period below. They were weighed on the dates given in the table, and, as usual, just after eating their morning meal, and before drinking. Date of Weighing and of Change of Ration if an v. Ration per Steer and Day. Total Weight. Dec. 29 Ensilage, 20 lbs. Corn stalks, 5 lbs. Corn meal, 3 lbs. Cotton-sped meal, 5 lb-. Ensilage, 20 lbs. Poor clover bay. 10 lbs. Corn meal. 3 lbs. ( ' 1.64 0.61 7.77 1:5.7 tion of the 2d lot of steers, ) Wolff gives for a fattening ration the following, of digest- ible nutrients, in lbs. per day and 1,000 lbs. live weight : Protein. Fat. Carbhydrates. First Period 2.5 0.5 15 Hccond Period :i 0.7 14.8 Finishing Period 2.7 0.6 14.8 Oui- rations do not agree at all with these, except approx- imately as to the protein. That a ration more in accordance with Wolff's might give better results, is indicated by the gain of 4.4 lbs. per day and 1,000 lbs. live weight (see 2d Report of Cornell University Experiment Station) on a ration very nearly like that given by Wolff for the first or begin- ning period of the fattening. VI. THE EFFECT OF A MAINTENANCE RATION. By Prof. G. C. Caldwell. In another feeding trial four animals were put on an ap- proximate maintenance ration, calculated on the basis of Wolff's standards, and from our analyses of the fodder used. The ration per day and steer consisted of hay, \\ lbs.; corn-stalks, 13 lbs.; corn meal, 1J lbs.; cotton-seed meal, 9 oz. In the following table the dates are given when weights were taken, and the sum of the weights of the five animals : Jan. 20, 3492 Feb. 10, 3588 Mch. 2, 3584 22, :i4f>6 12, 3202 3, 3600 24, 3412 14, 3532 5, 3590 26, 3462 16, 3520 7, 3640 27, 3444 17, 3524 9, 3662 29, 3410 19, 3532 10, 3606 31, 3432 21, 3538 13, 3570 Feb. 2, 3458 23, 3518 15, 3662 5, 3444 24, 3558 17, 3676 7, 3428 26, 3542 19, 3694 9, 3366 28, 3604 21, 3672 — 21 — Here the trial with the maintenance ration ended, with a gain, estimated by comparing the average of the first four weighings with the last four, of a little over 1.1 lbs. per day and 1,000 lbs. live weight. The last weights of the four animals, taken in the same order as the first, were 1,020, 924, 864, and 864 lbs. For the next four weeks the steers were put on a better ration, as follows : Hay, 20 lbs.; corn meal, 3^ lbs.; and cot- ton-seed meal, 2yf lbs. The total weights at the end of each week were 3,702, 3,764, 3,810, and 3,834 lbs. A gain was made of about 1.53 lbs. per day and 1,000 lbs. of live weight at the start on March 21. The digestible composi- tion of this ration is given in the table on p. 19. Wolff's maintenance ration (I) and our own in this exper- iment (II) in pounds of digestible nutrients per day and 1,000 lbs. live weight are given in the following table : T. IT. Total dry substance 14.5 15.3 Protein 0.7 0.68 Carbliydrates and fat 8.25 8.6 Nutritive ratio 1:12 1:13.2 Our ration is therefore a poorer one than Wolff's, having a somewhat smaller proportion of protein to non-nitrogenous matter; but for all that there is a notable gain in weight. It is poorer also than the maintenance ration used in a simi- lar experiment in L881-2 (Second Report of the C. U. Exper- iment Station, pp. 19, 20), and, as the theory would require, the gain in weight is less on this ration than on the earlier one, 2.2 pounds. In regard to these standard rations, the results of the many tests to which they have been subjected at various places in the country 1 make it evident that, with such data, as we at present have at command, no ration can be calcu- lated that will do the same work, or produce the effect for which it was calculated, in all cases, and perhaps not even in a majority of cases, and that sometimes such rations en- 1 See reports of the feeding trials at the New Hampshire Agricultural College, Pennsylvania Agricultural College, New York State Experiment Station, Wisconsin Agricultural College. tirely fail to accomplish the purpose for which they are cal- culated and used. The individual productive capacity of the animals fed undoubtedly affects the result ; this is shown in a striking manner h\ a comparison of the results obtained with the approximate maintenance ration of 1881-2 with an ordinary fattening ration : the poor maintenance ration gave 2.2 lbs. increase of live weight per day and 1,000 lbs. live weight, while the undoubtedly much richer ration of L882— 3 gave only 1.66 lbs. This last ration also gave only a little better result than the very much poorer and cheaper ration of 1- lected for mere maintenance. Other illustra- tions of this poinl found in the Second Report of this Station. Oi' many kinds of fodder included in such experiments not enough determinations of digestibility have been made to furnish a sound basis for making up a mixed ration, cal- culated according to digestibility ; and it has recently even been questioned vvheth of the results of the vast amount of labor that has been spenl in the investigation of the subjeci of the digestibility of fodders are sufficiently relia ■■ < >l much use to us. 1 It, would ■ be of less importance to make further iments on rations calculated according to the German standards than to make actual digestion experiments with such different rations as actual experience, in this country or elsewl wn to be most useful I'm- the particular purpos y ace fed. Thus we may learn what part of such rations, a- a whole, are actually digested and go toward iwth or milk ; with a mass of infor- matioi mr possession we would then be in a better position \<> calculate other rations made up of other mixtures. By such experiments, also, the value of Prof. Armsby's suggestion could be easily tested — that the effect due more to the total amount of digestible material contained in it than the precise composition of the digested matter, provided only that the ration contains a 'Araisby. Am. J. Science, 1885, p. 335. — 23 — reasonable proportion of the three nutrients, protein, fat, and carbhyclrates. Unfortunately there are very few places in this country where such digestion experiments can be car- ried on. VII. FIELD EXPERIMENTS WITH CROPS. By Prof. I. P. Roberts. Corn, 1882-84. At the N. Y. Experiment Station experiments were con- ducted in 1882 with grains from the butt, middle, and tip of ears of corn. Those from the tips showed greater vitality and germi- nating power than either those from the butt or middle. At, the request of the Director of the Station duplicate experi- ments were begun on the University farm in 1883. The seed selected was taken from the crib and had the appearance of being a little weak. The corn was planted in a good, warm, fertile soil, with results given in the follow- ing table ; the figures represent the number of plants that appeared above ground : 1882. 1883. 1884. 50 Hills—.-, seeds 50 Hills— 5 seeds 50 Hills— 3 seeds Seeds from the to the hill. to the hill. to the hill. Tips 191 171 121 ButtS 120 105 73 Middle 218 -ivi 115 Many experiments will have to be performed to settle this question, and in soil free from insect pests. Wheat, 1882-83. On September 7, 1882, a small field was prepared for test- ing twenty varieties of wheat as to their yield and value — 24 — when treated to a very liberal dressing of manures and fer- tilizers. Some ten loads of well-rotted manure were applied per acre, and 200 lbs. of high-grade superphosphate were scattered broadcast about one week before sowing the wheat. The wheat came up and grew most luxuriantly, the leaves standing quite erect instead of bending over and keeping close to the ground, as is common and desirable in ordinary culture. The first hard freeze of winter browned the tops perceptibly. By the last hard freeze of spring there were no plants left to destroy. While the experiment taught a lesson, it was quite a different one from what was expected. It was evident from the outset that the wheat was making too tender and succulent a growth to withstand a hard win- ter. While this piece entirely failed, the ordinary treatment of the other wheat fields gave an average of upwards of twenty-six bushels per acre. It will be remembered that the winter of 1882-3 was a very severe one on wheat in this locality. Wheat, 1883-84. In the fall of L883 a few which had, during our former experiments, proved the most promising, w^re selected and drilled in, in long, narrow strips across a fifteen-acre field which had been prepared for the general wheat crop. The whole field had been in oats during the earlier part of the season, had been plowed immediately after the oats were removed, and treated, to about ten loads of farm-yard manure per acre. The entire field was then rolled, harrowed, and fitted in the best possible manner. Strips two feet wide between the plots left vacant, lett.ii ill and air, without doubt increased the yield over what il would have been "had there been no open spaces. The plots contained ^ of an acre each. 25 Plot No. VARIETY. Yield i'eu Plot. Yield per Acre. Pounds. Bushels. Ll>s. l 2 3 4 5 6 Clawson Champion Amber Egyptian 246 ' 276J< 264% 225 237% 199 41 — 5 46 — 2 44—5 39 — 10 39 — 55 35 — 10 York White Chaff Velvet Chatt' All the seed 1 except the Clawson M'as sent to me by Prof. W. R. Lazenby, Director of the Ohio Experiment Station, we having lost these varieties in the failure of the previous year. Oats, 1884. The plots were sown April 22, on good and well-prepared ground. The season was fine up to the time of wheat har- vest, when a heavy rain and wind storm laid down the entire field. This caused the oats to be light in weight, and hence a decreased yield. The plots contained one-ninth of an acre each, and ex- tended the entire length of a fifteen-acre field. They were divided from each other by vacant strips of two feet. No. OF Plot. Quantity of Seed per Acre. Pecks. Special Fertilizing, IF ANY. Manner OF Sowing Yield OF Plot. Yield per Acre. Lbs. Bu. Lbs. l 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8 5 12 16 5 5 8 8 8 8 5o lbs salt applied. 50 lbs salt, 50 lbs plaster 50 lbs salt. Drilled. Broadcast. Drilled. 191% 19014 177 161 196 163% 150% 155 170% 142% 53 - 27^ 53 — 18% 49 — 25 45 — 9 55 — 4 45 — 31 45 — 14% 43 — 19 47 — 30% 43 — 6% In comparing the yield of a large number of plots, it is never safe to compare those which are widely separated. The above should be divided into two groups, the first ex- tending from one to six, the second from seven to ten. a — 26 — Mangolds, 1883. To test varieties, twenty short rows, equally divided and unfertilized, gave yields as follows : Yellow Ovid, seed from H. Sibley & Co., yield 530 lbs. Long Red, " " " " " 030" Mangolds, 1884. » The rows were sixteen rods long and 3 ft. 4 in. apart ; two rows, or a little over ^§ of an acre, constituted a plot. The soil was a clay loam, timothy and clover sod. In De- cember, 1883, about ten loads per acre of good farm-yard manure were spread upon the surface, and plowed under in May. To Test Varieties. P'ERTILIZERS USED. Yield. Lbs. 2270 2100 1692 1. Yellow Champion from Agr. Dept., 2. Sugar beet, " " " 3. Yellow Ovid, [seed poor]. 12 lbs. potash salts. To Test Fertilizers. 12 lbs. potash salts, 12 lbs. cotton seed meal, No fertilizers, ( 4 11)8 dissolved hone, i ■]4lbs. blood, ( 4 lhs. potash salts, S No fertilizers. i s His. dissolved hone, . •] 8 lhs. dried blood, f H His. potash suits, S 2160 1704 1044 1954 1820 2100 5. " " 6. " " 7. " " . ,S. '• " 9. " " VIII. SELF-FERTILIZATION OF CORN. By Prof. I. P. Roberts. An attempt was made, in the following manner, to deter- mine the productiveness of self -fertilized corn. Two hills of corn were planted side by side, and allowed to grow with — 27 — three stalks in a hill until the ear and tassel began to form. The two weaker plants were then removed from one of the hills, and a frame two feet square and seven feet high, formed of glass on two contiguous sides, and of white mus- lin on the other two sides and the top, was placed over the remaining stalks. This prevented all contact of foreign pollen ; the glass permitted full access of light, and the mus- lin of air. No perceptible interference with the normal temperature and moisture was observed, as the glass sides of the frame were turned to the north and east. It has been shown by Italian investigations that the only effect of a white muslin screen on the growth of corn is to make it slender, but with an increase in total "weight. This, in the present experiment, unimportant influence was neutralized by having half of the screen made of glass ; and, on the other hand, the harm that might arise from confinement under glass was neutralized by combining cloth with it, which offers little resistance to the passage of air and moist- ure. We therefore had our single corn plant under normal influences, practically^ only preventing the access of foreign pollen. The plant continued to grow finely ; pollen in the greatest abundance was produced, and covered the leaves, ear, and ground beneath with a thick yellow dust. The silks were pollenized in the same prodigal manner, and there seemed no reason why the ear should not mature a full com- plement of kernels. In the fall the frame was removed, when it was found that the ear which had only received pol- len from the same plant contained no kernels at all, while the three stalks which were free to receive pollen from each other or elsewhere had the ears well tilled out with sound kernels. Although this is but a single instance, it yet points strongly toward the incapacity of the corn plant to close fertilize, and the great advantage in productiveness of cross fertilization. — 28 — IX. MISCELLANEOUS ANALYSES OF FERTILIZING MATE- RIALS. By Prof. (J. C. Caldwell (Analyses by Mr. F. E. Furry.) Ashen. — These samples were sent to the Station for an- alysis, partly by members of the Western New York Hor- ticultural Society, in connection with the experiments on the effect, of potash salts when used as a fertilizer for grapes : Potash Phosphoric Acid. Wood ashes, No. 1 5.8 1.76 2 8.24 0.04 " 3 2.51 1.43 " 4 5.07 172 " 5 2.82 0.81 • " 6 7.40 1.38 Tan bark ashes o.84 1.14 Lintashes 17.19 6.55 Some of these samples evidently represented leached ashes, although they were not stated to be so by those who sent them. Of those that were not leached, some of the differences in composition are sufficiently great to make differences in fertilizing value of no small account, and to suggesl very positively the wisdom, in purchasing large lots, of first procuring an analysis. The tan bark being so thoroughly leached in the opera- tions of 1. -inning yields ashes id' little value. The "lint ashes,' 1 so excessively rich in both potash and phosphoric acid, are the product of burning the waste in the manufact- ure of flax. Land Plaster. — Some analyses of land plaster given in the 2d Report of the Station, only for the purpose of showing the, differences in composition of the product from different layers of rock in the quarry, were criticised as unjustly dis- criminating against the plaster in general from that quarry. At our request a gentleman of Union Springs procured — 29 — three samples which, in his opinion, fairly represented the product ; the analyses of these are given below. No. 1 was ground in 1881, and Nos. 2 and 3 in 1883. No. 4 was ground in March, 1885, at the mill in Ithaca. Insoluble residue. Pure plaster. 1 5.29 68.8 2 7.37 73.7 3 2.47 89.4 4 6.93 63.75 Even these figures show no. little degree of variation in quality. Determinations of potash were made in twelve samples of commercial potash salts used in connection with the experi- ments on fertilizing grapes reported below. They were in general, especially if muriates, of good quality. Two sam- ples, however, that came to the Station labeled " sulphate of potash," and which, if of good quality, should have con- tained about 80 per cent, of the substance, really contained less than 25 per cent., and a third contained but 43 per cent. The first two were probably kainite, and if sold at the prices usually charged for kainite were what they should be, except as to the name. EXPERIMENTS WITH VARIOUS FERTILIZERS ON INDIAN CORN. By Prof. G. C. Cai. dwell. This series of experiments was begun with the expecta- tion of continuing it through a number of years, or at least till conclusive answers should be obtained to some of the questions put in regard to the manuring of this important crop. A field of about two acres, with a stiff clay soil, which by previous cropping had been reduced to a low con- dition of fertility, was divided into 33 plots, each wide and — 30 — long enough for three rows of corn with eighty hills to the row. The chief object of the experiments was to contribute something to the settlement of the question as to which of the three most important constituents of manures — phos- phoric acid, nitrogen or potash — will produce the best effect when used alone on corn, or what combination of these sub- stances is most effective ; in addition to this the attempt was made to compare the effectiveness of different forms of combination in which these substances may be procured in the market, and also the effect of sulphates, especially sul- phate of lime or plaster. The manner in which this plan was carried out is suffi- ciently explained in the following statement of the arrange- ment and manuring of plots, and the results. In the first three years the results of the experiments were entirely unsatisfactory, as all the plots except those treated with stable manure gave smaller yields than the unmanured plots. While an apparently satisfactory explanation could in some cases (and especially in the first year) be given for this failure to respond to the fertilizers, by referring it to exceedingly unfavorable weather at the time of planting and during the. early stages of growth of the crop, in other cases the result is inexplicable, and can serve the only useful pur- pose of illustrating the difficulty that is liable to attend field experimentation. After several plots had received their respective charge of manure for three years the soil appeared to begin to acquire distinctive characters in the several ex- periments. The statement of these results in detail would not be worth the space they would occupy, and the report is therefore confined to the last two years ; in the second of these years, or the fifth of the whole series, all manuring was discontinued in order to ascertain the effect of the resi- dues of previous manuring left in the soil. The results are all calculated to a standard of a yield of 100 lbs. of ears on the unmanured plots ; plot No. 3, for in- stance, yielded in 1878 117 lbs. of ears and 56 lbs. of stover for every 100 lbs, of ears on the unmanured plot No. 8. 31 — Fertilizer. Phosphate of Soda Same and plaster, 360 pounds Superphosphate, plain, high grade Superphosphate, " " Nitrate of coda Sulphate of ammonia Same as 4 and plaster 360 pounds. . Superphosphate, ordinary kind Superphosphate Sulphate of ammonia Nitrate of soda No manure Stable manure, 14 tons Ground rock phosphate Ground rock phosphate Peruvian guano Nitrate of soda Nitrate of soda Superphosphate Sulphate of ammonia Sulphate of ammonia Superphosphate Peruvian guano Fish guano Fish guano Superphosphate Fish guano Superphosphate Sulphate of ammonia Fish guano Plaster Sulphate of potash Sulphate of potash Sulphate of ammonia Nitrate of soda Sulphate of potash Sulphate of ammonia Nitrate of soda Superphosphate Sulphate of potash Plaster Sulphate of potash Superphosphate No manure Stable manure, 14 tons Stable manure, 14 tons Plaster, on young corn Stable manure, 14 tons Plaster in hill with seed Plaster Sulphate of magnesia Peruvian guano Plaster, on young corn Peruvian guano Sulphate of magnesia N ~ ® ® 08 Cost per 9 t-, acre. 5 c (^ 225 $45.00 45.71 360 7.20 3G0 ', 17.45 135 100 18.16 360 7.20 360 M7.45 100 135 17.50 750 7.50 750 360 i 19.92 135 6.00 135 360 1 13.20 100 4.25 100 360 1 11.45 360 12.42 1200 15.00 1200 360 1 19.20 1200 ^ 360 > 23.45 100 J 1200 360 I 15.71 200 2.50 200 £ 12.75 100 135 200 1 100 135 > 19.95 360 J 200 360 < 3.21 200 360 '■ 9.70 17.50 360 1 18.21 360 £ 18.21 360 .71 200 3.00 360 360 '• 13.13 360 200 ( 15.42 Yield. 79 116 117 129 106 100 120 107 114 99 112 109 114 114 103 115 106 100 128 135 83 101 118 67 52 111 121 129 91 100 164 111 100 92 111 104 103 88 81 107 82 100 165 55 128 83 si 84 85 81 80 71 71 92 32 In the following table is given the actual yield in weight of corn and stover of the two unmanured plots, and the two plots manured with stable manure, calculated for an acre : s s 8 9 26 27 1875. 1876. 1877. 1878. 1879. S3 u © C t> o a u © © QQ a o o 5 a e o u <£> > C u O > o QQ 4590 4800 3983 4830 3323 4403 2558 4095 3083 3773 2835 2625 2235 3401) 1C20 3035 2730 3075 2265 2835 t 965 3275 1290 2400 3975 4755 3248 4140 2550 2655 1260 2205 1635 2685 1350 2220 900 2085 1005 1335 Stable manure, u tons No manure Stable manure, 14 tons The two unmanured plots and the two plots treated with stable manure, located midway between the middle and ends of the field, were supposed t<> be sufficient to provide stand- ards by which to measure the effect of the fertilizers. Hut as the yield of one pair of plots was invariably larger than that of the other, it was made evident that the Held was not so uniform in quality as was expected ; and in the calcula- tion of these results of the last two years, each half of the field was considered by itself instead of taking the mean of the two uninanured plots as the standard tor the whole ; this mean was taken as the standard, however, for plots 13, 14, 15, J (i and 17, occupying the central portion of the space between the unmanured plots. Nol withstanding that so large a share of the work re- sulted in failure, still many interesting results appear in these last two years. In respect to stable manure its gen- eral reliability for yielding sure if not always profitable re- turns is shown throughout the whole series of years; the return is often not commensurate with the outlay, however. Fourteen tons of good manure to the acre would need to give an increase of more than one-fourth over no manure in order to he profitably used ; and yet this was more than has been obtained in most of these experiments ; and a careful observation of field experiments generally will show that in a large number, if no], indeed, in the majority of cases, stable manure appears to give unprofitably small returns, at least so far as regards the crop to which it is directly up- — 33 — plied. But the value of time in bringing it? constituents into more assimilable forms, as well as the large amount of valuable residue which may remain in the soil alter liberal treatment with the manure, is shown by the figures for plots 8 and 9, and 26 and 27 for 1879, when the manuring was discontinued. Both plots which had received stable manure in previous years gave an increase of more than one-half over the yield of the unmanured plot. The value of plaster in connection with stable manure i« well illustrated in these results ; in every instance, excepting in 1876, it has increased the effect of this manure when ap- plied on the young corn, and in some cases to a very profit- able extent (plot 28). It will be observed that in the last two years it increased the yield of stover to a much smaller extent than that of corn; as might be expected, its effect does not continue beyond the year when applied. Plaster in the hill with the seed (plot 29) is not without effect ; and under seme conditions, probably of the weather, such as obtained in 1877, it produced :i better result than when ap- plied in the usual manner. Plaster alone, as well as the other sulphate — sulphate of magnesia — appeared to do more harm than good (plots 30 and 31) ; but the latter with Peru- vian guano (plot 33) appeared to bring out the virtues of that fertilizer to some extent, since a much better yield was obtained than on plot 32 ; but a single result like this has but little value. In other cases where plaster was used with fertilizers containing phosphoric acid or nitrogen or potash (plots 2 and 5, and 24 compared with 21), it increased the yield and, as in the case of stable manure, without affecting the yield of stover to a corresponding extent. The question so much discussed just now, as to the im- portance of nitrogen in manure for corn, receives some light from the results of these experiments: comparing plots 3 and 4, it is seen that with a high grade phosphate almost as good a yield is obtained, both in the year when applied and in the following year, from the residues of the previous year, as with the phosphate and nitrogenous manures. — 34 — Again, in plots 12 and 13 we have no increase with nitrate alone, but a notable increase with nitrate and superphos- phate. A study of plots 21 to 25 shows the value of ma- nures containing no nitrogen, especially if they contain both potash anil phosphoric acid, as in the case of the last three. Plot 22, with nitrogenous manures added to potash sulphate, shows no indication of value for nitrogen, while all the three following plots, to which superphosphate is added but no nitrogen, give nearly or quite as large an increase as stable manure. Nitrogenous manure is not altogether without effect, however, as is shown by nearly all the plots which received it, such as 4, 7, 14, and 15; but in no case does their use increase the crop to a profitable extent, while on the other hand the use of potash and phosphoric acid with- out nitrogen, and, in some cases, of one of these alone, pro- duces a marked increase (plots 3, 13, 23, 24, and 25). A few years ago Prof. Lehmann, 1 of Germany, performed some experiments which went to show that Indian corn requires its nitrogen in the form of ammonia in the earlier stages of its growth, and in the form of nitrate during the latter part of the season. In an ordinary, arable soil, and under ordinary conditions, while no conversion of nitrate into ammonia takes place, there is a steady oxidation of am- monium salts to nitrates ; hence, if a crop requiring (as was shown by Lehmann's results) ammonia salts first and nitrate afterwards, is supplied with nitrates only from the begin- ning, it, must suffer in the first part of the season for want of proper food, to such an extent as hardly to recover, even though it afterwards has the right kind of food ; while, if supplied with ammonia salts only, it is provided directly with what it needs in the beginning of its growth, and later, indirectly by oxidation of ammonia, with the nitrate that it is supposed to require. The results of the use of nitrate of soda alone, on plot 12, as compared with the yield of plot 14, are in accordance with Lehmann's results. In such of the experiments conducted under the direction of Prof. At- 1 Biederann'e Ceutralblatt, Bd. 7, p. 405. — 35 — water, 1 in 1878, as furnish any comparison between these two compounds of nitrogen, the average effect of a given quantity of nitrogen — forty-eight pounds to the acre, in the form of ammonia salts — was 30 per cent, better than its effect when applied in the form of nitrates, although neither fer- tilizer paid for itself. In future experiments on the value of nitrogen in fertilizers for corn, it would be only just to the element to give it the best chance, and supply it in that form in which it can make the best showing for itself. Although the annual cost of the fertilizers is given in the table, the estimation of profits is a somewhat complicated problem, since it is impossible to determine the extent to which the crops of these two years are due to the manure applied to the several plots previous to the year 1878. We therefore postpone the discussion of this question till we shall have the results of further experiments. Other interesting points might be made out by further study of these results ; but as much space has already been given to the matter as our limits will allow, and more con- sideration has perhaps been bestowed on them than should be on a series of experiments comprising but a single year's manuring. XI. THE INFLUENCE OF THE RATION ON THE COMPOSI- TION OF THE MILK. By Prof. G. C. Caldwell. The influence of the character of the feed of milch cows on the composition of the dry substance of the milk — that is to say, on the relative proportions of its several constitu- ents, the fat, sugar, casein, etc. — has been made the subject of several investigations. Of the possible variations in these i Report of work of the Agricultural Experiment Station, Middletown, Ct., 1877-8, p. 101. — 36 proportions, those which relate to the fat and casein are the most important, since special richness in one of these con- stituents makes the milk more valuable for butter, and spec- ial richness in the other makes it better for cheese. Boussingault, in 1838 and again in 1858, investigated the subject, with results showing that the ratio of fat to casein in the milk is by no means constant. 1 In the case of one cow, for 100 parts of casein the fat ranged from 85 to 127, and of the other cow from 85 to 187 parts : with the first cow the smallest proportion of fat was yielded on wheat flour fed with hay, and the largest on hay alone; with the other, the smallest proportion of fat was yielded on molasses fed with the hay, and the largest on green clover. Dr. Playfair 2 found a great difference in the relative pro- portions of fat and casein even between milk of morning and night, In the former case, for LOO of casein the milk contained but 69 of fat, and in the latter 144, the cow being fed on grass ; but when the same cow was fed on potatoes and hay there was but little change in the ratio of casein to fat, in passing from morning to night. In a series of experiments by Rohde and Frommer 3 with four cows and various rations the following results were obtained with respect to the relation between fat and casein: Fat to 100 Feed added to the hay. of Casein. Nothing 74 Potatoes 88 Potato mash 62 Sugar beet mash 108 Sugar beets 100 Carrots 88 Rye mash . ... 99 Karmrodt ' also observed in the case of one cow the same great change in the proportion of casein to fat as was found by \)r. Playfair, in passing from morning to night; the 'Martiny, Die Milch, 1. p. 283. 2 Journal of Royal Agricultural Society, XI11, p. 25. J Martiny, Die Milch, p. 268. 4 Martiny, Die Milch, p. 271. — 37 — morning's milk contained 79 parts, and the evening's milk 128 of fat for 100 of casein. Experiments by Stohmann ' with two goats, extending from April to September, on different rations, also show how the ratio of fat to casein varies, and, further, the steady increase in the proportion of casein with the duration of lactation since the time of calving. Feed added to the ration of hay. Goat No. 1. Goat No. 2. Fat to loo U ericht ueber Agrikultur Chemie, 1870-2, p. 174. — 43 — XII. PLE URO-PNE UMONIA. By Prof. Tames Law. [Notwithstanding the length of this article, the great importance at the present time of the subject treated seems ample justification for its republication. The reader who is at all familiar with the course of this disease during the past few years will not fail to note the singular accuracy with which Prof. Law's anticipations have been fulfilled. The paper is reprinted without revision as it first appeared in 1879.— C. K. A.] As the writer has been engaged during 1879 in the direction of measures for the extirpation of this foreign plague from our territory, it seems reasonable that this Bulletin should set forth a summary of what has been accomplished, and what lessons have been learned from the experience. It must, however, be premised that no means w r ere provided for experimental observation, so that questions of the deep- est interest to the pathologist and epidemiologist have had to lie unaffected by such crucial tests as the experimentalist alone can apply. In some respects this is to be regretted, as doctrines which are now but the deductions of empiiTcal observations might have been placed on an irrefragable basis, and certain fields of pathological science might have been illumined with a clearer light. Yet the observations inseparable from the daily applica- tion of suppressive measures are far from being unimpor- tant, and in many respects the results obtained are no less conclusive than if they had been the outcome of the most carefully devised experiment. The widtli of the field under observation, so far exceeding what could have been sub- jected to experiment, served to give a conclusiveness to obvious causations and results, that appeared unvaryingly for an indefinite number of times in succession, which could — 44 — not have been obtained by a limited number of experiments, liable as these are to be invalidated by the introduction of an unsuspected disturbing element. Question of the Generation de novo of Lung Plague. — This is the fundamentally important question with refer- ence to the possibility of the final extinction of this disease here or elsewhere. If the malady can and does originate on this continent, no present outlay in money and no effort for its present extinction can give us any guaranty of perma- nent immunity. After we have rooted out the last existing contagious germ new germs will still continue to appear, at more or less frequent intervals and in more or less remote localities, demanding in every such case the repetition of the work, of the outlay and suspense that have already repeatedly taxed the energies of the nation. And if such a spontane- ous generation of the germs he possible, new spontaneous outbreaks of the disease must become increasingly common as our waste lands become more uniformly settled, as our farms become more fully and carefully tilled, and as the herds of cattle become more numerous. When our present stock of cattle shall have been doubled we shall have just double the number of such outbreaks; when trebled, quad- rupled, and quintupled, so will the newly developed germs and infected localities be three, four, or live times as many as at present ; and the question might well arise whether the nation could afford to continue the suppression of such an uncertain, intangible and unconquerable enemy. But if we can demonstrate that this plague has never been shown to exist on the Western Continent, except at points to which we can clearly trace the germs from the bodies of infected animals imported from Europe ; if we can show that wherever such imported germs have been carefully destroyed the plague lias been definitely and finally exterminated ; and if we can show that the testimony to this effect is not con- lined to America, but that the long experience of Western Europe and the more recent history of the disease in the Southern Hemisphere show with equal clearness that this — 45 — affection never appears in a new country save as the result of imported infection, it follows that national measures for its extinction are fully warranted and, indeed, imperatively demanded. In this case the outlay of to-day is but a trifle as compared with the vast sums that the present suppression of the disease will so certainly save to the country in all fut- ure time. This subject is placed first as furnishing the raison d'etre of the law which has been to some extent put in force dur- ing the past year, and as being a matter which is apparently no better understood by the general public to-day than it was a year ago. Those great public educators, the daily newspapers, still speak of the plague as inseparable from feeding on distillery swill ; and in place of recognizing the fact that the infection is restricted to a very limited area on the Atlantic seaboard, they affirm that "it has been found wherever it has been sought for." (See New York Herald, April 19, 1880.) Origin of the Lung Plague in America. — Though the bo- vine race represented by the buffalo have been undoubtedly coeval with man on the Western Continent, and though do- mesticated cattle have been in existence in all the settle- ments since first introduced in the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Lung Plague of cattle was unknown on these shores until 1848. In that year Peter Dunn, a milkman near South Ferry, Brooklyn, purchased a cow from an En- glish ship and placed her with the rest of his herd. Some weeks later this cow sickened and died, and infected other cows in his stable. From this the plague soon spread to other stables in the vicinity, including the great distillery stables in Skillman St., and in a few years it had overrun Brooklyn, New York, and Jersey City, and extended some- what into the country. Many are still living who recollect all the facts of the advent of the plague and of the ruinous losses that overtook many of the unfortunate dairymen. Wm, Meakim, of Flushing, informs us that his father, William Meakim, kept a large dairy at Bushwick, L. I., — 46 — which was infected in 1849 by the carelessness of an em- ployee, who hauled a dead cow from a Brooklyn stable with his (Meakim's) working oxen. In a few weeks the oxen sickened and died, followed by forty of his dairy eows in the short space of three months. For the remaining twenty years that he remained in the business he continued to lose from six to ten cows yearly. Twenty years ago (1859) Benjamin Albertson, of Queens, L. I., purchased four cows from a herd from Herkimer Co., but which had been kept over night in the cattle market, Sixtieth St., New York. These cows sickened soon after, and conveyed the plague to his remaining herd of 100 head, 25 of which died in rapid succession and 19 more slowly. He was left with but 60 out of a herd of 104 animals, and these he sold into already infected Brooklyn stables. Dr. Bathgate, of Fordham Ave. and 171st St., New York, reports that in the same year (1859) his father's herd of Jer- seys contracted the Lung Plague by exposure to infection, and that the disease prevailed in the herd for several years, and until the infected buildings were accidentally burned. He reports further that the plague has never been entirely absent from the neighborhood since. Cases of this kind might be recorded indefinitely. Enough has been given, however, to show that with the advent of Peter Dunn's cow, purchased from the English ship, and of the infection she carried, there came upon the cities clustered around the porl of New York a pestilence, which has never since relaxed its hold on the bovine population. In the Skillman St. (Brooklyn) stables alone, which were infected in 1848, the plague prevailed as long as they stood, and its prevalence there was reported by the Massachusetts Com- missioners who visited this city in 1861. From that time to this it has been constantly extending, not only in the cities named, but through the cities and villages of New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, as the demand for cows caused these to draw upon the market ol New York, or as the owners of infected herds saw tit — 47 — to unload their dangerous property upon unsuspecting pur- chasers in new and uninfected districts. Where the plague was introduced into herds on inclosed farms, the unfortunate owners of which were not so selfish as to sell out the herd and infection to a new victim, the duration of the pestilence was necessarily limited. Sooner or later all the cattle on the place had passed through the disease, and become proof against a second attack, and if no calves were raised, as is the rule on farms supplying the large cities with milk, and if no new stock was brought in, the disease expired for the lack of fresh cattle capable of contracting it. In the towns and villages the case was altogether different. Here numerous herds mingled on open commons and unfenced lots, so that infection spread easily from herd to herd, and as fresh cows were being constantly purchased to replace those that had become dry or fat, there was at no time any lack of susceptible animals for the in- fection to lay under its malignant spell. Causes Influencing the Spread of the Lung Plague South- ward. — A glance at the connections of New York southward will show why the plague should have extended in this di- rection rather than west or north. In the first place the cities of Newark, Elizabeth, New Brunswick, Trenton, Easton, Reading, Burlington, Germantown, Camden, Phila- delphia, Wilmington, Baltimore, Washington, Alexandria, etc., drew their supplies of fresh dairy cows from the great marts to which western cattle were sent. From the com- paratively close proximity of these cities they respectively drew their supplies from New York, Philadelphia or Balti- more, according to which market was at any moment over- stocked, so as to depreciate the value of the stock. Thus Philadelphia and Baltimore were early infected from New York and Jersey City, and once infected they reciprocated freely by furnishing contaminated cattle to the market of New York, whenever that market was poorly supplied, or they themselves glutted. Thus, too, it soon came about that all the lesser cities drew constant supplies of infection — 48 — from these three great plague-stricken centers. All of the cities named were growing places with much unfenced land laid out for building, or held by speculators in waiting for purchasers, and upon these the herds of different owners pastured in common, and infected each other, so that once introduced the infection became permanent, and each city became an independent pestilential center, from which the plague extended in different directions at varying intervals. If we trace the Erie Railroad westward we shall find that beyond New Jersey there is no city for the space of 200 miles, and this, together with the fact that cattle could be drawn so much more cheaply from the west, has hitherto prevented the extension of pestilence westward. What few infected cattle have found their way west along the line of the Erie Railroad have gone upon inclosed farms, where the plague reached its limit and died out, in place of finding the malign conditions of unfenced grounds and pasturage in common, which would inevitably have perpetuated it. The non-infection of the west we owe not alone to the immense cattle traffic from the west, and the fact that comparatively few cattle follow a contrary course, but also to the barrier of the Allegheny Mountains, and the entire absence of large and growing towns and cities over along stretch of country. If we follow the New York Central Railroad we find a similar comparative absence of large cities, but we find be- sides that the east bank of the Hudson is well fenced, so that though the Lung Plague had been introduced, it would have had less opportunity for permanence than in the district south of New York. North of Yonkers, where the open pasturages end, the plague has never gained a permanent footing on the east hank of the Hudson. On the Harlem Railroad there is a similar absence of large cities and common open pasturages, and although the plague has extended on this line as far north as the borders of Dutchess Co., it has been more easy to deal with it than where there was a common grazing ground for different herds. From Mt. Vernon southward, however, the common — 49 — pasturage was more or less in vogue, and with it the preva- lence of the plague and the difficulty of dealing with it. Along the New Haven Railroad the condition of things was more favorable to the propagation of the plague, audit would have been certainly perpetuated in some of the cities of Connecticut but that the State Cattle Disease Commis- sion repeatedly interposed to stamp it out. Extinction of the Lung Plague in Massachusetts. — Into Massachusetts the Lung Plague was introduced in 1859 in the bodies of four Dutch cows imported from Rotterdam by Mr. Chenery, of Belmont. All four suffered from the dis- ease, two having been very ill on arrival. Three died, the fourth recovered, and the plague spread into nineteen towns in five counties, and was only crushed out after five years of uninterrupted effort on the part of a cattle commission This work cost the State &07,51 1.07, and the different towns $10,000 more; but this was a cheap investment, as the plague has never since made its appearance in the commonwealth. Evidence of the Non-existence of Lung Plague in the West. — The fact that the Lung Plague has been unknown in Massachusetts for the past fifteen years, as it was un- known prior to the introduction of the four diseased Dutch cows in 1859, speaks volumes for the freedom from the in- fection of the great cattle-raising States of the west. At the one cattle market at Brighton thousands of cattle arrive weekly from the west, yet for fifteen years not only has no cow nor lean beast brought this pestilence to the Massachu- setts herds, but no ox has shown the characteristic disease of the lungs when slaughtered. The same remark may be made of Central and Western New York, and of all the New England States north of Massachusetts. In a twelve years' residence at "Cornell," and with the widest acquaint- ance of the herds of the State, I have never seen a case of Lung Plague west of the Hudson excepting in one herd in the vicinity of Newburg, to which the infection was brought by a cow from New York city. Yet all over the State are to be found cattle drawn from the west, and filling up the — 50 — dairy and fattening herds of the Empire State. And al- though these herds are frequently decimated, and some- times all but exterminated by other diseases (Texas fever, Malignant Anthrax, Tuberculosis, etc.), no such thing as Lung Plague has ever appeared amongst them. The same remarks apply to western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and, indeed, all parts west of the Allegheny Mountains. Though all supplied by the cattle from the west, all alike have hitherto kept clear of the plague. The same is true of our Gulf Coast States and Pacific States. No such plague has appeared in any of these, though their cattle are multi- plying by the million. Non-existence of the Lwig Plague hi Other Stale* <;/' America. — No Lung Plague has ever been found in any other American state. Mexico, Central America, the West Indian Islands, the South American republics, Brazil, and even Canada have failed to import this Old World pesti- lence, and all of them maintain to-day a perfect immunity. Z,ung Plague not Indigenous to America. — From far- reaching facts like the above it becomes certain that Amer- ican soil has no such sad fecundity as to produce the germs of the Lung Plague, for this affection has appeared at no point of the continent where the descendants of the import- ed European germs have not been first carried; and the dis- ease is to-day confined to a narrow area on the Atlantic coast, where the imported germs were planted, and where the conditions favored its preservation and propagation. The presence of the disease where the malign European in- fection has been implanted, and its persistence and spread there for thirty-seven years, when contrasted with the fact of its entire absence from all other parts of the New World, shows beyond dispute that the disease is the result of im- ported virus, and of this alone. Cattle exist and have long existed from Labrador to Brazil, and from Brazil to Pata- gonia, in the most trying climates — arctic and torrid — and under all conditions of life, and every form of abuse and neglect; but in no one instance has this fatal plague been — .51 — f generated on the Western Continent and propagated from a new point independent of importation. Like the Canada Thistle (Cirsium Arvense), the Lung Plague is an exotic, dependent altogether upon the foreign seed for its existence, and it could be as easily and permanently eradicated as the thistle has been from Wisconsin and certain other States. Lung Plague not Spontaneous in Africa and Australia. — For many centuries the nations of Africa have owned herds of cattle, being dependent on them for labor as well as for meat and milk in those districts where the "tsetse" proves so fatal to solipeds. Since the colonization of South Africa by Europeans the settlers have imported many herds from Europe, but until 1854 the Lung Plague was utterly un- known. In that year, as testified by Rev. Mr. Lindley, a missionary, a Dutch bull, imported by a gentleman of Cape Town, manifested the plague six weeks after his arrival and fourteen weeks after his shipment from Holland, and from him the pestilence has since spread over the whole unfenced ranges of Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Natal, Znluland, Transvaal, etc. Here no such plague was known in all ante- cedent time, but once introduced in the body of a single in- fected animal it has desolated the whole southern part of the continent. When discovered, Australia was destitute of cattle. The whole bovine stock is therefore the progeny of those intro- duced by the colonists. On the rich native grasses and in the exceptionally salubrious climate, the cattle throve and multiplied until the name of Australian "squatter" became a synonym for a man of wealth and influence. But in 1859 Mr. Boodle, of Melbourne, imported from England a Short- horn cow, which fourteen days after its arrival from its three months' voyage manifested the symptoms of Lung Plague. The whole herd was slaughtered and paid for by public subscription, and his lands were inclosed and pros- cribed; but a teamster turned his oxen into the inclosures under cover of night, the disease spread through their means, and on the unfenced pastures it was found to be im- — 52 — possible to control it. No conditions produced the disease until the importation of the infected English cow, but, after the entrance of the infection, it received no check from the healthful climate nor from the enforced slaughter of tens of thousands of animals, and to-day the rich pastures of Australia are ravaged by the pestilence. Lung Plague not Spontaneous in the British Isles. — In Great Britain the pestilence was unknown in modern times until in 1S39, when it was imported into Cork, Ireland, in the bodies of Dutch cattle sent to a friend by the British Consul at the Hague. It spread rapidly over Ireland, and entered England and Scotland before 1842. From this time it has been kept up by constant accessions of disease from the continent, brought in the cattle then for the first freely admitted to the English markets. Vet the striking fact remains that for the forty years during which the plague has prevailed on the British Isles, the Highlands of Scotland have kept clear of infection. The explanation is found in the fact that native cattle are bred in the Highlands and shipped thence to market, but no strange cattle are ever introduced. The Highlands are the coldest, bleakest, and most exposed parts of the island, the places where lung diseases are above all to be expected; and their exemption, while the more genial plains are ravaged by the plague, shows plainly that the affection is no product of Britain, but an exotic that has spread wherever the foreign cattle and their infected victims have come. No Evidence of Spontaneous Lung Plague in West- ern Europe. — The Channel Islands. — These, lying directly between the infect c(l shores of France and England and famed in all times for the abundance and excellence of their cattle, have never suffered from the Lung Plague for the very sufficient reason that no strange cattle are allowed on the islands. Spain 0, 60, and even 77 per cent, (average 35 per cent.). — 54 — Gatngee gives the losses in the city of Edinburgh in 1861-2 at over 5S per cent., and the money loss at £14,512 ($70,000). Finlay Dun shows from the English Cattle In- surance Co. statistics that the losses from this plague from 1863 to L866 were •">0 to 63 per cent, per annum. The losses for the British Isles, computed from agricultural statistics, the records of insurance companies, etc., were close upon £2,000,000 (110,000,000) per annum. In Holland Sauberg reports a, yearly loss of 49,661 head, while in Wiirtemberg it amounted to 39 per cent. Mortality Greater in Warm Climates and Seasons. — Mr. Lindley reports that in the hot climate of South Africa it is no uncommon thing to find a whole herd of 100 or 200 cat- tle perish without exception, and other colonists have fur- nished me personally with accounts precisely similar. With these agree our experiences with the disease in the summer season in New York. When we entered on our work in Feb- ruary, 1ST9, it was loudly claimed by a party of obstruc- tionists that tiie affection was the simple result of exposure to the changeable weather, ami to the transitions from the hot, close, reeking stable to the chilly blasts out of doors. But from June onward, so long as the really hot weather lasted, the number of victims in a herd was greatly increased, the cases succeeded each other with a hitherto unexampled rapidity, and nearly every case proved severe and rapid in its course, so that death frequently resulted in two or three days after the animal was noticed to be ill. In our cool, dry winters the course of the disease is mild, so that the patients survive for weeks, and even months, often becom- ing frightfully emaciated and presenting the spectacle of walking skeletons; whereas in the burning summer and autumn death often comes so speedily that the carcass may present the round, plump, fat appearance of an animal that has died suddenly by accident. Of this high summer mor- tality, the cases of Meakim and Albertson (pages 45 and 46) are illustrative examples. As further illustrating this point: .Joseph Schwab, 149th St. and Southern Boulevard, New — 55 — York, bought a cow, which soon sickened and infected his herd, so that he lost twenty-three head in two months, and but seven recovered. In autumn, 1878, Bischoff, Long Island City, bought four cows of a dealer, all of which sickened, and only one was saved. Mr. Valentine, of Jamaica, L. I., bought some infected cows from two Brooklyn dealers, and by August, 1879, his herd was so badly diseased that we were compelled to slaughter the whole. Patrick McCabe bought five cows from a dealer ; sickness appeared among them six weeks later. He lost the whole five, and within two months thereafter four more that he had laid in later. The Losses must Increase as the Plague Reaches the Warmer States. — It is needless to multiply instances suclf as those given above. A mortality of seventy, eighty, or ninety per cent, in South Africa, and in the warm season in New York, implies that we should suffer an equal mortality in the Southern States throughout the greater part of the year, and in the hot summers of the Mississippi Valley, so that no estimate of losses deduced from the statistics of England or Western Europe will furnish fair data for estimating our own in case of a general infection of the United States. England, with 6,000,000 head of cattle, has lost $10,000,000 a year for forty years past. We, with 37,000,000 head, should therefore lose $60,000,000, plus the extra losses con- sequent on the spread of the plague in the semi-tropical sum- mers of Texas, the Mississippi Valley, and the plains, where the great bulk of our cattle is kept. Present Losses from the Lung Plague in the United States. — Of the present losses from the Lung Plague in the United States two items may be quoted as being more tangible than such incidental ones as the losses of pasture, fodder, build- ings, current business, and prospective increase of stock. The items referred to are the depreciation of our beef in the English market and the losses by death in our home herds. The difference in value of American cattle when, as at pres- ent, compulsorily slaughtered at the port of debarkation, and when they can be moved inland and held for a market, — 56 — is variously stated at from $7 to $10 per head in favor of the latter. From the port of New York alone the shipments during 1879 amounted to 95,380 head, which are therefore depreciated in value to the extent of $800,000. If we add the exports from Portland, Boston, Philadelphia, and Balti- more there must be a gross depreciation of no less than $1,500,000 per annum. The yearly losses from deaths in our herds cannot be less than $500,000 more, so that in these two items alone we are probably losing $2,000,000 per annum, though the plague has invaded but the merest frag- ment of our immense territory. Mediate Contagion. — As our observations throw some light on this disputed question, a few illustrations may be given t<> show that direct contact is not essential to infection. Infection through the Air. — It lias long been noticed that successive victims in the same buildings are not attacked in the order in which they stand, but that the plague usually passes over two or three cattle to strike down a more sus- ceptible subject at a greater distance. We have also no- ticed repeatedly that when the 'cattle of different owners stood under the same roof, hut separated by a board parti- tion, that infection spread quickly from the one to the other, though it was impossible for them to come in contact. And yet a free dilution in the air seems to destroy the contagium in a very short distance. At Ridgewood, Queens Co., in the spring and summer of 1879 the herd of T. Ryan was almost exterminated' by the Lung Plague, as many as twenty head Inning perished ; while over the fence, in a building not over forty feet distant, the herd of George Van Size kept healthy throughout. Roll quotes instances of in lection at fifty and one hundred feet, and others at two hundred and even three hundred ; but in such cases there is always the possibility of the conveyance of the virus on light objects like paper, hay, straw, etc., blown by the wind, or on the surface of men or animals. Contagion through ?/i< : Clothes of Attendants. — 1. In Feb- ruary, 1879, Ditmas Jewell, of Fast New York, interested — 57 — himself in the cause of the suffering milkmen, and daily visited several of the worst infected stables in the locality. He also paid a good deal of attention to a favorite Jersey cow of his own, which was kept in a stable surrounded by spacious grounds and was never allowed to go out. In the end of March she sickened and died of Lung Plague. 2. Joseph Hyde, Seventieth St. and North River, New York, had lost twenty cows in four months, in the spring and summer of 1879, and was allowed to put up a new sta- ble for fresh cows, two lots distant from his former one, on condition that separate attendants should be furnished for the two stables. The fresh cows were all from healthy country districts and the stable was built of new wood, yet a month later the plague showed itself in that as well. It was then found that the attendants in the different stables had helped each other in the owner's absence. As showing that the infection was not conveyed through the air, the lot between Hyde's two stables was occupied by the house and cow stable of a different party, whose stock kept sound throughout. 3. George Youngblood, Little Britain, Orange Co., sent a cow to New York by the Newburg boat May 29. She never left the pier, nor came in contact with other cattle except those coming by the boats from healthy country dis- tricts, but, like others, was handled by milkmen and dealers. She was taken back by the Newburg boat the same day she arrived (May 30), and two weeks later she sickened with Lung Plague, and conveyed it to Youngblood's herd. The cow was sent back to New York for sale September 30, when she was killed as a diseased animal, and nearly a third of one lung was found to be necrosed and encysted. (For other cases see my Report to General Patrick, presented to the Legislature.) To deny the spread of the disease by this channel, as 1ms been done, and to act upon this, is but to offer facilities for the plague to extend its ravages, and to render doubtful or impossible its final extinction. 5 — 58 — Contagion through Infected Buildings. — Beside the fact, notorious in all countries where Lung Plague prevails, that dealers' stables arc the grand foci of infection, and that animals sold by dealers are the most prolific causes of its spread, it may be well to name one or two instances in which empty infected stables served to propagate the pestilence. 1. John Midler, Farmingdale, L. I., on January 1, 1879, got from a dealer a cow which soon sickened and died. Soon after he bought another cow, which speedily died in her turn. Later lie got a calf from the healthy stock of a neighbor ; but it, too, sickened and died, and the stable was left tenantless. 2. Messrs. Niedlinger, Schmidt &> Co., 406 E. Twenty- seventh St., New York, lost a cow from Lung Plague Au- gust, 1878. Three months later another cow was placed in the same stable, soon began to do poorly, and after a whole year (August 18, 1879) died of Lung Plague. 3. Patrick Green, West Farms, N. Y., entered the Bleach in April, 1879, and stocked it with thirty-two cows fresh from a healthy district. About May 1 sickness appeared in las herd, and then he learned that the tenant of the previous year had lost heavily with Lung Plague. Eleven of the stock had to be sacrificed before the disease was finally arrested. 4. Mr. John H. Cheever purchased of Mr. Odell a farm at Yonkers, on which a cow had died of Lung Plague one month before. In the end of September, 1879, he moved on fifteen favorite Jerseys from the Tilly Foster Mine farm, near Brewsters, placing them in the infected stables. Soon the plague attacked the Jerseys, and all died or were slaugh- tered. Such cases could be adduced in great number ; but these must suffice to show the urgent necessity for the thorough disinfection of stables, yards, ears, boats of all kinds, load- ing-banks, piers, etc., etc., where infected cattle have been, in order to a permanent extinction of this plague. This disinfection should of course be the more thorough the — 59 — closer the infected building and the greater the accumula- tion of rubbish, fodder, etc., in which the virus may find a resting place. With free exposure to the open air disinfec- tion takes place naturally and early. Contagion through the Food. — 1. Contagion tlirouo-h pastures is exceedingly rare. In the open air and in cli- mates with frequent alternations of rain and sunshine, at seasons when the virus, like other organic matter, is not locked up in frost, a spontaneous disinfection takes place in a very short period. But with continuous frost or with a very dry, rainless climate the infection may be preserved for an indefinite length of time. A striking instance of the conveyance of the infection through pastures in a dry cli- mate is furnished in the infection of Australia (page 51). The working oxen put upon the pastures where the sick cattle had been were themselves infected, and became the means of infecting the entire country. The same is unquestionably often re-enacted during the dry seasons of our infected States, on the common or un- fenced pasturages on which the herds of different owners graze successively. It has been a common practice for boys to watch such herds in order to keep them apart and prevent infection ; but as they are allowed to browse successively on the same soil, the virus is transmitted and the disease spreads, in spite of this precaution, precisely as it did at the start of the plague in Australia. The significance of such results cannot be overestimated. It has been amply shown above that the one great cause of the perpetuation of the plague on this continent has been the mingling of cattle on unfenced grounds ; and it is now clear that it is not the mingling alone, but also the pastur- age on the same place successively that is particularly dan- gerous. The contrast in results, as seen on a large scale, is sufficiently important to be quoted. In New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where the use of common unfenced pastur- ages was allowed, the Lung Plague is still very widely prev- alent, after a year's work for its extermination. In New — 60 — York wherever it was possible to prevent such common past- urage the plague was definitely exterminated, though for half of the year lack of means prevented the prosecution of the work of extinction so vigorously as could be wished. Six out of eight infected counties were virtually cleared, and the seventh (Queens Co.) was also purified, except on its border adjoining Brooklyn (Kings Co., the eighth). In Brooklyn alone did the plague continue with little mitiga- tion, for in Brooklyn the Aldermen passed an ordinance authorizing pasturage in common on unfenced lots, in defi- ance of the State law, and abolished the cattle pounds ; and in Brooklyn the police magistrates dismissed delinquents brought before them for violation of the State law, and rep- rimanded the officers who arrested them. The future may be predicted from the past. If the other infected States continue to allow the propagation of the plague by the com- mon use of unfenced pasturages, and to allow cattle of all kinds to mingle and infect each other in their markets, they may spend hundreds of thousands on suppressive measures, but the plague will survive and the nation will continue to lose its millions annually ; whereas the loss now sustained in a single year, if faithfully and intelligently applied, would forever rid the country of the pestilence. If the Brooklyn city officials are to be allowed to defy the law in the future, as in the past, the splendid success of the first year's work outside that plague-spot will not be consummated for the entire commonwealth, but appropriations will be demanded ; and an expensive guardianship must be maintained year after year, with the greatest uncertainty as to the final ex- tinction of the virus. 2. "Swill" That " swill " is not the cause of Lung Plague is well enough known to all who have made a study of the affection. Distillers' and brewers' "swill" is fed in all the large western cities, where the Lung Plague is absolutely unknown. The same is true of swill-fed cattle kept in in- fected districts, but which have never been exposed to con- tagion. For three months in the end of 1879, and three — 61 — more in the beginning of 1880, over 700 western steers were kept in the Blissville distillery stables that had proved so fatal in the spring of 1879. The stables had meanwhile been thoroughly disinfected, and the greatest precautions were taken to shut up all channels of infection, and not one of these steers contracted Lung Plague. Yet the popular prejudice against swill is not devoid of foundation. To the distillery stables gravitate cattle from all regions, for fatten- ing. If Lung Plague exists in the district such stables therefore become early infected, just as dealers' stables do in the same localities. In the swill stables the warmth and close, reeking atmosphere greatly favor the preservation of the virus and its conveyance from beast to beast. But it is further to be noted that in these stables the stock is arranged in rows, and a whole row of fifteen to twenty cattle is fed from the same trough. The trough is gently inclined from end to end, and the liquid swill runs into the trough from a pipe at the one end, and slowly passes in front of each ani- mal in succession to the other. If a sick beast stands in such a row, the infected breath blows on the passing liquid and the virulent expectorations drop into the feed, to be car- ried on, to be inhaled and swallowed by all susceptible ani- mals farther on in the same row. It may be that the virus introduced into the stomach is harmless, as implied in a sol- itary experiment at the Alfort Veterinary College ; yet as cattle breathe on their food there cannot be a doubt that the virulent matter in swill, as in other fodder, makes its way to the lungs in the breath, and that infection from this food takes place in the ordinary way. The Lung Plague Peculiar to Bovine Animals. — While cattle of all kinds are susceptible to the virus of Lung Plague, this susceptibility is limited to the bovine family. In the zoological gardens of Europe buffaloes and yaks, etc., have fallen victims to it, but in no instance has it been shown to extend to the smaller ruminants (sheep, goats, deer). This is the more remarkable that the small ruminants have often mingled freely in pastures and even in close build- — 62 — ings with cattle suffering- from this complaint. In this respect, therefore, the Lung Plague differs essentially from the other great scourges of cattle — Rinderpest, Aphthous Fever, Anthrax, Tuberculosis, and Milk-sickness. I.\< i i'.ation, its Limits. — The occasionally prolonged pe- riod of incubation, during which the virus remains dormant in the system of an infected animal, is one of the most redoubtable features of this disease, and demands from the official sanitarian a series of precautions which are not re- quired in other cattle plagues. While incubation may be as short as six days in hot weather, it may none the less be extended to sixty days (Delafond, Verheyen), sixty-seven days (French Commission), ninety days (Reynal), or 104 (Roll, Gamgee). In support of the last-named period three remarkable in- stances of the infection of new countries may be named. Norway. — In I860 some Ayrshire cattle were imported to the Agricultural College of Aas, direct from Scotland. Three months later some of them were noticed sick, and the country was only saved by the slaughter of all native stock with which they had come in contact, and the long seclusion of the surviving Ayrshires, so that danger of infection from them might he obviated. Australia. — In 1858 a Shorthorn cow that had been three months at sea was landed at Melbourne, and a fortnight later she manifested the Lung Plague. This was 104 days after shipment from England, and the nature of the disease is only too sadly certified by the steady extension of the plague over Australia from the date in question. South Africa. — In 1854 a Dutch bull was landed at Cape Town, after Inning passed two months at sea. Six weeks after his arrival he showed signs of Lung Plague, and from him the pestilence spread to the whole of South Africa, and still prevails. Here again was an interval of 104 days from the time of shipment in Holland to the first manifestation of the disease in Cape Colony. To these may be added some instances that happened — 63 — under our own observation, and the first two of which are as clear and unequivocal as the instances above mentioned. In East Lothian, Scotland, in 1855, a farmer who had had his stock clear of disease for years, purchased a cow, which for three months after purchase kept in low condi- tion, and occasionally knuckled over at the fetlock as if rheumatic, but fed and milked well. At the end of ninety days she was taken with Lung Plague, and conveyed it to all the cattle on the farm. There was no other Lung Plague in the neighborhood, nor had there been for a length of time. Josiah Rogers, of Sag Harbor, Suffolk Co., N. Y., whose herd had been exposed by contact with a cow from an in- fected herd, but which did not herself show sickness, turned a cow out on the grounds of Montauk April 28, 1879. On August 10 she was found suffering from the Lung Plague, and was slaughtered in consequence. This was 104 days after she had left the home herd, and probably 110 or more after she had taken in the germs of the plague. The cow would not have been left to sicken on Montauk but that she was entered in the name of Mr. Rogers' son, and her con- nection with an exposed herd thus failed to be recognized. Four more of Mr. Rogers' herd suffered at home, and one after it had been sold and removed to Old Westburg, Queens Co., the sale having been made before we had any knowledge of disease in Suffolk Co. This cow sickened forty-nine days after she had left Rogers' place. Messrs. Kiedlinger, Schmidt & Co., 406 East Twenty- seventh St., New York, had a cow die of Lung Plague August, 1878. Three months later a fresh cow was put in the same stable (without disinfection). She did poorly since, and August 18, 1879, was found to have Lung Plague and was sacrificed. A case like this is inconclusive, as we cannot tell the date of infection from the contaminated stable ; but in the continued unthrif tiness it bears a striking resemblance to the Scotch case quoted above, and if it can- not be advanced as an incubation of nine months, it shows — 64 — the great danger of passing as sound animals that have been in an infected and uncleansed building, though no act- ive disease may have been shown there for many months. John McGuigen, 173d St. and Central Avenue, New- York, purchased in July, 1879, a fresh cow which milked well but looked unthrifty for five months. He had had no Lung Plague before, and purchased no new cows in the interval, yet in the end of November, 1879, she sickened and died a most characteristic case of the plague. These two last cases are not advanced as proof of such protracted incubation, for in an infected city it is possible that the virus was conveyed to them by visitors. Yet their continued unthriftiness, so like what appears in certain other eases of prolonged incubation or delayed development of the plague, makes them specially suggestive, and should make observers watchful for other cases in which the incu- bation may possibly have exceeded the present certified limit of 104 days. Official Action in View of such Prolonged Incubation. — Seeing that the germs may be carried in the system of the infected animal unseen and undetectable for 104 days (fif- teen weeks), it follows that, to secure stock against danger from a single animal coming from an infected district, such animal should be secluded in quarantine under special attend- ants for this period of time. In the case of a single animal arriving from a foreign country, he should be detained at the port or landing until the expiry of fifteen weeks from the date of shipment from the foreign port. With herds more latitude maybe given ; for if infection should be pres- ent it is almost certain that the incubation will be shorter in some, and thus symptoms will be shown at an earlier date. Yet a period of detention of ninety days cannot be safely abridged. In case of the transportation of cattle from infected States and districts a quarantine for at least the same length of time is essential, while in the case of single animals it cannot be considered as protective unless it has been extended to lot days. — 65 — As the different States have not recognized the need of veterinary sanitary specialists to direct their suppressive measures, the most egregious blunders in this respect have been committed in practice. In the autumn of 18V 9 two herds of cattle from infected Holland were entered at the port of New York, examined by the New Jersey officials, and at once sent on to Illinois to mingle with herds from which sales were being constantly made, and even to be carried around and exhibited at vari- ous State fairs. The same New Jersey authorities kept on their frontier inspectors with instructions to examine all cattle coming from the infected regions of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, to turn back all the diseased, but to allow the sound to enter. It was well, truly, to shut out the actu- ally sick ; but where was the protection when cattle from infected herds, and bearing diseased germs which would not manifest themselves for one to three months to come, were allowed free entrance? In Pennsylvania the attention of the officials seems to have been confined to the quarantining of infected herds and the slaughter of the incurably sick, and there is reason to believe that in many cases the quarantine was raised at far too early a date. In Pennsylvania, as in New Jersey, store and fat cattle from all quarters — infected and otherwise — were admitted together or successively into the same stock- yard for sale. In short, suppressive measures were largely restricted to the dealing with herds after they had become infected, while the main sources of the pestilence, the cattle coming from infected districts and those sold in infected markets, were left free to carry disease into new herds. To crown this series of blunders, the present officials of New Jersey threaten those of New York with litigation in the Supreme Court of the United States, with the view of forcing the latter to admit New Jersey store cattle into the New York markets. Had these officials had an intimate acquaintance with every herd in New Jersey for six months — 66 — past, there would have been a shadow of reason in their course ; but, having just come into control of the veterinary sanitary work, the best construction that can be put upon their course is that they are wofully ignorant of the subject, and are judging this disease from some supposed but unreal analogy with certain plagues of men, in which incubation does not extend over a few days. Some of the officials in question claim special credit for husbanding the country's money, and it is claimed that Pennsylvania has expended less than $3,000 in indemnities for slaughtered cattle. No reflection could be more con- demnatory of their system. In place of a vigorous plan of extinction founded on an intimate knowledge of the plague, and which bars all channels for its further diffusion, while the infection that is already in existence is being remorse- lessly stamped out, they adopt measures that are defective at every step ; and, while they restrict the pestilence at one point, they actually favor its spread to other parts of their territory and that of their neighbors. They cut down a few shoots that have already grown up into plants, but pay no attention to the incessant sowing of the same noxious seed going on all around them. The)' save a few thousand dol- lars to the treasuries of their respective States, but in doing SO they are perpetuating the Lung Plague on the continent at a present cost of $2, 000,000 per annum to the nation (see page 56), and they are every day endangering the spread of the plague to our Southern and Western cattle ranges at a prospective loss of $60,000,000 per annum (see page 55). An economy which puts men who are unacquainted with a plague in charge of the measures to be carried out for its extermination is the most reprehensible misappropriation of public money, since it leads the people to believe that all necessary precautions are being taken, while in fact it is but maintaining a heavy expense with no adequate result. Tendency to the Encysting ok Dead Masses of Lung. — The limits allotted to this article will not allow a consid- eration of the distinctive symptoms and pathological lesions — 67 — of this disease (for this see my Lung Plague, or my Report for 1879); but there is one pathological feature of this com- plaint with such all-important bearings that it cannot be passed over unnoticed : This is the constant tendency to the death of large portions of the lung by the plugging of its blood-vessels, and to the inclosnre of such necrosed masses in a complete fibrous cyst formed by the organization of the surrounding exudation. The blood-vessels leading to a par- ticular group of lobules become implicated in the inflamma- tion even to their internal coats ; the blood contained within them immediately coagulates ; the normal circulation in such parts ceases ; the blood that filters into their capillaries from those adjacent loses its liquid portion by quick transudation through the coats of the vessels, so that they are left filled to repletion with blood-globules only ; the circulation and life in such parts cease, and around their margin where the blood still circulates the exudation is slowly built up into fibrous tissue, forming a complete and unbroken envelope in case of recovery The imprisoned mass of dead lung, com- pletely excluded from contact with air and aerial germs, does not putrefy, and never exhales a septic odor. It under- goes a slow metamorphosis through its contained cells and granules into a purulent liquid, which is absorbed with equal tardiness. The liquefactive metamorphosis commences at the surface, separating the dead mass from the sac, so that it appears for the future as a great solid nucleus floating in a variable amount of purulent fluid. When large masses are encysted in this way it may be over a year before the whole has been liquefied and removed, and not unfrequently after nine months the outline of lobules, air-tubes, blood-vessels, and nerves can still be traced with ease in the necrosed lung. The important bearing of this is related to the lack of all putrefaction or other important changes in the mass of ne- crosed lung, which, in the absence of such metamorphosis, remains an encysted mass of infecting material so long as it continues solid and unchanged. To the average mind — and even to the medical one who has made no special study of — 68 — this disease — the danger even of infection seems past when the patient has for some time resumed its appetite, rumina- tion, milking, natural breathing, and, above all, its disposi- tion to lay on fat. Yet the majority of patients that have apparently recovered carry within their chests the encysted necrosed masses above described ; and so long as these remain they cannot be considered otherwise than as exceed- ingly dangerous to other stock. It is true that the bearers of these encysted masses will often stand for months beside other cattle without infecting them ; but it is none the less true that each bears within its chest a sealed-up store of infection, and there is only wanted a breach or change in the surrounding fibrous envelope to allow the deadly virus to escape. Instances of Infection from Encysted Necrosed Luna. — Charles Reeves, Success, Suffolk Co., N. Y., bought two calves from the infected Isaac Billard herd about January, 1879. They did badly. In June he lost several animals in- fected from these, and on July 19 I visited his place and found a cow, a steer, and a calf infected from the same source. George Patrick, Patterson, Putnam Co., purchased a cow in February, 18*79, which sickened in April, but recovered. Others died in June, July, and August. On Sept. 15 I found four sick and had them disposed of ; and Oct. 15, when the whole herd was slaughtered, the cow that had recovered in April was found to carry still a solid encysted mass as large as an egg. This is more interesting as showing the long re- tention of the encapsuled mass, even after a very mild case, than as positive proof of the infection from this source. II. Braun, Lorimer St., Brooklyn, had a yearling heifer that, had been kept in the Blissville distillery stables prior to their quarantine in Feb., L879. Her infection, therefore, dated back to January. July 26 he applied for a per- mit to send this heifer to the country, but on examina- tion she was found to carry a large mass of encysted lung. She was sent to the slaughter-house, being in line condition, — 69 — and a large encysted mass was found as expected. On August 22 a fine Shorthorn cow that had been sent from a healthy district through our inspection yards direct to Braun's stable was found very ill with Lung Plague, and had to be slaughtered. In place of furnishing further cases of my own it may be well to quote one from another source confirmatory of mine. In the Mecueil de Medecine Veterinaire, March, 1879, M. Rabotiam records the case of an ox supposed to have chronic bronchitis, and brought from a stable where Lung Plague formerly prevailed, transmitting the disease to the healthy stock of his purchaser. The dangers from animals bearing these encysted masses are hardly less than from those still in the incubative stage of the disease. Be it understood that many cattle that bear such masses have natural pulse, temperature, and breathing, will lay on flesh, or yield as many as fifteen quarts of milk per day ; and it can be easily perceived how such animals will change hands, and pass into fresh and susceptible herds without any consciousness of wrong on the part of either buyer or seller. Such animals may any day carry infection from State to State, or from the infected States to our un- fenced Territories, where, owing to the constant commin- gling of herds, it will be impossible to eradicate the virus. Many such cases can with difficulty be detected even by the most carefully conducted professional examination ; much less are they likely to be recognized in the hurried examina- tions that can be given to a large number of animals at a frontier. In short, these chronic cases with encysted ne- crosed lung and the long period of incubation of the Lung Plague condemn absolutely the passage of animals on a mere examination and without the attendant quarantine of three months. Cattle for immediate slaughter may be passed under such precautions as shall prevent their contact with or proximity to store cattle ; but the passage of store cattle on examination only betrays the unfitness for his office of him who prescribes it. — 70 — The same considerations show the utter inadequacy of any measures that fail to reach every infected locality and every infected herd, and to prevent the shipment of any cattle from any infected district. To have suppressive measures effectual, either there must be a central controlling Federal authority that will grapple intelligently with the plague in every State, district, and herd simultaneously, and thus prevent its spread ; or every State bordering on an infected one, or having maritime com- mercial relations with it, must impose a three months' quar- antine on all cattle from such infected State. The folly of the present system is stupendous, and the common markets for store and fat cattle from infected and healthy districts, the passage of animals from an infected State on a simple examination, and the threats of one class of officials of forc- ing upon their neighbors the stock from their infected ter- ritory furnish a spectacle that is a disgrace to the intelli- gence and science of the nineteenth century, and a travesty on all national sanitation. Vai.uk of Fumigations with Sulphurous Acid. — As a disinfectant for Lung Plague no better agent exists than sulphurous acid, produced by burning flowers of sulphur in the contaminated building. But the value of this agent is perhaps even greater as a prophylactic agent for cattle that have been exposed to the contagion. I shall quote but three illustrative cases, and refer the reader for further evidence to my Report for 1879. Timothy Ryan, Ridgewood, L. I., kept on an average twenty-five cows, and had lost twenty head within the year. The stables were so thoroughly saturated with infecting materials that our own inspectors and eminent veterinarians from a distance concluded that it would be impossible to disinfect the premises. The wooden flooring was replaced by new, a quantity of filth was removed from beneath, the soil was sprinkled with quicklime, and the building white- washed with chloride of lime. Whitewashing had been resorted to before, but with no good result. On June 15, — 71 — 1879, he commenced fumigating the cows twice daily with sulphurous acid, and, although he had some fresh and sus- ceptihle cows in the stable, not one more contracted the plague. Patrick Green, West Farms, New York Co., entered in- fected premises in April, and by July had lost by the plague twelve out of a herd of thirty -two head. After the sickness appeared the cattle were kept at pasture to avoid the in- fected buildings and secure pure air ; but as the plague con- tinued, I now directed him to turn the herd into the build- ings for half an hour twice a day, and make them breathe as much sulphur smoke as they could bear without violent coughing. From that time not one more case of the plague developed. James Cowan, Yonkers, in April, 1879, bought a cow from Hog Hill, which infected his herd. By July 12 he had lost eight out of a herd of twenty-three, notwithstanding that they were kept in the open field and fed tonics (including sulphate of iron). I now enjoined him to turn them into the stables twice daily, and fumigate for half an hour each time with sulphurous acid. This was done, and not another case of sickness occurred. A wide experience enables me to place a high value on this measure as an auxiliary to the slaughter of the sick and the purification of the premises by aqueous disinfectants. To its proper application certain conditions are indispensa- ble : 1. All virulent matters in the buildings, drains, manure heaps, etc., must be destroyed. 2. No animal with manifest disease must be retained in the herd, nor have access to it or its pasturage. Chronic cases with necrosed encysted lungs must be removed, as well as the acutely diseased. 3. The attendants should not be allowed near diseased animals. 4. The buildings must be close enough to confine the fumes of sulphurous acid so that it may be breathed of sufficient strength for half an hour in succession each time. 5. The administrator must be intelligent and reliable, and must shut himself in with the animals, so that he may watch the — 72 — result and push the production of the gas as far as the ani- mals can breathe without irritation, and at the same time be ready to open doors and windows and admit the air prompt- ly in case of an overdose. Suppression of Lung Plague on the Large Common Pasture of Montauk. — On May 7, 1879, while on a visit to infected herds in Suffolk Co. I learned that some yearlings from the same held that had infected the county had been turned out on the great pasture of Montauk, a stretch of 12,000 acres at the east end of Long Island, on which were 1,100 head of cattle, the property of about 200 owners. As the yearlings from the infected herd were alleged to be sound we had no power to act until the passage of a bill then pending, which empowered us to deal with animals that had been exposed to infection. On May 21 and 22 twenty head of cattle — all that could be traced to the in- fecting herd or to herds with which cattle from the infect- ing one had mingled — were killed, about half of those that were opened showing the disease in the chronic form. Two more cases of sickness occurred on the range on duly 15 and August 10 respectively, both in cattle that had had commu- nication with the infecting herd, though this information had been withheld at the earlier slaughter. Aside from them the whole herd had escaped. The reasons of our unprecedented success in Montauk are manifestly these : 1. The Montauk pasture was large enough to allow ten acres to every animal. 2. The cattle belonged to many different owners, in lots of from one to fifty head. The cattle of dif- ferent owners, being strange to each other, herded widely apart, so that there was virtually no chance of infection from the herd of one owner to that of another. 3. They were never yarded nor turned into buildings en masse, so as to concentrate the virus. 4. 'There was no meeting at any common watering place, for ponds abound all over the range. 5. Whenever a herd was known to have had any communication with cattle from the infected herd, such herd was slaughtered without exception. 0. The two cattle — 73 — that suffered later in the season were the only cattle from their respective owners, and had never herded with any- other stock on the range. Had these cattle been crowded more closely on a smaller pasture ; had they pastured successively on the same ground ; had they been frequently rounded up, yarded, or stabled ; had they all been watered from a common pond or trough ; had they been accustomed to meet to eat grain or salt from troughs ; or had they become acquainted so as to congregate at night in one vast herd, as occurs on Montauk later in the season, it would have been impossible to prevent infection. The prevalence of this plague for ages on the unfenced steppes of the Old World, and for decades on the open ranges of South Africa and Australia, in defiance of all the efforts of owners and governments, shows only too clearly that in all but very exceptional conditions the advent of this plague to such unfenced territory means its spread and permanent prevalence in such a district. It is but repeating on a large scale what has for thirty-seven years preserved and extended the infection on our own eastern seaboard, and what must continue to maintain it until common pastur- age is abolished. Our Montauk triumph gives no hope of the extermination of the plague from our great grazing lands in case they should become infected, so that the immi- nent risk of infecting these means the risk of imposing a perpetual annual tax on the nation of $60,000,000 and up- ward. Results of One Year's Labor. — In the course of the year we have caused the slaughter of 1,400 cattle that had either developed the Lung Plague or had been exposal to its infection ; we have abolished common pasturages in all infected districts excepting one (Brooklyn, where circum- stances prevented this) ; we have controlled the movement of cattle in all infected districts, and have virtually rooted out the plague from seven counties, leaving but one (Brook- lyn and suburbs) in which the affection still prevails. While a multitude of details were needful for each dis- 6 — 74 — trict, it will be instructive to notice the main restrictions in force in New York city, where the disease was suppressed, as compared with Brooklyn, where it still remains to be dealt with. By July 1, 1879, we had perfected arrangements to receive fresh cows and other store cattle, from healthy districts only, into new inspection yards from which all other stock were excluded, and to allow no other animals to be distributed as store cattle in or from New York. Pasturage was allowed in inclosed ground only where herd would be safely secluded from herd. The police seconded our efforts, so that no cat- tle could be moved on the streets without a special permit, gi anted after inspection of the herd to which such belonged. Dealers 1 stables, which in such localities soon become simple pest-houses, were abolished; no cows were allowed to leave city stables except for slaughter ; and, as the fountain of in- fection was thereby stopped, every subsequent step made in dealing with disease in individual herds was a decided and permanent gain. New infections were exceedingly rare, and the old ones only had to be stamped out. With such measures success was assured. I urged strongly that Brooklyn should be put under a similar system ; and had this been resorted to there can be no doubt that the results would have been similar in that city, and that the State of New York would have been to-day prac- tically free from Lung Plague. But the prospective lack of means, the existing opposition of the city magnates and mag- istrates, and other considerations which need not be men- tioned here stood in the way. The adoption of the approved measures was deferred until there should be less to hinder; and, although money has at last been appropriated by the Legislature, three months have elapsed without any satisfac- tory movement in this direction. With regard to this it need only be said that any ostensible economy that entails delay in the extinction of the disease is the most wasteful prodi- gality. The perpetuation of a force of officials and inspect- ors becomes much more expensive than the execution of the — 75 — work in a sharp and decisive manner and in a much shorter period of time ; the maintenance of the plague in the in- fected district leads to a continuous and, in the end, a far greater outlay in indemnities for cattle slaughtered ; the continued interference with the normal channels of home trade heightens the burden in a way that cannot easily be estimated ; the persistence of the plague loses to the nation $1,500,000 a year on our exports to England ; and, finally, every day of delay endangers the infection of the Middle States and of the Western and Southern grazing ground, which would perpetuate the plague forever, and entail an annual tax equal to that imposed by the late war. Already we see the evil effects of a relaxation of efficient work in other parts of New York than Brooklyn. When the appropriation was made in February I at once took measures to increase the veterinary staff and actively resume the aggressive work that had been so long and injuriously delayed. But orders were received to reduce the force of inspectors still further, and at the same time the system of distributing fresh cows and other store cattle from the in- spection yards only was seriously relaxed ; and though there is as yet little time for more than the incubation of the plague, cases have appeared in fresh cows taken into sound stables in New York and Brooklyn, and Staten Island, which has been sound for over a year, has again become extensive- ly diseased. — 76 — XIII. FIELD EXPERIMENTS WITH VARIOUS CROPS. By Prof. I. P. Roberts. A. Experiments with Wheat. — All quantities given, whether of manure, seed, or crop, are given for the acre, unless other- wise specified. I. Wheat — Different Fertilizers. 1874-5. — Plots 1 acre in size. Treatment. 16 tons farmyard manure, moderately well rotted, applied on surface and harrowed in 100 bushels lime ashes from lime-kiln, applied on surface ; cost 15 cents per bushel 200 pounds Ralston's superphosphate, drilled with wheat. . . 200 pounds Woodruff & Chamberlain's superphosphate, drilled with wheat Nothing 200 pounds Phillips's improved superphosphate, drilled with wheat Yield. Pounds. 561.5 603 648.5 441.5 The season was poor and the winter severe, and many pieces of wheat were plowed up. The soil was clayey ; the clover and timothy sod was plowed in July ; the seed (Claw- son) was drilled September 8 and 9. Land in fine order. All the plots were sowed to timothy a few days after the wheat was sowed. The great injury to wheat which oc- curred in March permitted the timothy to make a very rank growth, especially on plot No. 1, where farm manures were applied ; from this fact the yield of No. 1 was diminished far more than that of any other. The increased growth of the grass on this plot over the others was very noticeable the next year. II. Wheat by the Lois- Weedon System. 1874. — This experi- ment was tried on a field of clayey land, which in 1873 pro- — 77 — duced oats, without manure, and in 1872 and for several years previous was a blue-grass pasture, and considered very poor ; it was in a bad, lumpy condition after the oat crop of 1873. It was summer fallowed in 1874, and not manured. The plot, 20§ rods long, was cut up into strips 5% feet broad, which were numbered 1, 2, 3, etc. The odd strips were drilled and the even strips cultivated ; the follow- ing year, as 'will be seen further on, the even strips were sowed, and odd strips cultivated. The ground was was in good condition when sowed with Clawson wheat at the rate of two bushels. These experiments were conducted with a view to ascertaining the effect of superior culture without manures on poor lands. By this alternate method each plot was under summer fallow every alternate year. Yield First year, 1874-5, season poor, 158 lbs. " Seoond " 1875-6, " fair, 369 lbs. " Third " 1876-7, " superior, 694lbs. " Fourth " 1877-8, " fair, 637 lbs. No wheat was sown on these plots in the fall of 1878 ; in the summer of 1879 all plots were given a thorough sum- mer fallow ; the odd numbers are now in wheat. III. Wheat — Different Methods of Seeding. soil, etc., were the same as in I. Treatment. Yield. bu. lbs. 1 Drilled, 2 bushels, 24 55 2 Broadcast, 2 bushels, 22 30 3 Drilled, 3.5 bushels, 20 50 4 « 3 ,. 20 50 5 2.5 " 16 30 6 " 2 11 30 7 " 1.5 " 4 5 8 " 1 " — — 9 " .5 " — — 1874-5.— The Plot No. 1 was nearest to, and plot No. 9 farthest from, a north and south fence ; as the distance from the fence in- creased, the exposure to high winds increased. Therefore they shoidd be compared by couplets or triplets, rather than by extreme numbers. The plots were 0.1 of an acre each. — 78 IV. Wheat — Different Methods of Seeding and Manuring. 1875-6. The field and arrangement of plots were the same as in III, except that the numbers were reversed, and the thin seeding was next to the fence. Treatment. Drilled, 2 bushels, 2 bushels plaster. 2 2 " 2 3 2.25 2 Broadcast, 2 bushels, Drilled, 1.5 " 1 no fertilizer. 200 pounds superphosphate Yield. bu. lbs. •ill W 18 10 •>■■'. 30 28 '20 21 15 •v IB 30 23 ,-,i) * Protected by fence and snow. Germinating Power of Old Wheat. 1874. — Two hundred varieties from the museum, which had been five years from England, were sowed and all failed to germinate. These varieties had been kept unthreshed in the museum under the most favorable circumstances. VI. Wheat — Different Methods of Seeding or Culture, Differ- ent Manuring and Varieties. 1876-7. — Plots 0.1 of an acre. The field was the same as in IV. Every other drill mark in plot No. 1 was hoed out, leaving the drills sixteen inches apart, and really but one bushel per acre of seed. Three hoeings in all were given to this plot. The quality of plot 13 was not nearly so good as of 14. The ground was plowed twice after the previous crop of wheat, with liberal top-culture. — 79 — Treatment. bushels, drilled, hoed plastered Sept. 6, 300 lbs Stockbridge fertilizer, 270 lbs. nothing superphosphate, 355 lbs nothing i.-j- broadcast mulched with straw new variety from Cayuga Co.; donor unknown . Clawson Yield. bu. lbs. 24 20 26 5 28 50 28 25 40 24 10 18 10 24 30 25 30 24 45 25 26 24 20 VII. Wheat — Different Methods of Seeding or Culture, Differ- ent Manuring or Varieties. 1877-8. — Plots -^ ot " illi acre. The ground was clayey and had been in wheat the three preceding years. Plots 4, 5 and 6 were left without manure' for the purpose of testing the uniformity of the soil. Plots whose numbers and yield are not given were discarded. Treatment. 9 pecks, 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 Selected 5 pecks, 9 " 9 " no fertilizer 400 pounds Lister ground bone 400 pounds Crocker's Buffalo superphosphate no fertilizer subsoiled, no fertilizer 400 pounds plaster 400 pounds Preston's superphosphate no fertilizer 400 pounds Sol. Pacific guano phosphate no fertilizer seed, i ooo pounds Sol. ) " s Pacific guano [■ " ( phosphate. ) no fertilizer broadcast drilled Yield. bu. lbs. 28 02 ; 29 52 31 52 22 48 21 36 22 16 16 32 24 40 22 30 24 24 40 23 52 29 30; ; 21 12 22 24 24 VIII. Wheat — Different Fertilizers and Methods of Culture. 1878-9. — Plots -g 1 ^ of an acre. Seed was sown at the rate of two bushels per acre, unless otherwise designated, except in plot 30, which was actually seeded at the rate of one bushel, as half of the drills were hoed out. — 80 — Treatment. Yield. 1.5 bushels of seed, no manure 3 " " " .75 " " " 2 " " " 1.75 " " " 500 pounds soluble Pacific guano Nothing 500 pounds White & Son's superphosphate Nothing 500 pounds Poplein's silicated phosphate 4 bushels of plaster Nothing New variety 800 pounds soluble Pacific guano Nothing 800 pounds Poplein's silicated phosphate 800 pounds soluble Pacific guano and 800 pounds White's superphosphate 14 loads farm manure, 4 plots together 400 pounds salt, 2 plots together 80 bushels lime 400 pounds sulphate of ammonia, applied in fall Nothing 40(i pounds sulphate of ammonia, applied in spring 400 pounds Pacific guano, 400 pounds sulphate of ammonia, applied in fall, and 400 pounds sulphate of ammouia, ap- plied In spring 400 pounds sulphate of ammonia, applied in fall 400 " " " " spring Drilled double width and hoed I'll. ilis. is 20 20 ;,o 19 10 20 20 25 21 40 30 15 50 19 35 22 5 25 23 20 25 25 25 21 40 :'A in 21 40 20 15 20 25 22 5 19 35 is 20 17 30 13 20 IX. Wheat — Summary of Results. — Drilled and Broadcast Sowing:. Drilled. Broadcast. 1875 1876 1877 1878 bu. lbs. 24 55 21 25 30 24 24 bu. lbs. 23 30 18 30 24 45 22 Average, 23 56 % 21 56 % Thick and Thin Seeding. bu. lbs. 1 year, 3% bushels, 20 50 4 years, 3 " 23 23% 4 " 2 " 20 15 2 " •*% and 1% bushels 18 22% 3 " 2 years 1 % bushels and 1 year 1 y t bushels 15 25 l " y x bushel (protected by fence and snow, hence cannot be fairly compared with others) 25 — 81 — Comparison of all plots phosphated for four years with adjoining plots on which no fertilizers were used. bu. lbs. Average of all phosphated plots 21 31% " " adjoining unfertilized plots 22 33 Phosphates do not seem to produce marked results on pine and hemlock lands of drift formation ; results upon similar soils in other localities sustain us in this inference from our experiments. On maple and beech lands of a dif- ferent formation they have produced marked results. Comparison of plots plastered for three years with ad- joining plots unplastered. bu. lbs. Plastered, average 24 33% Not plastered, average 23 41% Comparison of plots hoed for two years with adjoining plots not hoed. bu. lbs. Hoed 18 50 Not hoed 23 10 It must be remembered that while the plots were of the same size, there were twice as many drill marks in the plots not hoed as in the hoed, and consequently twice as much seed upon these plots. B. Experiments with Oats. — All quantities specified relate to the acre. I. Oats — Different Methods of Culture. 1875. — The land was clayey and had been in clover and timothy in 1873 and in corn in 1874. The ground was mellow and in good con- dition when sowed with common white oats, May 1, 1875. Plots were oV of an acre. — 82 Treatment. Broadcast, spring plowed. Drilled, " tall plowed, replowed April 30 " " cultivated with Western Cultivat or April 30 Drilled, spring plowed " not plowed, surface cultivated twice " plowed and subsoiled, May 1 " plowed 5 inches deep, April 30 " plowed 9 inches deep, April 30 " spring plowed, sowed May 1 fall " " " No. pks. Yield. seed. bu. lbs 12 60 18 16 58 14 12 53 21 7 47 26 5 54 6 12 52 19 12 54 6 12 54 6 12 56 10 12 58 14 12 66 30 12 60 18 12 41 14 12 30 26 The straw on plot 14 was larger and the berry plumper and larger than in plot No. 13. These two plots did not adjoin the others ; the soil was a poor clay. II. Oats — Different Methods <>f Culture, Seeding and Fertil- izing. 18*76. — Plots oV of an acre. Treatment. Drill culture Broadcast Unrolled Rolled Plastered Not plastered. . ">o bushels lime. •20(1 pounds salt. Not salted 408 pounds salt COO " " Hoed three times, every alternate drill- mark vacant Not hoed Pecks Variety of Oats. of seed. Yield. bu. lbs. Ovid 12 54 ,i 12 63 " 12 58 16 12 55 4 12 53 8 " 12 46 16 " 12 50 8 " 12 52 16 " 12 44 8 " 16 40 16 " 10 36 24 " 8 36 24 " 14 42 Univ. White, 14 40 16 Waterloo White. 14 46 28 Ov. & W'loo m'x'd 12 41 20 Ovid 12 48 12 .. 12 37 28 " 12 37 16 The University White were ripe .Inly 20 ; the Waterloo White, July 24 ; the Ovid, August 4. Plot No. 18 really had but six peeks per acre, as one-half of the drills were hoed out. — 83 — III. Oats — Different Fertilizers, Varieties of Seed, or Different Cultivation. 1877. — Plots were ^ - of an acre. The ground was clayey and in fine condition. Three bushels of seed per acre were sown, unless otherwise stated ; the seed was put in early, but drilled in too deeply; heavy, cold rains fell in a few days, the ground ran together and baked ; probably not more than one-half of the plants appeared above ground. Plots 13 and 14 were in another field, and sowed under more favorable conditions, except that the soil was much poorer. Treatment. Yield. 400 pounds of Lister Bro's' superphosphate of lime — 400 " " " ground bone 400 " of Crofut & Co.'s Syracuse superphosphate Nothing 400 pounds of Stockhrldge oat manure 400 " refuse salt Nothing 400 pounds of Cayuga plaster Seneca Falls seed, 3 bushels Cornell University seed, 4 bushels " 2 " " " 3 " Subsoiled Not subsoiled bu. lbs 42 ii ■37 31 39 7 34 7 35 15 31 23 28 19 26 23 12 6 35 15 22 11 33 i 38 6 34 14 IV. Oats — Different Fertilizers. 1879. in size. -Plots ^ - of an acre Treatment. 500 lbs. Pacific guano phosphate and 250 lbs. sulphate of ammonia No fertilizer 750 lbs. plaster and 75 lbs. refuse salt No fertilizer " harrowed when about 2 inches high 130 lbs. sulphate of ammonia and 260 lbs. Pacific guano phowphate No fertilizer P'cke of seed Yield. bu. lbs. 41 8 38 29 25 25 22 21 22 6 17 6 26 28 25 20 37 16 39 12 23 14 17 26 — 84 — Nos. 1 and 2 on ground in roots the previous year. Nos. 3 to 6 inclusive in oats the previous year. Nos. 7 to 12 in- clusive were in corn in 1878. Nos. 11 and 12 did not adjoin the others. In studying the table, comparison should be made between plots situated near together, as 1 and 3 or 7 and 10, and not between those situated far apart, as 2 and 11. Oats — Summary of Results. — Averages of Thick and Thin Seeding for Four Years. bu. lbs. 5 pecks per acre 39 29 7 and 8 pecks per acre 41 25 12 " " 42 20 16 " " 42 31 bu. lbs. Two years' average of all plots treated with commercial fertilizers. . . 35 2 Two years' average of unmanured plots 30 4% bu. lbs. Broadoast, 2 years 61 16 Drilled, 2 " 56 bu. lbs. Subsoiled, 2 years 46 19 Not subsoiled, 2 years 48 33 bu. lbs. Bait, 2 years, 4 plots 43 18 Not salted, 2 years, 4 plots 39 7 bu. lbs. Plastered, 2 years, 2 plots 40 Not plastered, 2 years, 2 plots 37 19>£ The results of experiments conducted but one year appear in the previous tables, and a recapitulation would add noth- ing to their clearness. Phosphates, including application, cost on an average about $40 per ton ; plaster, $5 ; salt (refuse), $4.50 ; lime, $8.75. Our experiments and observation lead us to believe that oats drilled early on mellow, clay land, and especially if followed by heavy, cold rains, do not germinate so well as when sowed broadcast. Our drill is the "Farmer's Favorite." — 85 — c. Experiments with Corn. — All quantities, unless otherwise designated, relate to the acre, and as to the crop relate to bushels and pounds of ears, seventy pounds of ears being allowed to the bushel. All plots were separated by one vacant row. All manures, unless otherwise stated, were dropped in the hill and mixed with the soil. 1. Corn — Different Culture, Liming, Snckering. 1875. — Plots 1 to 13 inclusive were planted with Eastern, 8-rowed, yellow corn. In 1874 the ground was in corn, without manure, and in 1872 and 1873 in clover and timothy. The soil was a sandy loam. Treatment. Ridge culture Deep " Shallow " Continuous culture, 7 times... Drilled culture, 1 stalk per foot 5 stalks in a hill 4 stalks in a hill 3 stalks in a hill 2 stalks in a hill Not limed, eastern variety Limed, 200 bushels per acre Not suckered Suckered twice Not limed, western variety 200 bu. lime, western variety . . Yield lbs. per plot. Yield. Sound. Soft. bu. lbs. 352 55 58 10 290 1954 44 15 324 43^ 52 35 362 22 54 60 365^ 18 54 55 369 29 56 60 438 44 68 60 301 % 127 61 15 266 49 45 335 51 55 10 493 57 78 40 338 50 55 30 306 42 49 50 not ful y ripe. 48 55 77 60 II. Corn — Different /Seeding, Culture, and Manuring. 18 70. — The soil was very sandy and gravelly, and suffered from drouth. Four stalks were left in each hill, unless otherwise specified ; the hills were 3.5 feet apart, both ways. The <;orn was cultivated four times and hoed once. — 86 — Treatment. 5 stalks per bill 1 '• " 3 " " 2 " " 2 spoonfuls plaster to hill applied June 5, corn coming up. Not plastered Suckered Not suckered Seed soaked two hours in hot water and rolled in plaster. . . Seed from tips of ears " butts of ears " middle of ears 500 pounds Ralston's superphosphate 500 " Peterson & Son's superphosphate Nothing 500 pounds Bradley's superphosphate Plaster applied June 5 Ashes, 2 spoonfuls per hill, June 5 5 stalks per hill 4 " " 3 " " 2 " " 2 spoonfuls plaster, June 5 Not plastered Seed soaked 12 hours and rolled in plaster Suckered Not suckered Seed from tips of ears ' ' butts of ears 2 spoonfuls ashes, June 5 2 " plaster and ashes, June 5 Peterson & Son's superphosphate, same as 14 Nothing Bradley's superphosphate, same as 16 Nothing Ralston's superphosphate, same as 13 Cayuga plaster, applied in hill, unsoaked seed Syracuse " " on hill, June 5 " " in hill, unsoaked seed Western corn, no fertilizer Yield. bu. lbs 41 40 42 20 42 20 :!4 20 39 30 :;i; 40 38 CO 39 10 41 :,o ill 30 29 10 33 10 38 20 34 20 35 30 :i7 10 28 ■in 38 20 :;s 60 34 60 32 40 29 L0 35 30 29 50 40 40 28 40 33 ;.o 38 20 ■in 40 38 50 37 50 34 20 34 20 36 40 33 50 3 4 GO :-;:< 18 36 30 f.O 34 CO Many of the preceding plots are duplicates, in order to make allowance for variation in soil. Average <>t' duplicates. Plots and Treatment. Nos. 1 and 19, 5 stalks " 2 and 24, 4 •' " 3 and 21, 3 " " 4 and 22. 2 " " 5, 23 and 17, plaster on hill " 6 and 24, no plaster •' 7 and 20, suckered " s and 27, not suckered " 9 and 25, seed soaked and rolled in plaster " 10 and 28, seed from tips " 11 and 29, " '• butts " 12, " " middle " 13 and 30, Ralston's superphosphate " 14 and 32, Peterson & Son's superphosphate " 16 and 34, Bi'adley's superphosphate " 18 and 30, ashes " 2,8,15,24,27,38,35, nothing Yield. bu. lbs 40 38 41 37 30 31 50 34 23 33 10 33 50 36 30 41 16 34 CO 34 CO 33 10 36 40 34 20 36 CO 38 40 35 33 — 87 — III. Corn — Stockbridge Fertilizer. 1 s76. — The soil was clayey. In 1873 the land produced wheat, no manure being used, and in 1874 clover and timothy, mowed for hay in June and for seed in September ; in 1875 it was mowed for hay twice. It was plowed in September, 1875, and replowed May 23, 1876. A plot, numbered 2, of .25 of an acre, received a dressing of 180 pounds of Stockbridge corn manure, said to contain 16 pounds of nitrogen, 19.5 pounds of potash, 7.75 pounds of soluble phosphoric acid, and costing -$6.25 ; it was claimed that this quantity applied to a quarter of an acre would pro- duce 12.5 bushels more than the natural yield. On the two sides of this plot were plots of one-eighth of an acre, num- bered 1 and 3, which were unfertilized. The fertilizer was sowed broadcast after plowing, and harrowed three times before planting. Plot No. 2 contained 1,102 hills, and yielded 1,070.5 pounds of corn in the ear, all of which was good and sound. Plots Nos. 1 and 3 con- tained the same number of hills, were planted, husked and weighed at the same time as No. 2, and weighed 1,071.25 pounds. This also was sound, but not of as good quality nor as highly colored as that of No. 2. The stalks on No. 2 were perceptibly larger than on Nos. 1 and 3, and all through the season had a darker and more luxuriant color. IV. Corn — Different Fertilizers and Culture. 1876. — The land had been in clover and timothy for two years. The soil improved in quality in passing from plots 1 and 17 to the middle of the field. The " Vitative Compound " (plot 12) was received in a 2 oz. package, with directions to dis- solve it in sufficient water for complete immersion of half a bushel of seed, and to soak the seed in this solution 36 to 48 hours. On analysis the substance was found to consist 88 — of lead oxide and zinc sulphate ; it was an evident fraud. The amounts of fertilizers refer to the plots. Treatment. 25 pounds Stockbridge corn manure NothiiiR 20 pounds soluble Pacific guano phosphate 20 pounds Lister Brothers' ground bone 20 " " " superphosphate Nothing 20 pounds Crofut & Co.'s superphosphate Seed soaked 12 hours, rolled in plaster, 1 tablespoonf ul damp plaster in each hill 20 pounds plaster sowed broadcast, harrowed in Nothing 25 pounds 8tockbridge manure, broadcast, harrowed in Seed soaked in " Vitative Compound" Suckered Not suckered, 4 stalks (compare with 13 and 15) 5 stalks a " 2 " Yield. bu. lbs. 25 5 31 5 40 57 48 10 56 10 59 10 58 5 53 55 60 15 51 5 46 20 45 30 51 43 48 48 53 40 47 10 Corn — Different Varieties. 1877. — The soil of the field was poorest at the extreme numbers, growing slightly better as it approached the center, and was a little too gravelly and light for best results. It had been in clover the pre- ceding year. The plots were one-fortieth of an acre each, and were separated from each other by three rows of po- tatoes. Treatment. 8-rowed Yellow, Bates H -rowed One-Hundred-Day Corn 8-rowed reddish tipped from Pennsylvania 8 rowed Gold-drop Western corn acclimated two years s-rowed White Corn, Ayers 8-rowed Yellow, planted with pumpkins every 3d hill 8-rowed Yellow, no pumpkins 8-rowed Cook's Yellow Western Hicks, acclimated four years 8-rowed Yellow, Kates 8-rowed One-Hundred-Day Corn 8-rowed reddish tipped from Pennsylvania 8-rowed Gold-drop Western, acclimated two years 8-rowed White, Ayers 8-rowed Cook's Yellow Western Hicks, acclimated four years Yield. bu. lbs 36 60 36 20 41 30 34 10 36 60 54 20 38 40 45 70 30 69 50 69 10 55 30 55 10 61 30 36 38 10 54 60 33 30 — 89 Average of duplicates. Plots and Kinds of Seed. STiel . Nos. i and 11, Bates seed " 2 and 12, One-Hundred-Day Corn " 3 and 13, Pennsylvania " 4 and 14, Gold-drop " 5 and 15, Western, acclimated two years. " 6 and 16, White, Ayers " 9 and 17, Cook's Yellow " 10 and 18. Western Hicks bu. lbs. 53 45 no 48 20 40 3fi 30 46 15 62 45 51 40 VI. Corn — Different Varieties. 18*76. — These plots adjoined No. 3 ; the preparation of the ground and the culture were the same. Each plot contained three rows of forty hills each, and the ground had heen heavily manured during the previous winter. Treatment. Yield lbs. per plot. Yield. Sound. Soft. 1 ■2 3 4 5 6 141 155 % 130 145% 104 % 131 17 97 37 17 22 11 20 bu. lbs. 73 69 81 28 68 14 76 23 54 60 (is ;,:; Maryland Yellow, from Washington, D. C. 8 rowed reddish tipped from Pennsylvania. u <■ «< <« « but acclimated one year in New York 8-rowed, Bates variety, South Hill, Ithaca.. One-Hundred-Day Holden Corn from Mc- White Ayers from West Hill, Ithaca The two years' experiments in varieties show marked re- sults. The Pennsylvania Red-tipped Corn produced by far the largest yield, and next to it the home-raised eight-rowed yellow. General field culture has proved the superiority of these same varieties over the others. The advantage of care in the selection of seed is thus demonstrated. VII. Corn — Different Combinations of Fertilizers. 1879. — These experiments were suggested by an article and diagram in the Rural New Yorker in the spring of 1879. The upper number indicates the number of the plot ; the second number, the number of pounds of corn in the ear; the third number, the number of pounds of stalks per plot. 7 — 90 The ground was in wheat in 187V with manure, and in clover in 1878; the clover was mowed early (June 18), the ground plowed immediately and drilled to fodder corn. Clover and corn were both good. The corn ground was plowed May 18 and planted May 24, although very dry. Each plot was entirely surrounded by a vacant row and contained thirty-five hills, planted thickly and reduced to four stalks in a hill. To understand the diagram, suppose numbers 57 to 03 inclusive to be a land containing five rows, upon which has been applied twenty pounds Pacific guano ; one vacant row left between it and the next land, upon which has been applied twenty pounds sulphate of ammonia. Sup- pose numbers 1 to 57 north and south to constitute another land, upon which has been applied 10 lbs. muriate of potash ; then No. 36 has had an application of 4" of 20 lbs. of sulphate of magnesia and ^ of K> lbs. of muriate of potash; while No. 1 has had ~ of 10 lbs. of muriate of potash, and No. 3 has had no manure. d» 3g 20 lbs. Pa- cific guaiio. 20 lbs. sul I ill ate of ainmoiiia. Nothing. 20 lbs. sul pliate of magnesia. Nothing. 20 lbs. dis solved bone. 20 lbs. mu riate of potash. 20 lbs. sul phate of soda. Nothing. *.s © «3 --2 ao — | B C5 tA a 3 . 3 Ss 35 * » a ° — q-i .o a — -> 56 58 ^ 1 4:; ', 56 373 7:i' r 52' 2 I:;', 44'; 47', 55', 43 4.5 44 45 46 47 4S 49 44', 58 56 51 45 y 2 44'i isi4 39 y 2 36 3? 3S 39 40 41 42 41 ::o'. 42' 36 36] 41 40' 45', ~2ir 34 :;<;', 42 % 35 ' 30 31 33 :i:i 34 35 38 48 45 ' , 48 35 36; 44 4i;'j . j; m. 32 25 27' 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 4i y 2 22 35 36 34 :;:; 14 44' 29 38 31 36% 16 15 J4i 17 IS 19 20 21 411', :;4', IT', 20 30; 11 36 41 25 ' , 26 42 22', 8 9 io 11 12 13 14 37 32 ::.{', 30" • :;:;>, 29 59 43 37 39 40', 4(1 35 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 20 33 31 ! ■ 27 29 263 51 32 35 ::-' 28 ;,:;'; 291 — 91 It is evident that the complication of the system makes it impossible to draw any definite conclusions from the alm< >st endless combinations which can be made of the diagram. VIII. Corn — Summary of Results. — Comparison of all plots phosphated, for three years, with adjoining plots on which no fertilizers were used. bu. lbs. Phosphated, average 42 10 No fertilizer 40 65 Comparison of all plots plastered, for three years, with adjoining plots not plastered. bu. lbs. Plastered, average 45 3 Not plastered, average 39 6 Comparison of all plots suckered, for three years, with adjoining plots not suckered. bu. lbs. Suckered, average 46 51 Not suckered, average 47 36 Comparison of plots having various numbers of stalks per hill, for three years. bu. lbs. 2 stalks per hill, average 42 10 3 " " " 52 25 4 " " '* 53 3 5 " " " 48 46 Comparison of the average of unfertilized plots which ("/joined both phosphated and plastered plots with them ; and also a comparison of adjoining plastered and phosphated plots. bu, lbs. No fertilizer 40 l Phosphated 42 10 Plastered. 45 92 Experiments with Grass. I). I. Grass — Different Fertilizers. 1876. — The crop consisted of clover and timothy in about equal proportions, and was out June 24. The soil was gravelly, inclining to a sandy loam. The plots were one square rod each, divided accu- rately by 2X4 scantling. The plaster used was from Cayu- ga beds unless otherwise designated. The results should be studied with regard to the yield of grass rather than hay, as the latter cannot be uniformly cured. The quantities of fertilizers relate to the acre, and of the crop to the plot. Treatment. y 2 bushel plaster 1 " " 1 " Syracuse plaster 400 pounds refuse salt r>0 bushels lime 50 bushels wood ashes Nothing 3 bushels plaster, applied three separate times 2 " Syracuse plaster Nothing 200 bushels coal ashes 100 " leached wood ashes 2 " plaster 2 " " applied at two separate times Nothing 40 bushels fresh lime 25 " lime and % bushel plaster 1G% " " 16?3 bushels ashes and 1 bushel plaster. Grass. Hay. 161 96 173 97 K 155 94 >4 149 92 156 95 171 100 133 90 150 93 152 94 140 90 146 92 164 98 155 96 148 94 139 90 y 121 5 128 88 132 84 n. ( 'lover — Different Manures. 187 7. — Th ese plots contained an exact square rod, and were divided by laying down 2x4 scantling, which were fastened together by strips of board nailed on top. The grass was mowed very close after the removal of the scantling, and immediately weighed ; for shrinkage in curing, see No. I, D. At the time of locating the plots they all appeared perfectly uniform. The second growth of clover on the plots treated with ground bone was relished very highly by the cattle, these plots being eaten close to the ground, while the clover on the others was still of a considerable height. 93 1 12 13 iy 2 lbs. Syracuse phosphate. iy 2 lbs. Stockbridge manure. iy 2 lbs. Lister's phos- phate. 117 lbs. clover. 113 lbs. clover. 113 lbs. clover. 2 11 14 1 l / 2 lbs. Lister's ground bone. Nothing. 1 x /> lbs. Pacific guano phosphate. 118 lbs. clover. 130 lbs. clover. 132 lbs. clover. 3 10 15 iy 2 lbs. Lister's super- phosphate. Nothing. 1% lbs. Cayuga plaster. 128 lbs. clover. 129 lbs. clover. 129 lbs. clover. 4 9 16 iy 2 lbs. Pacific guano phosphate. 2% lbs. Lister's ground bone. iy 2 lbs. Syracuse plaster. 125 lbs. clover. 134 lbs. clover. 129 lbs. clover. 5 8 17 Nothing. l l / 2 lbs. Cayuga plaster. 1% lbs. Syracuse phosphate. 115 lbs. clover. 120 lbs. clover. 116 lbs. clover. 6 7 18 iy 2 lbs. Stockbridge manure. 1 l / 2 lbs. Syracuse plaster. Nothing. 118 lbs. clover. 122 lbs. clover. Ill lbs. clover Average of duplicates. Plots and Treatment. Fertiliz'r pounds. Yield per acre .screen clover, lbs. Nos. 1 and 17, Syracuse phosphate 2 and 9, Lister's ground bone 3 and 13, " superphosphate 4 and 14, Pacific guano phosphate 5, 10, 11 and 18, nothing 6 and 12, Stockbridge manure 8 and 15, Cayuga plaster 7 and 16, Syracuse " \v&y 2 126 120] . 128^ 121 ^ 115i, 124 y 2 125!4 18,040 20,160 19.280 20,560 19,400 18,480 19,920 20,080 94 III. Grass — Different Fertilizers. 1876-7. — One plot 4 rods by 5 was flanked on either side by a plot 4 by 2£ rods. The plots were divided by shallow trenches carefully cut to line. The grass consisted of timothy and clover about equally mixed. The large plot, numbered 3, received a dressing of 50 lbs. of the Stockbridge Fertilizer for grass ; the other plots, numbered 1 and 2, were unmanured. One of these plots yielded 640 lbs. of grass, or 260 lbs. of hay ; the other, 697 lbs. of grass, or 274 lbs. of hay. The totals and the yield of plot 3 are given in the following table, in pounds : Grass. Hay. Grass per acre. Hay per acre. Nos. l and 2. No. 3 1331 1697 !i34 618 10,712 13,576 4,272 4,944 The experiment was repeated in 1877, when the unfertil- ized plot, of the same size as one of the unfertilized plots of the previous year, yielded 765 lbs. of grass, and the plot with Stockbridge manure, half as large as the manured plot of last year, 1,008 lbs. For shrinkage, when converted into hay, see the statement of result of the previous experiment ; the grass this year consisted of timothy mixed with a little clover. The same per cent, of shrinkage should not be ap- plied to clover (II), as it would be far too small. E. Mcperiments with Mangel -Wurzels. 1879. — The summer wasMry and unfavorable, and the crops of all the plots were damaged by grasshoppers, that ate off the top in July. The amounts of manures and crops refer to the plots. 95 Treatment. ii lbs. sol. Pacific guano, i lbs. sulphate ammonia, 5 rows, No fertilizer- 5 16}^ lbs. soluble Pacific guano •"< No fertilizer 5 " 16J£ lbs. sulphate of ammonia 5 " No fertilizer, Norbitton's Giant. 3 Yellow Globe 3 " 1)4 lbs. sol. Pacific guano, 5 lbs. sulphate ammonia, 8 No fertilizer :j 12 lbs. soluble Pacific guano - 3 No fertilizer ... 3 " Yield. lbs. 1120 1260 1120 1140 1260 into 880 1080 940 880 700 XIV. EXPERIMENTS IN CA TTLE-FEEDING. By Prof. I. P. Roberts. ENSILAGE FOR YOUNG CATTLE AND BEEF COWS. Three two-year-old, half-blood Holstein heifers were se- lected, which had previously been fed on hay exclusively. First period. — The ration consisted of ensilage, 50 lbs., and malt sprouts, 0.5 lbs., per day and animal. For the composition of these fodders see report of De- partment of Agricultural Chemistry. All weights were taken at 8 o'clock A. M., after feeding but before watering. When weighed. No. 14. No. 16. No. 17. Total. February 24 — March 3 " 10 " 17 " 24 lbs. 770 832 830 840 824 lbs. 750 850 890 900 882 lbs. 780 834 850 820 824 lbs. 2300 2516 2570 2560 2530 The total gain during the twenty-eight days was 230 pounds, or 2.73 pounds per day and animal. The apparent gain of 216 pounds during the first week was largely due, without doubt, to an increase in the contents of the stomach. If the weight of March 3 is taken, the total gain in the — 96 following three weeks is but 14 lbs., or 0.22 lb. per day and animal. It is evident that this was about as near a mainte- nance ration as it is possible to get, for while one animal gained 32 lbs., the others lost 8 and 10 lbs. respectively. Second period. — On March 25 2 lbs. of cotton-seed meal was added to the daily ration of each animal. On April 14 their total weight was 2,072 lbs., a gain in the three weeks of 142 lbs., or 2.25 lbs. pel - day and animal. This experiment indicates that Southern - corn ensilage forms a maintenance ration when fed in suitable quantities, and that it is economy to feed it in conjunction with some more concentrated food. During the first as well as the second period the animals appeared to be making rapid growth, yet the scales showed that the weight of two of them decreased. For several months after being turned out to pasture the ensilage-fed animals appeared tar thriftier than others of like age ami size which had been wintered on hay. Beef Cows. — The cows had been "dry off' 1 about three weeks previous to the first weighing ; two were natives aid one (No. 10) was a half-blood Holstein ; all had been milked for about ten months and were thin in flesh. They were offered for sale at three cents per pound, or $99.00, but owing t<> the high price of feed no purchaser was found. From February 21 to April 5 their ration consisted of ensilage 52 lbs., and corn meal 12.5 lbs.; from April 5 till sold, ensilage 50 lbs., corn meal 0.4 lbs., and cotton-seed meal 2.s lbs.; or in volume-measure in the last case, six quarts of corn meal and two quarts of cotton-seed meal. When weighed. No. lo. No. 1,N. No. 2,N February 21, 1882, 1150 111(10 080 28, " 120(1 1110 1024 March 7, " 1226 1140 1007 14, 12-12 1147 1068 21, 1242 1182 1070 April 5, 1320 1180 12, 1300 1102 20, " 1320 1150 They were all sold at $ .o'.i.l per pound, dressed weight. The average gain per animal was 2.84 lbs. per day. — 97 — Gain in Weight by Steers an a Moderate Fattening Ra- tion, and on Grass. — Three steers, purchased March 4, were weighed daily at first, beginning March 13, after they had become ac- customed to tfceir new surroundings, and afterwards every other day for two months, while fed on the following ration: March 13 to 16, ensilage 30 lbs., cut corn-stalks 4 lbs., malt sprouts 5 lbs., and corn meal 3 lbs. March 16 to 23, the same, except that 2.5 lbs. of bran were substituted for 2.5 lbs. of malt sprouts. From March 23 on, 1 lb. of cotton-seed meal was added to the ration. From March 27, 1 lb. of corn meal was replaced by 1 lb. of cotton-seed meal. All weights -were taken after eating and before drinking. The weights are given in detail to show the frequent wide varia- tions from day to day. March. lbs. lbs. lbs. April. lbs. lbs. lbs. 13 604 650 620 l 744 701 699 14 678 638 638 3 741 099 699 15 680 659 630 5 762 715 704 16 087 037 644 7 780 722 720 17 089 650 643 8 7S0 737 736 IS 725 664 650 10 750 710 72s 20 700 662 663 12 780 717 740 21 720 662 664 14 800 719 730 22 724 664 604 15 800 730 739 23 730 080 680 17 798 720 750 24 716 680 678 20 804 732 705 25 730 683 070 22 804 750 7 so 27 720 085 680 24 822 750 776 28 7*0 701 598 27 820 700 784 29 750 690 678 29 815 770 7 SO 30 742 702 699 May l 825 764 7114 31 744 701 699 Gain in 40 days, 131 314 174 The gain in live weight per steer and day was 2.85 lbs., or, per 1,000 lbs. live weight at the beginning, 4.3 7 lbs. The weights of the animals on July 3, after having been in pasture and on grass alone for sixty-three days, were as follows : No. 1, 1,038 lbs.; No. 2, 962 lbs.; No. 3, 940 lbs. The total gain for sixty-three days was, therefore, 557 lbs., or per steer and day, 2.94 lbs., or per 1,000 lbs. live weight, 4.5 lbs. — 9S — FIELD EXPERIMENTS WITH CROPS. Oats, broadcast and drilled seeding compared: No. of plot. Pecks of seed per acre. Yield. Experiments of 1880-1. Drilled Broadcast Drilled Broadcast Average of the 2 years 1878 and 1879. Broadcast Drilled bu. lbs. 25 10 35 20 35 20 37 16 CI 16 56 0( tts, thick and thin seeding compared : Experim'tsof 1880. Soil gravelly and poor Experiments of 1881. Soil fair Experiments of 1882 Average of results for 4 years— 1876 to 1879 No. of plot. Pecks of seed per acre. 5 7 and 8 12 16 Yield. bu. lbs. 24 12 21 3 18 9 25 10 59 11 61 24 68 14 65 16 57 8 56 17 69 19 58 28 39 30 41 25 42 20 42 31 Oats, varieties compared: Experiments of 1880. All plots manured with mo lbs. superphosphate per acre. Batavia Mitchell University University Experiments of 1881 University Mitchell Batavia White Russian No. of plot. Pecks of seed per acre. Yield. 74 7 56 19 64 27 60 31 99 Oats, (.liferent Fertilizers, 1880 Salt, 300 lbs Plaster, 300 lbs No fertilizers Salt, 300 lbs., and plaster, 300 lbs No fertilizers Sulphate of ammonia, 300 lbs Swif tsure phosphate, 300 lbs No fertilizers Pacific guano, 300 lbs " 300 lbs, and sulphate of ammonia 5 lbs. No fertilizers Plots Yield. bu lbs. 1 34 22 2 31 28 3 29 17 4 27 1 5 28 19 6 29 2 7 42 21 8 37 31 9 39 31 10 39 28 11 35 20 Summary of results , bu. lbs. Average yield of all phosphated plots 37 26 " " unfertilized " 34 2 " " " phosphated plots, 1878-9 35 2 " " unfertilized " " 30 1% Average yield plastered plots, 1880 31 28 " " adjoining unfertilized plots, 1880 29 17 Average of 1878-9, plastered 40 " " unfertilized 37 19^ Average yield of salted plots, 1880 34 22 " " unmanured plots, 1880 29 17 Average yield, 1878-9, salted 43 18 " " " unfertilized 39 7 The salt and plaster applied to plot 4 appeared to have drawn moisture or prevented evaporation. The marked dif- ference between this plot and j)lots 3 and 5, two weeks after the grain was sowed, led to a careful determination in the laboratory of the amount of moisture present in the first eight inches of soil. Plot 3 contained 11 per cent, water, and plot 4 11.6 per cent. This difference shows that there was present in the soil 12,903 lbs. more of water per acre in the first eight inches of plot 4 than of plot 3. Wheat, broadcast and drilled seeding compared. Summary of results for seven years : 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 Broa least. Drilled. bu. lbs. bu. lbs. 22 30 24 55 18 30 21 00 24 45 25 30 22 00 24 24 29 10 38 30 23 10 22 30 34 38 44 30 — 100 Wheat, thick and thin seeding compared: Plots. Pecks seed per acre. Yield. Experiments of 1881-2. Seed sown Sept. 5th; variety, Clawson ; fertilizer, jiio lbs. superphosphate per acre; land poor and clayey, and had produced wheat previous year. Experiments of 1881-2. Seed sown Sept. 13th; variety, Clawson; fertilizer, 400 lbs. superphosphate per acre. Summary of results of previous years : l year 4 years 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 4 6 8 12 5 8 8 12 14 12 8 10 bu. lbs. 15 20 10 10 22 30 23 50 34 33 35 36 35 5 44 5 20 50 23 23 ■jii 15 18 22 15 25 2 years, 6 peeks and l year... The above experiments are so easily understood that com- ment appears unnecessary ; l»ut to the experimenter who watches the growing wheat throughout the year many tilings are revealed which do not appear in the ascertained yield. There is a verj noticeable variation from year to year in the per cent, of seed that germinates, and in the amount de- stroyed by insects and other enemies before the winter sets in. The thin seeding frequently does well until freezing and thawing occurs during the last of winter, when it is injured far more than thick seeding. If every condition lias been favorable up to spring it some- limes happens that dry, wind) weather prevails, and the thin seeding does not tiller ;ts it should, or tillers so late that a large proportion of the heads are low in the standing grain, small, and poorly filled, while the heads of the thick seeding will be more uniform in size and have less small and* shrunken grain. One bushel of seed per acre would be ample if all the conditions were at the best ; but they seldom are. Therefore it appears wiser to be liberal with the seed than to take so many risks. Wheat, varieties, Experiments of 1880-1 : Farm-yard manure was applied to the surface and har- rowed in at the rate of six cords (twelve loads) per acre, and 2(io lbs. of phosphate per acre was drilled in with the seed. 101 — No injury to the germination of the seed appeared, as the ground was quite moist at the time of sowing. 1 Variety. Fultz Clawson Gold Medal . South Wales. No. of plot. Yield per acre bu. lbs. 37 35 39 25 41 26 Total failure. In the same field, on laud which was far poorer, drier, and more exposed to the wind than was the land on which the above varieties were tested, the following experiment was made with fertilizers : Variety of Wheat. Kind of fertilizer. No. of plot. Yield. Farm-yard manure as above. <> Yard manure as in No. 1 and 200 <> I 11 is. of phosphate per acre. S 1 2 bu. lbs. 22 49J4 22 00 Wheat, varieties, Experiments of 1881-2 : The ground had produced wheat the previous year, and before sowing had received twelve loads of farm-yard ma- nure and 200 lbs. of phosphate per acre. The land was plowed once, immediately after the previous wheat crop had been removed, and was again treated to the same quantity and kind of fertilizers as above. Liberal surface cultivation was given up to the time of sowing. Variety. No. of plot. Yield. Clawson s. Fultz s. Gold Medal d. Washington Gloss d. Rice Wheat d. Heige's Prolific p.d. Finley's s. Red Mediterranean s. White Michigan s. bu. lbs. 41 68 47 15 40 (55 36 30 32 91 45 17 41 34 35 87 33 99 In another field — having a better wheat soil than the above — the following varieties, which were sent by Prof. W. R. Lazenby from the Agricultural College of Ohio, were tried. The land was treated with a liberal amount of fer- 1 In these tables, d indicates wheat down ; p. d., partly down ; and s, stands up in good order at time of harvesting. — 102 tilizers and put in the best possible condition, but the sow- ing was late — September 27. Variety. No. of plot. Yield. Velvet Chaff s. Theiss d. Sandomunke pd. Hungarian White Chaff p.d. Zimmerman's Amber p.d. German Amber p.d. Champion s.. Russian , No. 2 s. York White Chaff 8. Rickenbroda. s. Silver Chaff p.d. Rivets, an English wheat bu. lbs. 38 31 35 49 39 53 38 31 43 29 41 40 45 77 41 78 47 99 44 04 40 73 Failure. In 1881 the yield of Clawson wheat exceeded that of Fultz by 2-g- bushels, while in 1882 the Fultz exceeded that of Clawson by 5-p B - bushels. Neither Clawson nor Gold Medal appears to respond to high manuring as well as the Fultz. This was suspected before, and the experiment appears to be confirmatory. Gold Medal stood well the first year ; but when the land had received another heavy dressing of fertilizers it fell down badly, and the yield was less in 1882 than in 1881 by forty-seven pounds, although the former year was more favorable for wheat than the latter. The York White Chaff bids fair to be a valuable variety on fertile land, as does also Heige's Prolific, though the latter va- riety does not stand up as well as the former, or as the Fultz. Wheat, different Fertilizers, 1880-1 : Treatment. No.of Plot. Yield. Crocker's superphosphate, 400 lbs.* No fertilizers Swiftsure phosphate, too lbs. N i > Cert i I i zers Farm-yard manure, 10 loads or 5 cords No fertilizers Sail, 600 lbs Crocker's superphosphate, 200 lbs., sul. ammonia, lOOlbs. No fertilizers Swiftsure phosphate, 200 lbs Crocker's superphosphate, 200 lbs No fertilizers Pacific guano phosphate, too lbs No fertilizer for 6 years, but under continuous wheat culture during that time bu. lbs. 26 30 25 10 25 20 14 40 29 5 17 20 22 25 24 55 23 40 23 20 24 40 22 50 26 20 ir> :;o A portion of these plots were flooded for a few days. — 103 — Wheat,