fililf!|ij!iMlil|pft^ Igricnlturg^ Iltbcrttl Hrts M/cchuolongg # *«ii.» *^i ^■*€^Hh.: ^i«^^ ,»*. #-^p^' •^*"> 4j: --* '*.■ *^ ^%\S" . _--AiS»i.« J^^JTA Annual Report of the Director of the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station Station Bulletin 382 D ecemDer 1949 Annual Report of the Director of the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station 1949 UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE DURHAM, N. H. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page A WORD FROM THE DIRECTORS 4 AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY The Products of Sucrose Hydrolosis in Strawberries Influence the De- termination of Ascorbic Acid 5 Enzyme Studies with Squash 5 Biological Assay Methods Prove Useful in Measuring the Amounts of Water-soluble Vitamins 5 The Carbohydrates of Pastures Grasses ^ The Zscheile Method Proves Best for Determining Carotene in Foods .... f> Vitamin C in Canned Vegetables f> New Frozen Food Containers Prove Highly Satisfactory in Preventing Moisture Losses ^' AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS How Many Man Minutes Are Necessary To Do The Daily Routine Winter Chores on a Herd of 40 Cows? 7 Some Problem Cows Can Be Trained 8-12 A Study of Milk Marketing Problems in Small Towns 12 Opportunities on Idle Farm Land 12 How Farmers Might Profitably Use Land Now Idle 13-1 !• CROPS AND PASTURES Hybrid Corn Maintains Its Superiority 14-16 Disease-Resistant Oat Varieties Adapted to the New Hampshire Climate .... 16 New Potato Varieties .Show Promise 16-17 Perennial Red Clover Now a Possibility 17-18 Pasture Renovation Costs Variable 18 Potash, the Limiting Element to Ladino Growth 18 Ladino Superior in Mid-Summer l'^' Fertilizers on the Plow Sole Are Effective l"^ Magnesium in Potato Fertilizers Pays Dividends ' 19 Caution Needed in Use of Borax in Potato Fertilizers 20 DAIRYING Grass Silage Prevents the Loss of Nutrients During Harvest 20 Wood Molasses as Good as Cane Molasses in Dairy Cattle Feeding 21 Early-Cut Timothy Hay Is High in Protein 21 Aureomycin Proves Highly Effective for the Treatment of Mastitis 21 ENTOMOLOGY The European Corn Borer Can Be Successfully Curtailed with DDT 22 New Insecticides Have Many Uses 22 Better Insect Control with Nicotine Sprays 22 Insect Records Show What Harmful Insects Are Particularly Numerous During the Year 2i> Studies of Forest Insects 23 FORESTRY The Sugar Content of Maple Sap Varies Considerably from Tree to Tree .... 23-24 Hop Hornbeam Makes Good Peavy Handles 24 Chain Saws Speed Up Thinning Work in White Pine Plantation 24 2 Page FRUITS AND VEGETABLES Hay Mulch in the Sod Orchard Pays Dividends 23 Can High Concentrations of Carbon Dioxide Be Maintained in the Average Common Cold Storage Plant for a Short Period of Time? 2:5 Hay and Sawdust Mulches Maintain Uniform Soil Temperature around Apple Roots 25 Aluminium Foil Wrappers Can Be Used to Reduce Sun Scald of Tree Trunks 26 New Varieties of Apples Look Promising 26 A Cultivating Attachment Adapted to Many Jobs on Small Farms 26 Sprayer Duster Experiments 26 A New Sprayer and Attachments Give Exceptionally Rapid and Thorough Coverage 27 Apple Picking Platform Has Possibilities 27-28 Giant Mcintosh Sport Used as Apple Parent 2h Horticultural Work in Northern New Hampshire 28 More Work for Less Money 28 How Tall Should a Raspberry Bush Be? 28 New Hampshire Wild Blueberries Used to Improve Cultivated Varieties .... 29 A New, Early Lima Bean Introduced 29 Carnival Popcorn Attractive 29 Korean Vegetables Do Well in New Hampshire 30 WEED CONTROL 2. 4-D Not a Cure-Ail 30 Gray Birch in Blueberries Can Be Killed by Spraying 30-3] Quack Grass Can Be Controlled with Chemicals 31 PLANT PATHOLOGY ,.t New Fungicides for Apple Scab Control „;. 31 POULTRY HUSBANDRY Is Pellet Feeding More Efficient Than Mash Feeding? .32 Should Replacement Stock Be Raised on High Energy Feed? ,..., 32 Meat Qualities and Egg Production Are Being Combined in One Bird 33-34 Feed Costs May Be Reduced Through Breeding 33 SOILS Save that Topsoil 35-36 Does It Pay to Grow Winter Rye as a Cover Crop After Potatoes? ^ 36 Boron Needed on Some New Hampshire Crops 36-37 How Long Does Lime Last? 37 Soil Survey Work Progresses 37 STATE SERVICE Seed Inspection 3,[, Inspection of Fertilizers and Feedingstuffs 38 Soil Testing 38 The National Poultry Improvement Plan 38 Pullorum Testing 33 Infectious Bronchitis and Newcastle Tests and Service 39 Diagnostic Service Performed at the Poultry Laboratory 39-41 Mastitis Testing Service 41 OTHER ACTIVE PROJECTS 42 ADDENDA Financial Statement 4.3 Publications 44 Experiment Station Staff 45-46 Changes in Personnel 47 A WORD FROM THE DIRECTORS THIS 61 ST ANNUAL REPORT of the New Hampshire Agricultural Experi- ment Station presents to the people of the State of New Hampshire and other interested persons the results of our research activities during the fiscal year 1948-49. The Agricultural Experiment Station is concerned with the basic problems that confront agriculture in our region. It is the desire of the staff to work on those problems that most vitally concern the farmers of the state and con- tinually we solicit your suggestions as to what appear to be the most im- portant problems. You will note that the cover of this bulletin shows a high-bush culti- vated blueberry plant with the fruit ready for picking. This serves as an example of what we are trying to do. Here is a crop that is particularly well adapted to our soils and climate It can stand improvement with regard to winter hardiness and we are attempting through our plant breeding program to develop a variety even better suited to our climate. As with blueberries, so with vegetables and other fruits, we are continually developing new strains and varieties that better suit our needs It is hoped that you will read this report and become acquainted with the latest developments in agriculture! science. ROBERT F. CHANDLER, JR. Director HAROLD C. GRINNELL Associate Director Agricultural Chemistry The Products of Sucrose Hy- drolysis in Strawberries Influence the Determination of Ascorbic Acid. In strawberries which are packed for freezing without sweetening, hy- drolysis of the sucrose present in the berries at harvest time takes place during frozen storage. In berries which are packed with syrup, hy- drolysis of both the original and added sucrose occurs. The determi- nation of ascorbic acid in the stored berries is influenced by the end products of this hydrolysis and also by the presence of naturally occur- ring dicarboxylic acids. Progress is being made on a method of ascorbic acid determination which will not be influenced by these interfering substances. S. R. Shimer H. J. PURINTON Enzyme Studies with Squash. The presence of phosphorylase in each of the three common species of cu- cubita has been proved. Weak any- lase activity appears to be present also. The pectin content of the ma- terial seriously interferes with the separation of the enzymes. T. G. Phillips Biological Assay Methods Prove Useful in Measuring the Amounts of Water-soluble Vitamins. It has been determined that the Lactobacillus arabinosus assay for nicotinic acid, the L. fermentum method for thi- amine, and L. Casei procedures for riboflavin and pantothenic acid are applicable to the quantitative determi- nation of these vitamins in urine, feces, and milk. Consequently, they are of considerable value in excre- tion studies. Since sulfonamides are often employed in such experiments, the effect of the compounds upon the assay procedures was studied. It was found that certain sulfonamides, if present in sufficient concentration, inhibit growth of the organisms, but that this inhibition can be prevented by increasing the amount of p- aminobenzoic acid in the basal medi- um. A. E. Teeri The Carboyhdrates of Pasture Grasses. The carbohydrate content of various pasture grasses through- out the growing season is being studied. Although a more complete report will be made in another year or two, some findings are worthy of mention at this time. The sucrose content varied among species from a low of 2 per cent in Kentucky to a high of 13 per cent in brome grass, both at the dough stage. Fructosan was present in five species but was absent in alta fescue, brome, and orchard grass, the tops only being sampled. In all the species except timothy, protein correlated negatively with both cellulose and lignin while the latter two correlated positively with one another. During the growing season, pro- tein decreased significantlv between any two successive sampling dates. Protein differences between species were usually significant at the same physiological stage of maturity, reed canary and brome being the highest and timothy the lowest. Reed ca- nary also was highest in soluble ash and lowest in lignin. Comparisons at the same date often gave different relationships than comparisons at the same stage of growth. T. G. Phillips M. E. LOUGIILIN S. ROSEMAN The Zscheile Method Proves Best for Determining Carotene in Foods. As a result of investigations during the past three years, it has been shown that the Zscheile method is more applicable, over a wider range, than any other method tried. This method worked with any of the tested food materials which included fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh plant tissue, canned foods, frozen foods, and dried products. Slight modifications of the method are re- quired in applying it to dried foods. H. J. PURINTON Vitamin C in Canned Vegetables. County and home demonstration agents in Coos, Merrimack, and Cheshire counties collected samples of home-canned tomatoes, green and yellow beans, corn, and carrots, totaling 405 jars. These samples were sent to the University of New Hampshire to be analyzed to see what amounts of certain important nutrients are contained in home- canned produce in this state. Fig. 1 — Checking samples of home- canned fruits and vegetables as they came in for nutritive value studies. To date, all the tomatoes (129 samples) and green beans (75 samples) have been analyzed for ascorbic acid (vitamin C), one of the important nutrients. The ascorbic acid content of ? pint of tomatoes ranged from 3 to 103 mg. and 70 per cent of them were within the range of 31 to 70 mg., which is considered by most authorities as being within the range of the daily requirement of an adult for this vitamin. These values com- pare reasonably well with figures quoted for commercially-canned to- matoes, and tomatoes processed by ordinary home methods but under rigidly controlled conditions. Home canned tomatoes from Cheshire and Merrimack counties contained, on the average, more ascorbic acid than those from Coos county. Many factors, such as variety, soil, and maturity, influence ascorbic acid con- tent of foods, but complete data on all these points are not available. Therefore, no explanation for these variations is possible. The ascorbic acid content of green beans ranged from 0-97 mg. per pint with 50 per cent of them being within the range of 11 to 40 mg. per pint. This is a somewhat lower range than figures for com- mercially-canned products but com- pares very favorably with values for home-canned beans, processed under rigidly controlled conditions. Samples from Merrimack and Coos counties, on the average, con- tained more ascorbic acid than those from Cheshire county. Again, too many variables are concerned to al- low full explanation. Four samples contained no ascorbic acid. S. R. Shimer H. J. PURINTON Nen) Frozen Food Containers Prove Highly Satisfactory in Pre- venting Moisture Losses. A contin- uous supply of new types of contain- ers for use in freezing fruits and vegetables is reaching the consumer market. The usefulness of each type must be tested by determining how well it safeguards the packaged food. The ideal container must be moist- ure-vapor proof ("leak-proof") to prevent changes in the quality of the product it contains. During the past five years, several types have been tried in connection with various frozen food projects at the Universi- ty of New Hampshire. Prior to the present year's studies, the only con- tainer which proved entirely satis- factory was a heavily paraffin-coated box, prepared by hand-dipping an ice-cream carton in melted wax. This year 14 new types of contain- ers, which are available to the public, have been tested. Nine of them were used for storing frozen squash. Only one of the nine types showed any appreciable loss in weight over a six-month storage period. Five ad- ditional new types have been used in the storage of berries, frozen in a syrup medium. No appreciable changes in weight were noted over a ten-month storage period. H. J. PURINTON The Cobalt Content of Hay Can Be Increased by the Application of Cobalt to the Soil. The cobalt con- tent of timothy grown on a Paxton soil was raised from a low level of 00.3 ppm to 0.41 ppm by the addi- tion of 2 lbs. of cobalt per acre and to 0.98 ppm by the addition of 5 lbs. of cobalt per acre. Applications of nitrogen increased the yield but de- creased the phosphorus, cobalt, and manganese content. Liming de- creased both the cobalt and manga- nese content. Applications of po- tassium increased the manganese content. G. P. Percival Dorothy Josselyn Agricultural Economics Hoiv Many Man Minutes Are Necessary To Do the Daily Routine Winter Chores on a Herd of 40 Cows? Data taken on five very efficient farms during the year indi- cate that in a modern stable good managers are doing the daily routine of winter chores in 450 to 500 man minutes. A few are doing these tasks in about 325 man minutes. With the elimination of unessential practices, and the adoption of simplified procedures, some of the operators may cut chore work in the next few years to as low as 280 man minutes for 40 cows. This is seven man minutes daily per cow. These data do not include labor on care of milking equipment. The operation of feeding took a little over 100 man minutes for 40 cows on four farms and less than 50 minutes on the fifth farm. Roughly, a third of the total feeding time was used in preparation or getting feed from storage to the stable ready to feed. Considerable progress is ex- pected in the future in this phase of the feeding operation. One operator spent 29.9 man minutes sweeping in front of the cows. This procedure can be re- duced to about six minutes by the elimination of unessential practices and the substitution of special low- cost equipment for the narrow broom. Total feeding time can be reduced to 40 man minutes on some farms. The disposal of manure and clean- ing back of the cows, including spreading of sawdust for bedding, took from 70 to 90 man minutes where combination truck-carrier equipment was available. One oper- ator, who had improvised a home- made gutter cleaner and had saw- dust stored overhead, did the work in 56 man minutes. The use of a special sweeper reduced the time needed to clean the alleyway back of the cows on one farm from 3.10 to 0.48 man minutes. Fig. 2 — Feed swept to cows in 4.80 man minutes (above). Feed scraped to cows in 0.45 man minutes (below). The greatest saving in time has been in the improved methods of milking. This phase has been re- ported previously in Station Circu- lar No. 76. H. C. WooDwoRTH, K. S. Morrow, AND E. M. Elliott Some Problem Cows Can Be I rained. During the year, 13 cows were subjected to special treatment because a long time was required in order to complete the milking pro- cess. At the end of the experiments ( which varied from three to four v\ eeks ) three cows were milking out in four minutes and three others were milking in 4.5 minutes or less. The other eight cows did not re- spond satisfactorily although the total time of four of them was re- duced over one minute. The aver- age milking time of the six cows making a good response to treat- Fig. 3 — Manger swept in 4.50 man minutes (above). minutes (below). Manger swept in 2.45 man Fig. 4 — Gutter alleyway swept in 3.10 man minutes (above) in 0.48 man minutes (below). Gutter alleyway scraped ment was reduced from 6.3 to 4.2 minutes. The seven cows with un- satisfactory response were reduced from 7.3 to 6.1 minutes. These data indicate that about 40 per cent of the problem cows, pro- vided they are not over eight years of age and have normal healthy udders, can be trained to milk out satisfactorily. 10 The chief difficulty in milking quickly was found to be the oper- ator's failure to get back to the cows at the end of three minutes of milking and massage the udder in the process of machine stripping. Some cows give down about 75 per cent or more of their milk in the first three minutes, and then the nilk How is retarded. If the oper- ro ^^^^^^^^" s° ^ o o z o o z 1- < lO CM CM UJ V) z o Q. (/) UJ a: q: o o Q. UJ to z o Q. O) UJ CC UJ o CO Ul z o Q. (0 UJ q: UJ U) O 0. V) UJ a: o o o CD I I I \ I I L__J I I I OOflONtDlO^rOCM— o o UJ CM O o = tr. ^ UJ CM O 00 < an Z UJ o < U. O ^ Q O Ul I- tr o to 2s Ul o > cc < u. ^ ^ o Ul o ID Q O Ul \- OC uj"2 o to 2s Ul O > tr < u. Q O 5o CM Ul - S to 2s Ul O > Ql < li- o ID O 3 c 'to o o c o o CO M 77 ator is persistent in getting back to these cows at the end of three min- utes of milking and does a thorough job of machine stripping for one minute, some of these cows will re- spond with satisfactory letdown. One herd, where the records indi- cate that machines were left on half the cows over eight minutes, was subjected to the following experi- ment. Arrangements were made for the operator to do a thorough job of preparing and getting back to the cows at the end of three minutes to machine strip. Machines were taken off in all cases at the end of four minutes. All cows were hand strip- ped and the strippings were weighed. Twenty out of 28 cows had less than one pound of strippings. The cows were rearranged so that these 20 cows were milked first. The next day these cows were milked out by machine in four minutes. The ma- chines were left on the other eight cows for five minutes and the strip- pings weighed. Three cows were definite problem cows and because of age and unsound udders probably would not respond to treatment. Many records taken of the rate of milk flow at half-minute intervals indicate a great variation. One cow with production of 27.6 pounds at one milking gave 6.8 pounds at half- minute intervals. At the other ex- treme, one cow with production of 21.2 pounds of milk at one milking did not exceed two pounds in any half-minute interval. H. C. WooDwoRTH, K. S. Morrow, AND E. M. Elliott A Study of Milk Marketing Prob- lems in Small Towns. The market supply of milk for six small towns in New Hampshire is being studied in some detail. The majority of the towns selected for study are deficit in terms of local supplies and demand, particularly in the holiday seasons. This condition has raised questions of capacity of local dealers and of their ability to carry the risk of fluctuating demands as compared with larger dealers who supply a more varied market. Investigations have shown a con- siderable cross hauling of milk sup- plies and deliveries of small amounts by larger dealers from distant points which could be more economically consolidated with one consignment. In most areas there has been a significant decline in the number of small producer-distributors with a consequent increase in the amount handled by dealers. There are vari- ous reasons for this decline, includ- ing retirement, delivery to dealers, working in industry, switch to poul- try farming, disease in herd, and others. The study emphasizes spatial re- lationships between consumers and producers and the influence of com- petitive bidding for supplies on dis- tribution efficiency. J. R. BOV^^RING J. C. Holmes Opportunities on Idle Farm Land. This project was started in April 1948 in response to concern, on the part of farmers and others interested in New Hampshire agriculture, that some good farm land as well as bad was lying idle and growing up to brush. The study, so far, has covered 20 towns, including at least one in every county of the state. Some description of the idle farm land has been obtained in all 20 towns. It should be stressed here that we are referring only to idle land believed by informed local people to be as good as other land which is being successfully farmed. In three of the towns we have also interviewed both the owners of the idle land, to learn their attitudes toward having their land used, and the active farmers to discover their 12 needs for land and the conditions under which they could use it. The Principal Findings. The towns studied so far indicate that, in most towns which have consider- able agriculture, we could expect to find from a dozen to two dozen idle pieces of farm land, ranging from full commercial family-size farms down to a single small field. Not all these farms are entirely idle. On some the hay is cut or a small amount of stock is pastured; but not enough farming is being done to keep hay and pasture from running out and brush from coming in. Most of the owners of these places (particularly the larger ones) indi- cate willingness to have their farm land used, sometimes for very little rent. However, they often are not willing to make needed improve- ments. Several of the more active farmers in these towns indicated in- terest in using the better, more con- venient idle land, and expressed will- ingness to make some improvements that were needed to grow good crops provided they could get long-term leases with low rent. Hoiv Farmers Might Profitably Use Land Now Idle. Developments in agricultural methods are making it possible for a farmer to handle a larger farm business. As some farmers develop larger businesses others must follow or their incomes will suffer. With good land and equipment one active man with some haying help can handle 20 or more cows, yet many farms have well be- low 20 cows, a condition which may be due to lack of hay and pasture on the home farm. In such cases, the farmers could well explore the possi- bility of renting land now idle. If a farmer is not able or willing to buy hay so that his choice is between a 10-cow herd or a 20-cow herd, fed partly from rented land, the renting of additional land may add consider- ably more to his income than the market value of the hay produced on it. Another type of farmer who might profit from arranging for the use of some of these idle places is the young man who is trying to get started. Today some kinds of farming require considerable capital. One way partially to overcome this barrier to getting started is to rent a farm or a part of the land used. Even if the young farmer has the required down payment to buy a farm on a mort- gage he might well consider, at pres- ent, whether or not it might be bet- ter to rent for a time and see where prices are going. Although there is some idle land which might be leased, we must be careful to keep in mind that a poor farm will not make money for a renter any more than for an owner and that a poor job of farming will not make money on a rented farm any more than on one's own farm. In renting we need to be very care- ful that the terms of the lease provide conditions favorable for both owner and renter in order that they may do what is necessary for a good job of farming. Provisions for either the owner or the renter to make needed improvements such as liming, seed- ing, and repairing fences and build- ing are especially important. Gen- erally speaking, the owner should make those improvements which in- crease the value of his property. However, as many owners of idle farm land in New Hampshire are not farmers and are not interested in im- proving the value of their places as farms, it may be necessary for the renter to make the improvements. In order to get the returns from these improvements, the farmer needs low rent and either a lease long enough to get the full benefit of his improve- ments or a provision that he will be paid for the unused value of im- provements. 13 ^ „ ^'mi^'Vm *«ir»Jtt- <-» Fig. 6 — This field, idle except for taking off a light crop of hay, could be made productive by liming, fertilizing, and reseeding. Often many owners of idle farms are not well acquainted with farm- ing, so it is pretty much up to the farmer who wants land to contact the owner and to make him an offer which the farmer thinks is reason- able. This, of course, applies to buy- Persons ing as well as to rentmg. who have difficulty in figuring out a fair rent or in drawing up a good lease are urged to contact their County Agrciultural Agent or the College of Agriculture, at the Uni- versity of New Hampshire, for assistance. W. K. BURKETT Crops and Pastures Hybrid Corn Maintains Its Superi- ority. In 1948, in New Hampshire, there was iiiore planting of hybrid corn for silage and grain than ever before. (Over 75 per cent of the acreage would be a reasonable esti- mate.) In 1936, when the Universi- ty of New Hampshire Agronomy De- partment started the corn variety trials, less than 5 per cent of the corn grown in the state was of hy- brid origin. Hybrid corn has in- creased in popularity because it 14 yields higher than open-pollinated corn. It is also subject to less stalk breakage in the field, having stronger stalks, more extensive roots, and re- sistance to insects and disease. In addition, the parents of hybrids are known and have proved to be superi- or. In order to find out what hybrids are best suited for New Hampshire, the Agronomy Department, for the first time, had variety trial plots in various sections of the state, as well W' 'M '>^** -5 i^^:%t^ a* !► «- *» < -"• .' ^ Fig. 7 — This field, entirely idle for a few years, would require considerable labor or the use of heavy equipment in addition to lime, fertilizer, and reseeding to make it productive. as on the University Farm. Yields of 15-20 tons of silage and 65-70 bushels of grain per acre were not uncommon. Certainly such yields are better than 8-10 tons for silage and 35-40 bushels for grain, which generally occurred with open-polli- nated flint varieties back in the 1930's. The 1948 corn trials brought forth the following observations: Dent corn hybrids were adapted and continued to yield higher than open-pollinated dents, dent-flint hy- brids, and open-pollinated flints. Cornell 29-3 maintained its place as a high-yielding early silage corn and a late grain corn. The yields of open-pollinated West Branch Sweepstakes were very vari- able, because of stalk breakage and differences in strains and sources of seed. In search of dent hybrids to re- place Sweepstakes as a late silage corn variety, Wisconsin 692, al- though producing a medium per- centage of dry matter, was outstand- ing in yield for the fourth consecu- tive season. Ohio M-15 generally yielded better than Ohio K-24 be- cause of the slender stalks of the lat- ter. For grain purposes, the hybrids that mature in a medium-length sea- son of 110-120 days, the Wisconsin hybrids of the 200, 300, and 400 series gave good returns. Mass. 62 again was superior in this maturity group. In the Connecticut River Valley at Lancaster, the two dent-flint hybrids, Maine B and Wisconsin 240, ma- tured better and yielded 10 bushels higher per acre than did two local flint varieties. In the same field, 15 Cornell 29-3 and Mass. 62 returned over 7000 lbs. of dry matter to the acre for silage. At Claremont Junction on the Connecticut River terraces, in spite of late planting in June, corn yields were exceptionally high. Several of the Wisconsin hybrids, Cornell 29-3, Mass. 62. and a new Pennsylvania hybrid, were outstanding The highest recorded yields of silage corn in New Hampshire were obtained at Durham where two Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station sweet-dent hybrids produced averages of over 10 and 11 thousand lbs. of dry matter per acre. Gener- allv, 9000 lbs. is considered to be a high yield. Sweet-dent hybrids, al- though potential silage yielders, should not be used for grain because of the presence of some hard kernels on the ear. L. J. HiGGINS Disease-Resistant Oat Varieties Adapted to the New Hampshire Cli- mate. Disease-resistant oats insure better returns whether they are grown as an annual hay crop, as a nurse crop to be grazed off, or are harvested for grain. Since 1943. when the Agronomy Department of the University of New Hampshire in co-operation with the U. S. Depart- ment of Agriculture established the uniform oat trials, the new disease- resistant varieties have not only been accepted in the state but also larger percentages of disease-resist- ant seed have been planted each year. In 1948, oat trials identical to those of the University Farm at Durham, were carried on at Lancast- er and Claremont. These triplicate plantings were made so as to have oats growing in reasonably import- ant crop areas and to note the effects of differences in climate. The 1948 oat trials gave the fol- lowing results: Oat hybrids of the Bond parentage such as Clinton, Mohawk, Benton, and the Canadian variety Ajax gave good returns in all three areas. Varieties which are resistant to stem rust and Victoria Disease gave higher yields than did those varieties which are resistant only to crown rust and smut. The ordinary Clinton variety con- tinued to show considerable vari- ability with numerous drooping heads, while Clinton 59, an improved strain, showed more uniformity and returned better yields. Dr. F. A. Coffman of the U. S. Department of Agriculture visited the Durham trials and found little evidence of crown rust race 45 which has been harmful to certain varie- ties including Clinton. The non-disease resistant and ordi- nary check varieties gave better re- turns in the Lancaster area than they did in either of the more southern areas. Oat forage yields averaged better than five tons to the acre and grain yields were 75 bushels to the acre. Before the disease-resistant varieties were introduced into New Hamp- shir, yields of 25-30 bushels per acre were considered typical. L. J. HiGGINS New Potato Varieties Show Prom- ise. Ontario, a scab-resistant potato developed in New York State, is one of the most promising new potato varieties that has been tested in the potato variety program. The On- tario yields well, is a good cooking potato, has a certain resistance to late blight, and is exceedingly resist- ant to potato scab. Tuber unit seed stock was produced in 1947, and again in 1948, to supply in quantity to one certified seed grower in the Colebrook area. The demand which developed for Ontario seed from growers who were attempting to grow potatoes on land that had been limed, far exceeded the supply of certified seed produced in 16 New Hampshire and neighboring states. Hence, the future for the Ontario potato seems especially bright, since much land in New Hampshire has been so limed in re- cent years as to require a scab-re- sistant variety. Pawnee, a smooth, white-skinned potato from Colorado, has shown considerable promise as a mid-sea- son variety to take the place of Irish Cobbler. While the Pawnee is not bred for disease-resistance of any sort, it does have the ability to yield well, particularly in the southern portion of the state. Pawnee has smoothness which gives it exception- ally good market appearance, and a high percentage of the tubers are marketable. Essex is another promising new variety which shows great promise. It has resistance to late blight, as well as a high yielding ability. For the past three years, Essex has out- yielded all other varieties in our tests. Tuber unit stock of both Pawnee and Essex are being pro- duced at Colebrook. Many other varieties are being tested for yield and are being grown in a tuber block at Colebrook. Among these are the Kennebec, a new blight-resistant variety from Maine; B76-43, a variety which gave an exceptionally high yield at Dur- ham in 1948, and others. When it develops with certainty that one of them will give superior performance in this state, it will be released im- mediately to certified seed producers and thus become available to com- mercial growers. P. T. Blood F. S. Prince Hoiv Do You Like Your Potato Chips? Rapid expansion in the potato-chip industry in the large cities of New England has given New Hampshire potato growers a definite market for potatoes for this purpose. Kennebec, a new variety from Maine, and produced in New Hampshire for the first time last year, made the most satisfactory chips from the standpoint of both color and flavor. Mohawk, a rela- tively new variety, ran a close second in both color and taste. These two varieties were ranked excellent in our chipping tests. Other varieties that cooked into good marketable chips were Ontario, Madison, B76-43, and Ashworth. It is interesting to note that none of these six varieties, which ranked high in chip quality, represent the commonly grown varieties, although Katahdin, Chippewa and Cobbler made chips of relatively satisfactory quality. Chip manufacturers like a potato which will fry into light-colored chips. The color which develops at normal chip-frying temperatures is directly proportional to the amount of reducing sugars in the potato. Some varieties at any storage tem- perature have more reducing sugars than others, although storage tem- peratures during the season un- doubtedly have their influence on the amount of these sugars present. It is for this reason, however, that Essex, Green Mountain, and a few other varieties do not fry into chips which are in favor with present market demands. P. T. Blood Perennial Red Clover Now a Pos- sibility. It has been recognized for a long time that there are many per- ennial forms of red clover, although farmers usually consider it to be a biennial plant. During the past dec- ade, workers at the University of New Hampshire have been making selections of red clover specimens from old mowings, choosing seed or other parent material from plants that apparently have lived for more than two years. These selections have 17 been combined into a strain which shows a definite perennial tendency and gives a high yield under New Hampshire conditions. A system of chain crossing is be- ing used to fix this perennial habit in the progeny, and selections are annually made among the families to eliminate certain diseases. Har- vests were obtained in 1949 from seedings of this strain made in 1946 which still show as much as 50 per cent red clover under optimum fer- tilizer treatment. Ladino clover and timothy are al- so being subjected to selection and breeding in this experiment with the objective of developing more de-' sirable strains than are now avail- able. F. S. Prince Pasture Renovation Costs Vari- able. With such a variety of soils as are encountered in New Hamp- shire, it is not surprising to find that costs of pasture renovation vary widely. Two case studies of pasture clearance in Durham well illustrate this. One of the pieces of land studied was a rocky three-acre strip covered with pasture pine and brush but having excellent soil. The total cost to bring this piece from its original wild condition into relative- ly stone-free, tillable pasture was $140 per acre. Of this total, $54 represented cash outlay and the re- maining $86 was the estimated cost of equipment operation, labor, and materials, available on the farm, in- cluding lime and fertilizer. The second site was on a lighter soil. There, the cost totalled $19 per acre, divided into $7 per acre for disc-tilling and $12 for rock picking and fitting. While these costs are not directly comparable (because in the first in- stance fertilizers and lime were in- cluded) the observations show much disparity in costs of pasture clear- 18 ance; so much, in fact, that the final result of this study cannot possibly be in terms of average costs. On the contrary, the cost range in relation to the capacity of the soil to produce good pasture must be the end that is sought. It is hoped that an overall index of New Hampshire soil types as to their relative value for clear- ing eventually may be achieved. This project has been a co-oper- ative study between the New Hamp- shire Agricultural Experiment Sta- tion and the Soil Conservation Ser- vice. L. T. Kardos J. B. Bartlett Potash, the Limiting Element to Ladino Groivth. That potash is the major limiting element to ladino clover growth was confirmed in a greenhouse test last winter. As lit- tle as 25 lbs. of actual potash on an acre basis gave a highly significant increase in yield. Additional incre- ments of potash continued to give increases in yield up to 200 pounds of potash per acre. This amount of potash is equal to more than 300 pounds of potash in the muriate form. Ladino responded also to lime ap- plications up to two tons per acre, although its response even to small amounts of phosphorus was very slight. Some of the minor elements apparently influence ladino yields since a mixture containing boron, copper, manganese, iron, and zinc caused a slight increase in yield. Tests to determine which of these elements are responsible for stimu- lating ladino growth will be carried on in a continuation of the experi- ment in greenhouse trials. A soil of low fertility is being used as a medium in this test, and the test, itself, is preliminary to field tests on pure ladino stands on some of the major soil series of the state. F. S. Prince, L. T. Kardos, AND P. T. Blood Ladino Superior in Mid-Summer. Botanical separations of pasture for- age, produced on land seeded to la- dino clover and one of the large grasses, give an indication of the usefulness of ladino clover as a pasture in midsummer. The plots on which the samples were taken were seeded in 1942, 1943, and 1945. The average percentages of grass and la- dino at different dates for all plots harvested were as follows: June 73% 27% July 54% 46% August 52% 48% September 60% 40% The data indicate that while ladino clover may not amount to more than one-quarter of the total forage in the early part of the season, by July it reaches a total of about one-half of the forage, and drops again during the cooler fall weather to about 40 per cent of the total forage produced. While the large grasses such as timothy, smooth brome, and orchard grass vary some in their ability to produce forage during the hot sum- mer months, ladino shows up best during July and August, by produc- ing abundant forage then. F. S. Prince, L. T. Kardos, AND P. T. Blood Fertilizers on the PIoiv Sole Are Effective. Sweet corn responds as well to fertilizers that are placed on the plow sole as to those that are applied with the planter. A more efficient method, however, is to di- vide the application and place half the fertilizer on the plow sole then band the other half with the corn planter or band half the fertilizer and apply the remainder as a side- dressing at the second cultivation. These findings represent the re- sults of four years' work in placing the fertilizers for sweet corn bv different methods as outlined. The yields of sweet corn, when fertilized by the four methods, fall into two groups. The higher yields come from the methods where the fer- tilizer is applied and is placed in a divided application; the lower yields come from the treatments in which the fertilizer is all placed in one ap- plication, either on the plow sole or being all applied in bands with the fertilizer attachment on the corn planter. Plow sole application of fertilizer is a relatively new idea and appears to work especially well with corn which has a very strong feed- ing root system. In view of the newer methods of weed control with 2, 4-D, and other herbicides, there is a distinct possibility of farmers cultivating their own corn fewer times than has formerly been the custom. Because it has been com- mon practice, in sweet corn growing areas, to apply approximately half of the fertilizer at the second or third cultivation it is felt that this project is particularly timely. When it is followed, farmers need not de- pend upon side-dressing if they wish to omit certain cultivations but can, if they wish, plow half their fertilizer prior to planting with equally good results. F. S. Prince, P. T. Blood, R. Feuer, and G. p. Percival Magnesium in Potato Fertilizers Pays Dividends. Three years' re- sults at Colebrook indicate an aver- age dividend of 75 bushels of pota- toes per acre each year when mag- nesium is added to the fertilizer. The quantity of magnesium was rel- atively small, being equivalent to 40 lbs. of magnesium oxide per acre. Chemical analyses of soil samples from potato fields in the principal potato-producing areas in the state indicate that similar dividends might be expected in many cases. It is interesting to note that of the first 16 of the 34 potato growers who qualified in the New Hampshire 300 19 Bushel Club, in 1948. all used fer- tilizers to which magnesium had been added; on the other hand, nine of the last 18 growers did not use such fertilizers. Make sure your potato fertilizer contains magnesium. F. S. Prince, P. T. Blood, L. T. Kardos, and R. Feuer Caution Needed in Use of Borax in Potato Fertilizers. It has been definitely established that potatoes need small amounts of boron in order to grow properly. The amount required, however, is very small and injury can result from applying very little more than is needed for good growth. For example, on the Worth- ington loam soil at Colebrook. which was found to contain an amount of water-soluble boron which was equi- valent to 3.7 lbs. of borax per acre. an application of 5 lbs. and of 20 lbs. of borax per acre with the fer- tilizer in the bands was tried out. The application of 5 lbs. gave a remarkable increase the first year whereas, the 20-lb. rate stimulated yields but to a lesser degree than the 5-lb. treatment. During the second and third years, continued applica- tion of the borax at the two rates showed no increase or a slight de- crease in yield for the 5-lb. appli- cation and a large decrease in yield for the 20-lb. application. In another series of plots in which crimson clover as a green manure crop preceded potatoes, the first ap- plication of 20 lbs. of borax in the potato fertilizer resulted in a large decrease in yield of tubers. Addi- tional experimentation is necessary to determine the significance of this result; but it would appear that the crimson clover had built up the available supply of boron so that the 20-lb. application was injurious. In New Hampshire there are some potato soils which are lower in avail- able boron and others which are higher in it than in the soil on which these experiments were conducted. Therefore, a boron diagnosis of each potato farm should be made before definite recommendations can be made for the use of borax in potato fertilizers. F. S. Prince, P. T. Blood, L. T. Kardos, and R. Feuer Dairying Grass Silage Prevents the Loss of Nutrients during Harvesting. The success that a dairyman has in get- ting his hay crop stored in the best possible condition determines to a considerable extent his net income during the winter-feeding period. In order to learn more about the effects of different methods of storage on the feeding value of a forage, com- parable lots were stored in the silo without preservative, were mow- cured without supplemental heat, and were field cured. On the dry basis the silage con- tained 2 per cent more protein than the mow-cured hay, while the mow- cured hay contained 1.5 per cent 20 more than the field-cured hay. The silage was also higher in energy. As determined in another experiment, the digestibility of both the protein and energy of the silage, when fed as the sole ration, was considerably lower than that of either of the hays. However, the silage produced much greater gains than either of the hays when fed free choice along with two lbs. per day of a concentrate mixture to growing dairy heifers. This re- sult was obtained in spite of a con- siderably lower nutrient intake from the silage. These results indicate the possi- bility that the full nutritive value of forage which is ensiled without pre- servative may not be realized when it is fed as the sole ration. This ex- periment also shows both the value of grass silage in preventing the loss of nutrients during harvesting and its value as a part of the ration. H. A. Keener, K. S. Morrow, AND G. M. FOULKROD Wood Molasses as Good as Cane Molasses in Dairy Cattle Feeding. A process has been developed at the U. S. Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wis., for the production of molasses from wood waste. Yields of 130 to 200 gallons of molasses are obtained from each ton of wood. Briefly, the process consists of con- verting wood waste to sugar by pressure-cooking with dilute acid and subsequently evaporating the re- sulting sugar solution to molasses. Because of the high yields of mo- lasses obtained by this process from unused wood wastes such as are found at sawmills, woodworking plants, and in the forests, lumbermen are very much interested in this product. Because preliminary feeding tests showed that the molasses produced by this process may be used as a substitute for cane molasses for stock feeding, and because of the large amount of wood wastes available throughout New Hampshire, experi- ments to determine the value of this product and to compare its nutritive value with that of cane molasses for dairy cattle feeding have been car- ried out. By means of carefully controlled individual protein and energy balance experiments with dairy heifers it was found that wood molasses was equal to cane molasses as a feed for dairy cattle. N. F. CoLovos, H. A. Keener, A. E. Teeri, and J. R. Prescott Early-Cut Timothy Hay Is High in Protein. Farmers have been ad- vised for many years to harvest their forages early. It generally has been recognized for a long time that the stage of maturity and the texture of the plant are indicative of its feeding value. However, little conclusive ex- perimental evidence appears to have been obtained by nitrogen and en- ergy balance experiments to deter- mine accurately the effect of maturity on the feeding value of various for- ages. In a series of controlled indi- vidual feeding experiments with dairy heifers, using the facilities of the metabolism stalls, the automatic excreta collection devices and the respiration chambers available at the New Hampshire Agricultural Experi- ment Station, the nutritive value of timothy hay, cut at three different stages of maturity, was determined and compared to clover hay. The early timothy surpassed all the other hays in metabolizable energy but furnished less than half as much digestible protein as the clover hay. The early-cut timothy furnished 3.2 times as much digestible protein and 1.25 times as much metabolizable energy as the late-cut timothy hay. H. A. Keener, N. F. Colovos, A. E. Teeri. and J. R. Prescott Aureomycin Proves Highly Effec- tive for the Treatment of Mastitis. A new antibiotic agent, aureomycin, was tested for the treatment of streptococcal and staphylococcal mastitis. This material was supplied for experimental use through the courtesy of Lederle Laboratories, Pearl River, N. Y. The aureomycin was placed in an ointment base in a tube, the end of which could be in- serted into the teat canal and the in- jection made directly from the orig- inal container. The results to date indicate that the aureomycin is re- markably effective for the treatment of mastitis and has given better re- sults than any other agent so far tested. One injection of 200 to 400 mg. of aureomycin was sufficient to 21 cure nearly all cases of streptococcal staphylococci. They should lead to mastitis. The aureomycin also ap- better methods of diagnosis and con- pears to be highly promising for the trol of mastitis caused by these bac- treatment of staphylococcal mastitis. teria. Studies are being conducted on the L. W. Slanetz, F. E. Allen, types and pathogenicity of mastitis AND Ralston Read Entomology The European Corn Borer Can Be Successfully Curtailed with DDT. Results of experiments carried on for the past three years in Somersworth and Pittsfield, show that the Euro- pean corn borer can be controlled satisfactorily with DDT dusts. The tests involved both market sweet corn and canning corn. It was found that four applications of a 3 per cent DDT dust gave the best results, over 90 per cent of the ears being borer-free. Three appli- cations of the DDT dust gave slight- ly less than 90 per cent borer-free ears. Control with fewer applica- tions was unsatisfactory. The dust was applied at the average rate of 35 lbs. per acre. This is the equiva- lent of approximately 1 pound of actual DDT per acre. Liquid sprays of DDT in oil also were tested. Four applications of DDT oil solution gave approximately 85 per cent borer-free ears. J. ,G. CoNKLiN, R. L. Blickle, and W. J. Morse New Insecticides Have Many Uses. The application of parathion in the calyx, and first and second cover sprays appears to have given good control of the red-banded leafroller on apples. Some injury to the foli- age has occurred with the calyx ap- plication. Rhothane wettable pow- der, Rhothane emulsion, and two new compounds. No. 118 and No. 1189, also gave rather promising re- sults against the first brood of the leafroller without causing any ap- parent injury to the foliage of young fruit. Parathion at the rate of IV2 ^^bs. of 15 per cent wettable powder has given satisfactory control of the eye- spotted budmoth in commercial or- chards. Limited tests with a new miticide known as Arathane are being made during the current season. The ma- terial may have promise in control of orchard mites and mites infesting vegetable and ornamental crops. J. G. Conklin, R. L. Blickle, and W. J. Morse Better bisect Control with Nico- tine Sprays. Certain chemical com- pounds, when added to nicotine sprays, will increase the kill and thus result in better insect control. This year, 165 compounds have been tested. Of this number 25 com- pounds were found to increase the toxicity of nicotine sprays when used against aphids. These materials are termed synergists and are added to nicotine sprays in small amounts. The following compounds increased the kill when added to nicotine sprays at the rate of one part of the synergist to 4,000 parts of the spray material : Dibutyl hexahydrophthal- ate, tributyl phosphate, and butyl fumarate. In the course of experimental work it was found that one com- pound was rather highly toxic in it- self when used against aphids. In fact, it appears to be somewhat more toxic to aphids than is nicotine used at the same concentration. This compound has the formidable name 22 of l-butyl-4, 4-dimethyl-2-(l-ethyl- hexyl) -imidazolidine. J. G. CoNKLiN, R. L. Buckle, AND W. J. Morse Insect Records Show What Harm- ful Insects Are Particularly Numer- ous during the Year. In the summer of 1948, grasshoppers occurred in destructive numbers in localized areas in New Hampshire. Two principal species were concerned: the lesser migratory grasshopper, and the red-legged grasshopper. The eye-spotted budmolh and the red-banded leafroller caused moder- ate to severe damage in commercial apple orchards in the southern part of the state. There are indications that the use of modern, mechanized spray devices may be a contributing factor to the increase in these two orchard pests. The Japanese beetle has reached the point where very heavy feeding is noticeable, particularly in the cities of Keene. Concord, and Dover. J. G. CoNKLIN Studies of Forest Insects. Ex- amination of the permanent spruce budmoth observation plots revealed that up to this time this insect is showing no tendency to build up in New Hampshire. The outbreak of the bronze borer apparently has come to a standstill; in fact, it appears to be decreasing somewhat in intensity. A survey, conducted in areas which had been burned over during the summer of 1947 and which had been re-planted with white and red pine, showed extensive damage by the pales weevil. In some cases as many as 80 per cent of the planted seed- lings had been completely destroyed by the fall of 1948. Work on this project during the ensuing year will include an investi- gation of chemical control of the white pine weevil. J. G. CoNKLIN Pales Weevil Damage to Conifers. Ten plots of 100 transplants each were established in the Rochester Fire Area in the spring of 1948. Nursery stock consisting of white and red pine was provided by the State Forestry and Recreation Com- mission. The plots have been examined periodically since planting, and sev- eral field inspections have been con- ducted for the benefit of interested persons. There is considerable variation among the plots in the number of trees killed. The damage observed one year from the date of planting was 75 per cent of the trees in one plot killed and all but two of those which survived showing injury. On the other hand, only four trees have been killed in another part of the burned area under conditions which appear to be somewhat simi- lar. In general, however, the damage is around 40 per cent to 50 per cent of the trees killed. The presence of near-by pine trees, each one a foot or more in diameter, usually indi- cates an area of active feeding. Feeding has been observed this spring, though lighter than last year. New plantings have been made in the same areas and observations will be continued for at least another year. L. C. Swain Forestry The Sugar Content of Maple Sap Varies Considerably from Tree to Tree. An attempt was made to meas- ure the total sap production of each tree; but this attempt was only partially successful because of un- 23 satisfactory equipment and lack of time. No data were collected on changes in the rate of flow as in- fluenced by the weather. The sap of 48 of the trees was tested for sugar content, with the following results: Sugar Content No. of Trees 0.5 0.9% 1 1.0 1.4 1.5 1.9 6 2.0 2.4 22 2.5 2.9 11 3.0 3.4 4 3.5 3.9 2 4.0 4.4 4.5 4.9 2 Total 48 Not all the trees in that area were tapped, but it is evident that there is material present to permit studying the influence of weather on sap flow in several classes of trees. C. L. Stevens Hop Hornbeam Makes Good Peavy Handles. Hop Hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) is sometimes called leverwood because of its toughness which adapts it for use as pry bars. It is used to a limited ex- tent commercially, but ordinarily it if, cut as fuelwood. Unless carefully dried it tends to check badly. Oc- casionally, peavy handles are made of hop hornbeam and are highly re- garded because they stand up so well under the roughest kind of treatment. Twenty-five peavy handles were hand-turned, 17 of them from bolts cut in the near-by woods, and were turned immediately. The other bolts had been previously cut and dried. Green wood turns more easily than dry wood, and can be seasoned with- out checking if it is thoroughly coated either with commercial wood sealer or with ordinary varnish. De- fects in the wood are not easily seen until they are partly turned. If serious defects appear, the bolt is 24 immediately discarded with little loss of time and handling. When the bolts are dried previous to turning, both time and storage are involved before a defective piece is finally thrown away. The amount of de- fect observed in the study was 25 per cent. Dry turned bolts do not need seal- ing treatment, but because of check- ing, often must be cut off at the ends by several inches before turning. Shrinkage must be taken into ac- count when the wood is turned green so that a well-fitting handle will re- sult. L. C. SVTAIN Chain Saws Speed Up Thinning Work in White Pine Plantation. It takes 52.5 man-hours to cut and pile 6.5 cords of four-foot pulp wood as a thinning operation in a 35- to 40- year-old white pine plantation. This was determined by a time study where four University of New Hamp- shire seniors did the actual work. The pine stand covers an area of 1.06 acres. A 90-pound, six horsepower chain saw was used in felling and for a part of the bucking. Nearly as nmch time was taken in getting the tree to the ground after cutting as in the actual cutting time. For ex- ample, 10.3 seconds are required to cut the average tree and 8.9 seconds to get it into position for bucking. An extra man with a push pole speeds this job considerably. Limbing was not difficult as the branches were small. This operation took 1.9 minutes per tree. With the chain saw. the average tree was bucked into four-foot lengths in 1.6 minutes. It required 7.4 minutes for one man with a bow- type pulp saw to do the same job. The men quickly tired while using the chain saw and the cuts were- broomed on the small diameter pieces. Newly developed one-man chain saws, weighing around 40 pounds, should make the job of felling and bucking somewhat easier and less expensive. Studies on three other plots of somewhat similar nature are in pro- gress. The total acreage on the three plots is 21.84. L. C. Swain Fruits and Vegetables Hay Mulch in the Sod Orchard Pays Dividends. Young Mcintosh trees mulched with hay produced twice as much fruit in 1949 as did either unmulched or sawdust mulch- ed trees in the same orchard. By standard quick-test methods it was found that available nitrate-nitrogen, magnesium, potassium, calcium, and phosphorus were present in greater amounts in the top six inches of soil under hay than under either sawdust mulch or unmulched sod. On the other hand, when trees were mulched with seaweed, the amounts of available nitrate-nitrogen and magnesium in the soil were even higher than under hay mulch, a con- dition which was reflected in the ex- treme dark green color of the foli- age and by the delayed maturity of the fruit. It was also noted that some foliage injury resulted from this treatment. Therefore seaweed is not recommended as an orchard mulch. In general, growers have been under the impression that the use of sawdust as a mulch may unduly in- crease soil acidity, to the detrimenl; of the trees. It was found, however, that sawdust has had no different effect on soil acidity than hay mulch or sod without mulch. L. P. Latimer G. P. Percival Caji High Concentrations of Car- bon Dioxide Gas Be Maintained in the Average Common Cold Storage Plant for a Short Period of Time? Rhode Island experiments have shown that concentrations of around 50 per cent carbon dioxide in storage air can lengthen consider- ably the time during which some varieties of apples can be kept iji saleable condition. The walls and ceiling of the com- mon cold storage plant at the Uni- versity of New Hampshire are lined with asphalt-impregnated cork block and concrete mortar, and the floors are of concrete. Experiments in this storage show, however, that it is im- possible to maintain above 21 per cent carbon dioxide in the air inside for more than two or three hours. This is because of the permeability of those walls through which the gas escapes. This indicates that be- fore attempting to use any ordinary plant for gas storage of apples, for e\en a short period, it will be neces- sary first to gas-proof the walls, ceil- ing, floor, and doors in order to maintain the uniform concentration desired, Russell Eggert Hay and Sawdust Mulches Main- tain Uniform Soil Temperature around Apple Roots. During the exceptionally hot week of August 23-29. 1948, maximum air temper- atures were 84°, 98°, 102°, 96°, 98°. and 94° F,, and mimimum air temperature ranged from 53° to 75° P., while the air temperatures at the surface of unmulched soil rose to a peak of 123° F. On February 12, 1949, when air temperature dropped to -11° F., the temperature under both hay and sawdust mulches remained at 32° F". Russell Eggert 25 Aluminum Foil Wrappers Can Be Used to Reduce Sun Scald of Tree Trunks. During the clear winter days of bright sunlight and no wind (February 20 and 24, 1949) air temperatures were 45° and 38° F. respectively. Temperatures in the cambiums on the south side of un- covered tree trunks rose to 72° and 67° F., while those in the cambiums of tree trunks which were wrapped with alumni foil were only 42° and 37° F. at the same time. This indi- cates that alumninum foil, a ma- terial which is easy to apply and to remove, may be an exceptionally good material to use in preventing winter sunscald of tree trunks. Russell Eggert Neiv Varieties of Apples Look Promising. Among the new apple varieties on trial at the University of New Hampshire Horticultural Farm, the following appear to war- rant further trial, and have replaced the remaining Baldwin trees in the experimental orchards. Fireside — harvested September 26. A Minnesota variety; light red striped in color; medium good in quality; stores well. Franklin — • harvested October 14. Not a large apple; solid red in color; smooth skin; good good quality; stores well. Two other varieties which show promise are Sharon and Carlton. Those varieties still on trial, but which have not as yet been satis- factory under conditions at the Horticultural Farm are: Minjon, Haralson, Joan, Joyce, Newtosh, Keetosh, Victory, Webster, and Wedge. Russell Eggert A Cultivating Attachment Adapted to Many Jobs on Small Farms. A cultivating attachment which was de- veloped at the University of New 26 Hampshire Horticultural Farm has been found extremely useful in culti- vating wide-row crops, squash, and raspberries, and is especially adapted to prepare small areas for planting. Its particular advantages are the sufficient spread of the shovels to re- duce clogging with trash; its ability to cultivate out all tracks left by a tractor; the facts that it can be set any desired depth, and that the shovels on spring teeth eliminate breakage on stony ground. Russell Eggert Sprayer Duster Experiments. A comparison of the sprayer-duster, a machine which applies a wet dust, and the regular high-pressure spray machine for scab control showed that where enough material was used to obtain good coverage, the control was similar (less than 1 per cent scabby fruit), with both ma- chines when using the finer particle size dusts. Where a 325 mesh sul- fur was used, 24 per cent of the fruit showed scab. The importance of thorough cover- age in scab control was well illus- trated by taking records of scab in- jury on different sides of the trees. Where the 325 mesh sulfur was used, 76 per cent of the fruit nearest the duster was free from scab while that part of the tree farthest from the duster while driving by produced fruit only 24 per cent clean. Where the finer particle size dust was used, none of the fruit showed scab on the part of the tree nearest to the duster while only 76 per cent was free from scab on the part of the tree farthest from the duster. A sticker in the water used to wet the dust did not improve the scab control. A concentrate of naphthalene acetic acid in oil was applied as a mist, using the sprayer part of the sprayer-duster to delay the drop of Mcintosh. One pint, one quart, and two quarts of the material were ap- plied per tree. An average of 2.3 apples dropped per day on the treated trees for the 10-day period following the application. Where naphthalene acetic acid was applied as a spray at the rate of 10 gallons per tree, an average of 4.2 apples dropped per day, and where no ma- terials were applied, 14.8 fruits dropped per day. The fruit on the check trees was dropping at the rate of 34 on the ninth day compared to two on the trees treated with the concentrate. Russell Eggert A New Sprayer and Attachments Give Exceptionally Rapid and Thorough Coverage. An Arlington sprayer equipped with a 35-gallon a minute pump, Wisconsin air- cooled engine, and Hardie Sprayrite boom has been slightly altered and. as set up now, gives exceptionally good coverage on large, medium, or small trees. It can be operated by two or three men as desired. A re- duction in number of nozzles on the boom permits attachments of a long- handled four-nozzle broom which is operated from the barrel on top of the tank. This broom carries 11/64- inch holes in all discs; it will spray against considerable cross-wind and is used to cover the tops and centers of medium to large trees. Either boom or broom may be shut off as desired. Russell Eggert Apple Picking Platform Has Pos- sibilities. Apple growers recently have become interested in devices which are better than a ladder to aid apple pickers in harvesting the fruit. Many suggested devices are expensive and complicated, but not sound economically. Under the best of conditions a picker can harvest only a limited number of boxes of apples in a day. Therefore it would be more economical to hire more pickers than to tie up expensive equipment or to make large invest- ments. With this in mind, a horse rake was used as the basis for construct- ing a simple, inexpensive piece of equipment light enough to be moved about the orchard by hand. The ac- companying photograph shows this picking aid which was used with considerable success during the last harvest season and which could well provide the basis for an improved piece of equipment. The first year's experience indi- cates that this picking aid should be mounted on large-diameter, light- weight wheels to make it mobile; that the wheels should be far apart to give it stability; that the plat- form on which the pickers stand should be partly balanced on the axle so the equipment can be easily moved; and that the base sills of the platform should extend out under the tree, spreading as wide or wider than the wheels. As the equipment is very light in weight, it should be Fig. 8 — An inexpensive apple-picking platform made on an old dump hay rake. ti& 27 constructed in such a way that when the pickers are on the platform most of their weight will be transferred to the ends of the sills under the tree, thus giving the picking aid stability and rigidity. The planks on which the pickers stand should be about eight inches wide with a pointed nose so as to slide in and around the branches of the tree. They should be mounted in a fan shape, each plank being flexi- bly attached so that it may be moved into or out of the tree as well as sideways. This procedure makes it possible to adjust the planks of the picking platform to meet different limb spacings. W. W. Smith Giant Mcintosh Sport Used as Apple Parent. A sport of Mcintosh apple at Roger Kimball's farm in Littleton, Mass., produces giant fruits. It has been shown by U. S. Department of Agriculture workers that this sport has twice the number of chromosomes of the ordinary Mc- intosh. It is called a tetraploid. Winter Banana apple has the same number of chromosomes as ordinary Mcintosh, i.e., 34 or a diploid num- ber. Crosses of Winter Banana and the Giant Mcintosh were successfully made and 400 seedlings from this parentage are being grown. Some of these should be triploids. It is hoped to combine some of the good qualities of the two parents in one variety. E. M. Meader Horticultural Work in Northern New Hampshire. In 1948, the Uni- versity of New Hampshire Depart- ment of Horticulture moved its northern New Hampshire experi- mental plots from Colebrook to the Coos County Farm in West Stewarts- town, where we have four acres for vegetable variety trials and 10 acres for orchard and small fruits. A 600-tree orchard which contains apple, cherry, plum, prune, apricot, and pear varieties as well as some trees to be tried for hardiness as body stock has been set, and fenced to prevent damage by deer. It is still too early to report re- sults from the fruit planting, but a list of the vegetable varieties best suited for the North Country, as shown by these trials, has been published. A. F. Yeager Richard Folev More Work for Less Money. Plant- breeding operations require the growing of many plants and if all these plants are grown to maturity, a plant-breeding project may be very expensive. For instance, if it is necessary to raise a thousand seed- ling peach trees to bearing age in order to select a desirable one, sev- eral acres of land will be required for a period of years and the cost of fertilizing and maintaining the plants will be heavy. A discovery made this spring at the University of New Hampshire is of importance, and gives promise of lessening these expenses. It was observed that germinating peach seeds produce sprouts which vary in color from yellow to white. White seedlings are produced by plants which we know will give white- fruited offspring. In our breeding work in many populations we expect about one-fourth of the seedlings to produce yellow fruit at maturity, and the other three-quarters to pro- duce white fruit. Hence, it is now possible to discard three-quarters of the peach seedlings before they come above the ground, thus reducing the cost of our peach-breeding project by nearly 75 per cent. A. F. Yeager E. M. Meader 28 How Tall Should a Raspberry Bush Be? From crosses between ordinary raspberries and Rubus chamaemorus, the bakeberry of the jiorthern swamps, we are now get- ting fruitful, hardy raspberry plants, ranging at maturity from one to six feet in height, with some of the most productive from three to four feet in height. As tall raspberry plants which have the tops cut oft lose the Lest bearing wood in the process, plants which will not require top- ping are now in sight. These should also be more or less protected by snow during the winter months and may, therefore, be less winter in- jured. At any rate, we now have the possibility of raspberries pro- duced on any height of plant you wish. A. F. Yeager New Hampshire Wild Blueberries Used to Improve Cultivated Varie- ties. Increased hardiness is needed for blueberry varieties to be fully adapted to New Hampshire condi- tions. Crosses of a large-fruited, wild high-bush blueberry, found in Loudon, have been made with sev- eral of the improved cultivated blue- berries from New Jersey and Mary- land . Also, crosses of the cultivated high-bush variety, Pemberton, have been made with superior wild low- bush blueberries. The F^ hybrids of this cross proved to be half-high and had dark blackish-blue fruits. In the Fo generation, of which several thousand seedlings are being grown, good light blue fruits should occur. One thousand unnamed blueberry seedlings, grown and furnished by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, are being grown for a fruiting test at Durham and Gilford. E. M. Meader W. W. Smith Anti-Biotic Being Tested on Squashes. A new anti-biotic derived from the same organism which pro- duces streptomycin has been report- ed by Michigan State College to be effective in preventing the growth of fungi. This material, actidione, was tried this winter on some Butternut squashes by cutting off at the stem end, dipping in a paste of rotten squash, and then in the actidione solution. While squashes treated in this way finally rotted, decay was de- layed for a considerable length of time. Hence, it seems desirable to try this material more extensively another year. A. F. Yeager A New, Early Lima Bean Intro- duced. New Hampshire 4^51 lima bean has now been named White Mountain Bush. This variety is as early as the earliest variety hitherto, but its pods and seeds are as large as late varieties and are produced on low-growing, bushy plants. White Mountain seems to have the ability tc germinate in colder soil than most lima bean varieties; hence, it should be adapted to home gardeners in New Hampshire and neighboring states. It was selected from miscel- laneous material sent by the U. S. Department of Agriculture several years ago. A. F. Yeager Carnival Popcorn Attractive. For a number of years we have been working on a variegated popcorn which produces kernals of many colors, ranging from white and yel- low through pink, purple, and black. The variety has now been purified for earliness, shapeliness of ear, and for a reasonable degree of popping quality. Because of its striking ap- pearance, it has been named Carni- val. It should have value, especially for roadside marketing, as the ears may be marketed for ornamental purposes. A. F. Yeager 29 Korean Vegetables Do Well in New Hampshire. Of 145 kinds and varieties of Korean vegetables grown in test plots, several were outstand- ing for their earliness, good quality, and adaptability to a northern cli- mate. An Oriental variety of table soy- bean, which has been named Pando, matured green shell beans in 78 days on compact plants about one foot tall. The pods ripened rather uni- formly. One variety of eggplant proved early and extremely productive. The black fruits are long cylindrical in shape. Single plants matured 10 to 12 fruits before frosts. This var- iety is being called Korean Long. A Japanese watermelon variety called Shingyamato matured high- quality, 10-pound melons both at Durham and in Coos County, where a crop of this kind seldom ripens. Selections of this have been named Colebrook after the place where the variety was first grown in America. The sweet, crisp flesh of these water- melons is red and the seeds are small and black. Early muskmelons and cold-re- sistant, early-ripening cucumbers al- so proved promising and can serve as valuable sources of breeding ma- terial for improved, early vegetable varieties. E. M. Meader Weed Control 2,4-D not a Cure- All. 2,4-D, a selective weed killer, is selective not only with crops, but also with weed species. Tests made in 1948 indi- cated that mustard and white pig- weed (two of the most common weeds in oat fields) are easily con- trolled by spraying with I/2 lb. or 1 lb. of 40 per cent 2,4-D acid per acre, but that certain other weeds were not killed by the spray. At these concentrations, young clover plants survived, although they re- acted to the 2,4-D. The use of this substance to control weeds in oats at these low rates of application is to be recommended, especially where mustard-like plants and white pig- weed are in abundance. When these rates of 2,4-D were applied to corn, either as a pre- emergence or post-emergence spray, mustard (kale, charlock) and white pigweed were controlled, but red- rooted pigweed, ragweed, and smart- weed were not killed. Hence, the plots of corn which were not culti- vated, but sprayed only, exhibited a high weed population of these species that were resistant to the herbicide. 30 Work is being continued during 1949 with 2.4-D at higher rates of application. Meanwhile, and until more information is obtained in our climate and on our soils, our advice to farmers is not to throw their culti- vators away, but to use 2,4-D spray- ing as a supplement to normal culti- vation procedures. At rates of 1/2 lb., 1 lb., and l^/o lb., of 40 per cent 2,4-D acid per acre, potato vines were noticeably affected, yields were reduced slight- ly; but potatoes sprayed at the lower rates showed a higher specific gravi- ty in the tubers than those from un- treated vines. P. T. Blood F. S. Prince Gray Birch in Blueberries Can Be Killed by Spraying. Gray birch is one of the most troublesome weeds in the low-bush blueberry fields, and is difficult to eradicate because of its ability to sprout from the stumps. In an experimental plot of three and one-half acres that was literally covered with gray birch varying in size from small sprouts to trees three inches in diameter, the weed killer, 2,4,5-T was applied as a spray to the stumps at the rate of two pints per 10 gallons. Cutting was started in May and was continued until July first, the 2,4,5-T solution being ap- plied immediately after cutting. The stumps on which the material was applied to the sides as well as to the cut surface have not sprouted. Older stumps of fall and winter cut- ting which were sprayed this spring with 2,4,5-T sprouted considerably. The best technique, as indicated from this year's work, is to apply the 2,4,5-T immediately after cutting, within a few hours, being sure to cover the sides of the stump as well as the cut surface. This was effec- tive even when the stumps were cut as close to the ground as two inches. The technique used was for one or two men to cut the gray birch and a third man to follow up with the hand sprayer. One gallon of the 2,4,5-T concen- trate was enough to treat the stumps on this three and one-half acre ex- perimental plot. W. W. Smith Quackgrass Can Be Controlled with Chemicals. During the past two years, a new herbicide known as TCA has attracted a great deal of attention because of its effectiveness in killing quackgrass. The full name of this chemical is Sodium Trichloro- acetate. Experiments carried on by the University of New Hampshire De- partment of Botany during the past year indicate that TCA is effective under a variety of conditions with late spring and summer treatments. Early spring and fall treatments have not yet been worked out. In light sandy soils quackgrass was nearly completely destroyed when % lb. of the substance dissolved in a gallon of water was sprayed on 100 square feet of infested area. In heavier soils, containing varying quantities of clay, larger amounts of TCA (up to % and %^ lb.) had to be used for effective control. The herbicide is absorbed chiefly from the soil and not through the foliage. Therefore, grass should be mowed before treat- ment to permit the TCA solution to reach the soil. Our experiments indi- cate that in moderately heavy to heavy soils the residual effect of the chemical in the soil seems to dis- appear within a month to six weeks following application. Most farms have areas where TCA could be tried. The preparation of grass-free strawberry beds, or aspar- agus beds, and the removal of grass from the borders of gardens which serve as perennial sources of quack- grass infection are a few suggestions for its use. A. R. HODGDON Plant Pathology New Fungicides for Apple Scab Control. Although a number of fungicides are available for disease- control on fruits, vegetables, and potatoes, there is still need for better ones. The micro-fine wettable sul- furs will control apple scab if ade- quately applied to the fruits and foli- age as protective sprays or dusts; however, as orchard operations do not always make it possible to apply sulfur at the proper time, there is a definite need for materials which have eradicative properties. It is for this purpose that Phygon XL, puratized apply spray, puratized agricultural spray, Tag 331, and others have been advocated. Iron carbamate, now available under vari- ous trade names, does not function as an eradicant and has not been as effective as the micro-fine sulfurs for 31 scab control in our test plots in Dur- ham. It serves a useful purpose, however, for rust control on rust- susceptible varieties such as Wealthy and Winter Banana. In general, the eradicant sprays mentioned will give more satisfact- ory scab control than sulfur if thev are applied three or four times in the pre-cover sprays. Their use as single-shot sprays to eradicate scab is not recommended. These materials are compatible with nearly all the common insecticides now in use. M. C. Richards, Francis Racine, AND Russell Eggert Poultry Husbandry Is Pellet Feeding More Efficient ihan Mash Feeding? Mash feeding has been compared with pellet feed- ing for growing pullets from one day to 20 weeks of age. A third group was fed pellets without hoppers after they were three weeks old. At 12 w^eeks of age, grain was introduced into the ration of all pens and fed in the litter. The pen-fed pullets in hoppers became infected with coc- cidiosis at about nine weeks of age. This caused about 10 per cent addi- tional mortality. The results, thre- fore, are only indicative of the differ- ences that may exist. In view of the coccidiosis condi- tion it would appear that pellet feed- ing is at least as efficient as mash feeding and perhaps may have a slight advantage. In the pellet-fed groups considerable difficulty was ex- perienced with feather picking but there was little actual loss from can- nibalism. Litter conditions were less satisfactory in the pellet-fed pens and, surprisingly, were least satis- factory in the pen fed pellets in the litter. R. C. Ringrose Should Replacement Stock Be Raised on High Energy Feed? Three pens of chicks were fed to 12 weeks of age to determine the rela- tive merits of high-energy and regu- lar mash feeds for growing broilers. The high-energy feed was definitely superior in feed efficiency and re- turned more money over feed cost. The regular mash feed gave a feed efficiency of 3.71 pounds of feed per pound of gain while the two groups fed high-energy feed gave figures of 3.00 and 3.05. Income over feed cost per thousand broilers raised amounted to S448 for the regular mash feed and $574 for the high- energy feed. Mortality was low and varied by less than II/2 per cent. At 12 weeks, males were removed and the pullets continued until they were 20 weeks of age. Also, at this time, one pen which had received high-energy feed was changed to the regular growing mash. Grain was introduced into the ration of each pen and was fed in the litter. At the end of 12 weeks the birds which received the high-energy feed averaged 0.4 pounds heavier and had A Comparison of Feeding Systems at Twenty Weeks of Age Feeding Systems Average Weight Feed per pound of Gain Mortality Mash Pellets Pellets — no hoppers lbs. lbs. Per Cent 4.57 4.63 5.52 4.49 4.6Q 16.74 4.77 4.34 6.05 32 Results of Growing Pullets to Twenty Weeks of Age Feed Efficiency Feed 0-12 12-20 0-^20 weeks weeks weeks Average Weight 20 weeks Mortality 12-20 weeks Regular High Energy High Energy 12 Weeks Regular 12-20 Weeks lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. % 3.71 5.91 4.63 4.57 0 3.00 6.67 4.33 .4.83 2.82 3.05 6.51 4.32 4.73 1.59 made efficient use of their feed. How- ever, during the 12- to 20-week period they grew less rapidly and were much less efficient in the use of their feed than those which had re- ceived the regular mash from the start. The group which received the regular mash after 12 weeks also grew more slowly and used theii" feed less efficiently. As the mature weight was approached all groups tended to come to the same weight. Such results are not uncommon with chickens since it is known that, with- in limits, early rapid growth is fol- lowed by a later period of less rapid growth. Mature weight being an in- herited characteristic, all groups ap- proach the same weight as they ap- proach maturity. At 20 weeks the high-energy fed birds had lost some of the weight advantage they held at 12 weeks but were still heavier. Preliminary laying house data from these groups (all receiving the same laying ration ) indicate that the pullets grown on the regular mash and the high-energy mash started production at the same time. They also reached 50 per cent pro- duction after the same period of time. In contrast, the group which received high-energy mash followed by regular mash laid their first eggs a few days earlier than the other groups. They also required four additional days to reach the 50 per cent production level. There is no difference in egg production after 112 days in the laying house. R, C. RiNGROSE Soybean Oil Meal Is a Good Pro- tein Supplement. Soybean oil meal is the only protein supplement neces- sary for the production of market eggs. Soybean oil meal can supply the major portion of the protein necessary for growth of chicks and production of hatching eggs, but for best results it must be supplemented with a small amount of protein of animal origin such as meat scrap or fish meal. By supplying most of the supplemental protein from soybean oil meal cheaper rations are obtained. R. C. RiNGROSE Meat Qualities and Egg Produc- tion Are Being Combined in One Bird. During the past year, work has continued on the Dark Cornish- New Hampshire cross. A total of 1587 eight generation (Fg) chicks hatched from six single-male matings were pedigreed and their perform- ance will be studied from a family standpoint. Next year's breeders will be selected from the families that gave the best results with respect to egg production, meat qualities, liv- ability, and uniformity. The trapnested F7 hens have not completed a year's production, al- though the production seems to be as high as last year. Last year's high- est production in these birds was 237 eggs per year. Twenty-five per cent of the 80 F7 hens used as breeders hatched 90 per cent or more of fer- tile eggs and 49 per cent of these hens hatched 80 per cent or more. 33 Fig. 9 — The carcass of a White Cornish- New Hampshire cross which laid 182 eggs in 10 months. carries well to the end of the keel. The keel itself is five inches long and the distance from the posterior end of the keel to a point perpendicular to the ruler in Fig. 9 is eight inches. This certainly indicates that good egg production and superior meat qualities can be combined in one bird. Fig. 10 shows a White Cornish- New Hampshire male and Fig. 11 a female from this cross. The close feathering shown is typical of the cross. It should also be noted that the birds shown are reddish in color with the normally black areas of the New Hampshire being replaced by white. This indicates the possibility of the presence of that gene which in- hibits black but not red in the strain of White Cornish used. C. W. Hess After desirable and uniform fami- lies are obtained, this stock will be made available to New Hampshire poultrymen. With this in mind, 366 backcross chicks were produced this year by mating four purebred New Hampshire females with each of the six Fj males. These backcross chicks were heavier at 10 weeks than the Fg chicks and they were looser feathered (resembling more the fe- male parent) than the Fg chicks. The backcross chicks were broader breasted and apparently carried more meat than the straight New Hampshires, but they were not as satisfactory as the Fg birds in these respects. The White Cornish-New Hamp- shire cross made last year seems very promising. Egg production is ex- ceptionally good, one hen having laid 224 eggs in 11 months. Fig. 9 shows a hen which had laid 182 eggs in ten months, or the equivalent of 218 eggs in 12 months. It can be noted that the anterior width of the breast is approximately four and one-half inches and that the width 1 "^^^^ ' r— ^ — *^ kJl Fig. 10 — ( ahove ) A male from a White Cornish-New Hampshire cross. Fig. 11 — (below) A female from a White Cornish-New Hampshire cross. Note the wing badge which is used to identify the bird while trapnested. 34 Feed Cost May Be Reduced through Breeding. Reduction of feed cost is of paramount importance to the poultry industry and to every poultryman. large or small. Any re- duction that can be brought about through breeding will mean addi- tional profit to the poultryman. Research is under way in an at- tempt to identify individuals and families that will utilize their feed more efficiently than others. Indi- vidual body weight and feed con- sumption data are recorded for males and females, as well as egg production data for the hens. Chicks are produced from these males and females and their efficiency is noted. Results to date show a wide vari- ation between individuals in feed consumption. For example, male B (Fig. 12), weighing 7.76 pounds, consumed 84.65 pounds of feed in 40 weeks in contrast to male D (Fig. 13), weighing 7.69 pounds which consumed only 61.09 pounds during the same period. This difference of 23.56 pounds of feed is equivalent to 30.7 pounds per bird per year. Therefore, for every 65 males simi- lar to male D instead of male B, a saving of one ton of feed per year may be realized. tWjl»li|p.i»...^^ v> Fie. 13 Male D which made efficient use of his feed. A total of 186 chicks was hatched and feed consumption and body weight to 10 weeks were observed. Variations in the proportions of the two sexes and differences in the weight of chickens in different proge- ny groups render it difficult to draw definite conclusions. However, the work is encouraging and conclusive evidence is anticipated. Inbreeding work has been initiated in an attempt to get more uniformity of the stock. The first pullets from brother-sister mating will soon come into produc- tion. C. W. Hess SoiL Fig. 12 — Male B which utilized feed rather inefficiently. Save that Topsoil. High yields can be obtained only if erosion is pre- vented. Plots on a Paxton sandy loam from which different ainounts of topsoil had been removed to simu- late erosion gave the following re- sults in 1948, when in hay: 35 Amount of Topsoil Removed % Yield of Hay Pounds Per Acre Unfertilized Fertilized 100 436 2091 50 1263 2962 0 3920 5009 Similar yield effects were obtained with oats in 1945 and with corn in 1946. It is obvious that fertilization, which included commercial fertil- izer, lime, and manure, was not cap- able of completely overcoming the harmful effects of topsoil removal. Some clues as to why this is so are shown in the following table, which gives some results of physical and chemical analyses of soil samples taken from the various plots. Amount of Topsoil Removed % during the past seven years has been 12 bushels per acre greater on the plots protected with winter rye than on the plots which have been left bare over the winter. The yield benefits from the winter rye have been greater during wet summers than during dry summers and has has averaged about 27 bushels in normal rainfall years. With the yield benefit there has also been a soil-conserving benefit Organic Water Matter Stable \ on-capillary Content Aggregation Porositv % % % 1.18 32.8 15.9 2.58 34.9 19.8 4.72 48.5 21.3 100 50 0 These results clearly indicate that the properties of the soil which are commonly associated with good tilth and water-absorbing capacity are significantly decreased in value as the topsoil is removed and hence the decreased soil productivity cannot be expected to be overcome by fertili- zation alone but will also require a building up of organic matter and a re-development of better soil struc- ture. The number of years neces- sary for this physical process may be considerable, particularly on soils which have a compact subsoil which is low in organic matter. Therefore, save that topsoil for high yields this year, as well as for the future. J. B. Bartlett L. T. Kardos from the use of winter rye. The average annual soil losses from the bare plots during the past seven years have been almost double that from the winter rye plots. The win- ter rye has been effective not only while occupying the ground but also in rendering the soil less erosive aft- er it has been plowed in and while the potatoes are growing. From an analysis of samples taken in 1947 the degree of aggregation of the soil has been found to be slightly greater on the winter rye plots and the proportion of crumb-size aggre- gates tended to be greater. These properties undoubtedly account in part for the decreased erosiveness of the winter rye plots. J. B. Bartlett L. T. Kardos Does it Pay To Grow Winter Rye as a Cover Crop after Potatoes? The average annual yield of potatoes 36 Boron Needed On Some New Hampshire Crops. An application of boron is necessary for maximum growth of alfalfa on at least 50 per cent of the soils of New Hampshire according to studies made during the past year. In this study 12 of the major soil series were sampled under virgin conditions and sub- jected to tests for water soluble and total boron. The A horizons, or top-soils, of half of these series had less water-soluble boron than is re- garded as being necessary for proper growth of alfalfa, while three-quart- ers of the sub-soils on B horizons mdicate a deficiency of boron in water-soluble form. Since alfalfa and other legumes, as well as apple orchards and cer- tain vegetable crops, have relatively high boron needs, this work seems to have a rather wide application. Samples from the same soil series are now being studied with respect to the status of the potash, magnes- ium, calcium, and hydrogen. Since nmch of the state has been, or is being mapped in the Soil Survey, it is hoped to build up a supply of information about the different soil series in order that specific recom- mendations can be made for their successful fertilization and manage- ment. L. T. Kardos Hoiv Long Does Lime Last? That liming the land is a practice lead- ing to permanent soil improvement is shown by hay yields on the When- al farm in Greenland, in 1948 and 1949. This land was limed in 1925 and no lime has been applied since. The yields of hay for the two years were as follows: No lime 2.20 T. per acre 2 T. lime 1925 4.85 T. per acre 4 T. lime 1925 5.40 T. per acre These yields were obtained on a seeding of red clover made in 1947. The land was plowed, planted, and fertilized uniformly, the only differ- ence being the lime variables that had been applied 22 years before the seeding was made. F. S. Prince P. T. Blood Soil Survey Work Progresses. The Soil Survey of the soils of New Hampshire now completed for six counties, and in progress in one additional county, gives an inventory of the kind, amount, and location of the different soils in the state. In the written report which accompan- ies the soil map, each soil is describ- ed, its crop adaptations are present- ed, and optimum yields and desir- able soil management practices are explained. Surveys of over two-thirds of the state have been completed, with 6,450 square miles done and ap- proximately 2,450 square miles left to do. Approximately 40 square miles were mapped during the past year in Rockingham county. In co- operation with the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Survey reports have been published for Grafton county in 1939, Coos county in 1943, and Strafford countv in Janu- ary, 1949. Publication of the re- ports for the Sullivan-Cheshire area are expected during 1949, and for Hillsborough county in 1950. The Paxton and Marlow soils found in southern New Hampshire are the best soils for apple orchards. These soils are well-drained, loam textured, and developed on egg- shaped (drumlin) hills, affording ex- cellent air drainage. They are also among the better soils for dairy crops. R. Feuer 37 State Service Seed Inspection. The regular seed inspection work for the State Department of Agricuhure was con- ducted as usual. During the year, 3030 samples were handled in the laboratory. Of this number, 625 samples were collected by the State Inspectors and will be reported in Station Bulletin 378; 2,405 samples were sent in by seed dealers in com- pliance with the clause in the New Hampshire seed law which requires that all vegetable and agricuhural seed must have been tested for ger- mination within nine months of being offered for sale. Therefore, much of this testing was seed carried over from the previous season. A few of these samples were sent in by farm- ers who had grown beans or corn and wished to sell it for seed. B. G. Sanborn Inspection of Fertilizers and Feed- ingstuffs. In accordance with the laws regulating the sale of commer- cial fertilizers and of concentrated commercial feedingstuffs, 82 brands of fertilizers and 614 brands of feedingstuffs were analyzed for the State Department of Agriculture dur- ing the year 1948-49. These analy- ses involved individual determina- tions totalling 562 and 3239 respec- tively . Co-operation in work on analytical methods with the American Associ- ation of Feed Control Officials, with the Smalley Foundation, and with the Association of Official Agricul- tural Chemists has been continued. Samples of feeds, fertilizers and other materials have been analyzed for New Hampshire residents. Thirty-nine samples have been ex- amined, involving 142 determina- tions. H. A. Davis 38 Soil Testing. The samples of soil tested for New Hampshire resi- dents totalled 2391. H. A. Davis The National Poultry Improve- ment Plan. A total of 47 states are co-operating with the U. S. Depart- ment of Agriculture in administrat- ing the National Poultry Improve- ment Plan. In New Hampshire, a board of ten poultrymen administer the plan with the co-operation of the University of New Hampshire, the Agricultural Experiment Station, and the State Department of Agriculture. The Breed Improvement stages of the plan, i.e.: Approved, Certified, R.O.P., and R.O.M., are administer- ed by personnel of the University of New Hampshire Department of Poultry Husbandry. Flock inspec- tions were made on each of the 309 farms carrying 863,500 birds that participated in the Approved and Certified stages. In addition, 41 hatchery inspections were made. In the R.6.P. and R.O.M. work there were 14 flocks participating with a total of 11.000 birds. A minimum of five full day inspections per year were made on each of these flocks. R. C. RiNGROSE, E. T. Bardwell AND Conrad F. Zoerb Pullorum Testing. A total of 1.386,421 of the poultry population was blood tested during the fiscal year. Because some birds were re- tested, a total of 1,423,717 samples were examined. The birds tested were contained in 589 flocks of which five flocks were found to contain a total of 60 re- acting birds. Thus, less than 1 per cent of the flocks tested were found to harbor pullorum disease as con- trasted to the early days of the pull- orum testing program in the late 1920's, when 25 to 35 per cent of the flocks were found to be infected. The 60 reacting birds constitute but .004 per cent of the birds tested. F. E. Allen, d.v.m. A. C. CORBETT, D.V.M. G. p. Faddoul, d.v.m. Infectious Bronchitis and New- castle Tests and Service. As infectious bronchitis virus is not propagated by any commercial laboratory because of regulations against interstate shipment of the same, it has been necessary for this department to produce this material for the poul- trymen of the state. The poultrymen inoculate their birds with the virus and produce the disease and a sub- sequent immunity. This is done at a favorable period during the grow- ing stage of the bird so that it enters the laying house protected against the production-destroying effects of a natural outbreak of infectious bron- chitis. The bronchitis virus is pro- duced in embryonating eggs and after being harvested is kept in a frozen state until called for by the poultrymen. About 300 poultrymen have procured the material during the fiscal year. Since one cannot absolutely differ- entiate between infectious bronchitis and Newcastle disease outbreak with- out resorting to complex laboratory testing we have offered this service to New Hampshire poultrymen. The tests are based on the imnmne bodies found in the blood stream of the bird after recovery takes place. It is of value, even though the bird has re- covered, because it indicates to the poultryman which disease is on his premises. The 589 flocks which were tested for puUorum disease were also checked for Newcastle disease by pooling blood serum from the puUor- um blood samples and submitting this to test. In addition, a considerable number of Newcastle tests were con- ducted on birds submitted for rou- tine autopsy service. About 25 flocks were checked for their susceptibility or immunity to bronchitis. Embryonating eggs have to be used for this test and it takes a period of five or six days to com- plete the work. F. E. Allen, d.v.m. A. C. CoRBETT, D.V.M. G. P. Faddoul, d.v.m. Diagnostic Service Performed at the Poultry Laboratory. From July 1, 1943 to June 10, 1949, a total of 4026 specimens of all kinds was sub- mitted to the Poultry Laboratory for diagnosis. These represented 1571 diagnoses. A total of 3822 chicken specimens and 126 turkeys and 13 miscellan- eous birds were examined. Forty- four cases, consisting of 65 speci- mens from various animals, were al- so handled by the laboratory per- sonnel. A tabulation of the cases handled follows: Summary of Poultry Autopsies Performed at the Poultry Pathology Laboratory During 1948-1949 Based on the Ba sed on the Numb er of Diagnos'.-s Numuer of D lagnoses ' AJ ilts Chicks Ad ults Chicks Abscess 7 1 Cannibalism 5 Air Sac Infection 4 2 Cecal Worms 1 Blackhead 8 Chronic Respiratory Disease 1 Bluecomb 31 6 Coccidiosis, Acute Intestinal 2 17 Breast Blister 2 Coccidiosis, Cecal 1 50 Brooder Pneumonia 2 Coccidiosis, Chronic Intestin al 9 36 Bumblefoot 4 ■ Colds 2 39 Based on the Numb^T of Diagnoses Based on the Number of Diagnoses A I ults Chicks Adults Chicks Colibacillosis Conjunctivitis 4 1 1 Typhylitis Ulcerated Cornea 2 1 7 Constipation Coryza Creosote Poisoning I I 1 1 1 Vitamin Deficiency Visceral Gout Wound Infection 1 12 6 1 Cripples Culls Dehydration 6 1 1 9 2 Canary Enteritis 1 Egg Bound 3 Game Enteritis Epidemic Tremors Favus 14 3 1 45 Infectious Laryngotracheitis Undetermined 1 1 Fowl Cholera 3 Parakeet Fowl Typhoid C 2 No Diagnosis 1 Gizzard Erosion Heat Prostration 1 1 Pea-Hen Hematoma 1 1 Cecitis I Impaction Indigestion Infectious Bronchi Infectious Bronchi Infectious Bronchit is is is (Susceptible) ( Immune 1 4 22 72 123 4 1 29 16 14 Pheasant Blackhead Enteritis Overheating 1 1 1 Infectious Bronchi is (Susp icious) 10 4 Swan Internal Hemor hage 2 Streptococcus Septicemia 1 Leucosis 153 24 Malformation 1 Geese Malnutrition 2 Coccidiosis 1 Mismanagement 6 Paralysis 1 Monstrosity 1 Traumatism 1 Necrosis of Beak 2 1 Newcastle Disease 12 6 Tlrkeys Newcastle Disease (S uscept ible) ]84 73 Aspergillosis 2 Newcastle Disease (Imm ine ) 47 9 Blackhead 2 6 Nephritis 19 1 Cecitis 1 No Diagnosis 32 29 Cirrhosis of liver 1 Obesity 1 Coccidiosis 6 Omphalitis 23 Congenital Malformation 1 Otitis Media 1 2 Conjunctivitis 1 Paralysis 3 2 Cripple 1 Paratyphoid 1 1 Dermatitis 2 Perosis 1 4 Enteritis 2 6 Pericarditis 1 Epidemic Tremors 1 Peritonitis 1 4 Erysipelas 2 Prolapsed Oviduct 2 Infectious Sinusitis 2 Pneumonia 3 5 Injury 2 Pullorum 1 4 Leucosis 2 PuUorum 13 1 Necrosis of Beak 1 (Examined for , 1 our d Negative ) Omphalitis 3 Pullorum 5 Pullorum (Examined foi , f oun d Positive) Smothering Roundworms 23 2 Spraddle Legs Ruptured Egg Yolk Salpingitis 39 16 Staphylococcosis Starvation 1 Septicemia 1 Undetermined 3 Stunted Chick Disease 2 Tapeworms 8 3 Torticollis 1 2 Toxemia 2 Traumatism 28 10 Tuberculosis 1 Tumor 5 2 40 SUMMARY KtBBIIS Number of Diagnoses Specimens A.lult Ch iekens 967 2001 Chickens (4 months or ui ilcr ) 495 1821 Adult Tu rkeys 15 21 Turkey P oults 38 106 Canary 1 1 Game •» 2 Parakeet 1 1 Pea-Hen 1 1 Pheasant 3 3 Geese 3 3 Swan TOTAL 1 1 1527 3961 Number i>f Specimens Cases Kabbit -— Ear Mange Sheep Fecal samples examined for internal parasities found negative Fecal samples examined for stomach worms Lamb — Gastro Enteritis Lamb — Malnutrition and Toxemia Lamb — Lack of Nourishment Lamb tissue specimens — Coll in- fection 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Bovine Number of Specimens Cases Bovine IjloocJ sample — negative for parasites 1 Bovine blood sample — undetermined 6 Bovine Viscera, exam, for hemorrhai^ic septicemia — found negative Bovine Viscera, Hemorrhagic septicemia Bovine tissues. Blackleg Bovine calf — navel infection Bovine calf — suffocation Bovine calf — undetermined Bovine calf — pneumonia Bovine calf — negative on tissue strain test Aborted Feti Bovine fecal samples — undetermined Bovine fecal samples — Negative for internal jiarasites 1 Canine Fecal samples examined for lungW'irnis found positive 2 Fecal sample examined for internal parasites found negative 1 Skin scraping — negative for mites 1 Equine Blood samples — undetermined Fecal sample — Strongycludosis Feline Cat V'omitus — Undetermined Cat — Enthanasis Goat Fecal sample — jtositive to stomach worms Fecal sample — negative to stomaoh worms Mink Mink — No diagnosis Mink — Salmonellosis 1 1 1 1 9 4 2 1 SiLVEH Fox Siher Fox — enteritis Swine 1 pig examined — Traumatism 2 hogs examined — Hog Cholera 1 pig examined — Enteritis 2 pigs examined — Malnutrition 2 pigs examined — Internal parasities Pig tissue — Strei>toccoci infection SUMMARY Number of Specimens Cases Bovine Canine Equine Feline (ioat Mink Rabbits Sheep Silver Fox Swine 18 14 4 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 11 5 2 1 13 8 1 1 9 6 TOTAL 65 44 A. C. CORBETT, D.V.M. G. P. Faddoul V.M.D. Mastitis Testing Service. A total of 1.440 quarter samples of milk sub- mitted by New Hampshire dairymen or veterinarians were tested for the diagnosis of bovine mastitis. This represents samples from 385 cows and charo;es were made at the rate of 25 cents per cow for this service. L. W. Slanetz H. C. Moore 41 Other Active Projects Because the results obtained in any in this report, certain of them are one year from each of the numerous listed by title only. Those projects research projects are not always of that have not been discussed in this sufficient importance and magnitude report with the names of the research to warrant their detailed presentation workers involved are listed below. Quality, maintenance of quality, and consumer information as factors in costs, sales, and returns in marketing certain fruits and vegetables. L. A. Dougherty Intermarket price relationship for milk and dairy products in the Northeastern milk markets. /. R. Boivring and J. C. Holmes Marketing of hatching eggs. L. A. Dougherty and J. C. Holmes Factors relating to marketability and returns for small fruit. L. A. Dougherty Management problems in the use of mow hay driers. ]. C. Holmes Pricing eggs on New Hampshire markets. /. R. Bowring The influence of herd management practices in the University of New Hampshire dairy herd on milk production and breeding efficiency. K. S. Morrow Supplemental vitamin D for dairy cows. H. A. Keener Effect of vitamin D on the utilization of energy and protein by cows. N. F. Colovos and A. D. Littlehale Studies of insects affecting spruce. /. G. Conklin The control of apple maggot and certain other economic insects. /. G. Conklin Studies of synergists for insecticides. R. L. Blickle, J. G. Conklin and W. J. Morse Determination of the supply of low-grade wood available for manufacture into plastics. L. C. Swain Possibilities of propagating high sugar-producing types of sugar maples. C. L. Stevens and S. Dunn Forest reproduction studies. C. L. Stevens A study of white pine stands. C. L. Stevens Spruce reproduction studies. C. L. Stevens Nut improvement. A. F. Yeager Improvements of ornamental plants. E. B. Risley The use of mailing and other apple root stocks as means of obtaining semi-standard apple trees. W. W. Smith The flora of New Hampshire. A. R. Hodgdon Plant disease investigations. M. C. Richards Choline in the nutrition of poultry. R. C. Ringrose 42 c in a "3. a 3 CO OS ON o «5 S A V a w fa o •3 ^ i-H "-I ^^ CO ^ X a 3 p o CO CO ON 00 o in CO o CO o' VO VO CO 0\ LO rj; 1—5 \o 00 ID *> V C o LO LO I—! o On ON CO 00 ON CO LO eg CO (N LO CO CO O CO CO NO ON o o ■«* CO ON O LO LO NO ON CO LO On NO ON o\ LO NO P CO CnJ^ i—f t--^ LO c o o LO 00 CO o CO LO no' o p LO ON ON LO NO 1 — 1 04 NO lO I-H CO r~; •* CO ON r-^ ON CO 00 o ■<* NO > m bC (D [2 C/j .s -a C/2 'tH >-. c "w n» '^ S 3 § D "^ -0 c C C CS bD c o C8 .a c S CO 4H 4-i 1:1 'a .2* C _c p. '3 . (D c o c o C/) C/) o Sm a; OS 43 PUBLICATIONS Bulletins Smith, T. O.. and Davis, H. A. Inspection of Commenial Feedingstuffs. No. 373. Sanborn, Bessie G. Results of Seed Tests for 1948 No. 374 Smith, T. O., and Davis, H. A. Inspection of (Commercial Fertilizers. No. 375 Chandler, Robert F., Jr., Science Serves Netv Hampshire Agriculture. No. 376 Circulars Keener, H. A., Colovos, N. F., Morrow, K. S., Foilkrod, G. M.. Percival, G. P.,^ and Prescott, J. R. The Relative Value of a Forage Preserved hy Ensiling, Mow Curing, and Field Curing. No. 77 Woodworth, H. C.. a Farm Plan For a Commercial Dairy Enterprise. No. 78 Pekry, E. C., Chore Practices on New Hampshire Commercial Poultry Farms Part II Pullet Replacements. No. 79 Research Mimeographs BowRiNG, J. R., Seasonal Milk and Associated Milk Price Problems. No. 4 Other Scientific Publications Prince, F. S., and Blood, P. T. The Effects of 2,4-D on Potato Tops and Tubers When Sprayed at the Full Bloom Stage. Agron. jour. 41 : May, 1949 Keener, H. A., Percival, G. P., Morrow, K. S., Ellis, G. H. Cobalt Tolerance in Young Dairy Cattle. Journ. of Dairy Sci., 32: .527-533. 1949 Phillips, T. G., and Loughlin, M. E. Composition and Digestible Emrgv of Hays Fed to Cattle. Jour, of Agri. Res., 78: 389-395, 1949 Ringrose, R. C. Nutritive Properties of Torula Yeast for Poultry. Poultry Science 28: 7.5-83. 1949 Teeri, a. E., and Josselyn, Dorothy. The Effect of Certain Sulfonamides Upon Lactobacillus Arabinosis in a Nicotinic Acid-Restricted Medium. Jour. Biol. Chem. 177: 23-27. 1949 44 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION STAFF 1949-50 ADMINISTRATION Robert F. Chandler, Jr., ph.d., Dean and Director Harold C. Grinnell, ph.d., Associate Dean and Associate Director Russell C. Smith, Purchasing Assistant Walton E. Devine, Assistant Treasurer Ella S. Bowles, Publications Editor Harold W. Adams, b.s., Assistant Editor for Agriculture and Home Economics Thelma Brackett, A.B., Librarian Wilfred T. Harwood, Library Assistatnt in Charge, Plant and Animal Sciences Library AGRICULTURAL AND BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY Thomas G. Phillips, ph.d.. Chemist Stanley R. Shimer, m.s.. Assistant Chemist Gordon P. Percival, m.s.. Assistant Chemist Helen J. Purington, ph.d.. Assistant Chemist Arthur E. Teeri, ph.d., Associate Chemist Henry A. Davis, m.s.. Assistant Chemist Margaret Loughlin, a.b.. Assistant in Agricuhural and Biological Chemistry Dorothy Josselyn, Assistant in Agricultural and Biological Chemistry Roslyn E. Kramer, a.b.. Laboratory Assistant in Agriculture and Biological Chem- istry AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS Harry C. Woodworth, m.s.. Agricultural Economist Winifred K. Burkett, ph.d., Associate Economist Lawrence A. Dougherty, b.s.. Assistant Agricultural Economist James R. Bowring, ph.d., Assistant Agricultural Economist John C. Holmes, a.b.. Research Assistant in Agricultural Economics William Wallace, b.s.. Graduate Assistant in Agricultural Economics AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING Bernard C. Rines, bsae and e.e., Associate Agricultural Engineer Arthur G. Fox, Jr., bsae. Assistant Agricuhural Engineer AGRONOMY Ford S. Prince, b.s., Agronomist Leroy J. Higgins, b.s.. Associate Agronomist Louis T. Kardos, ph.d.. Associate Agronomist Paul T. Blood, m.s.. Assistant Agronomist Reeshon Feuer, b.s., Soil Survey Assistant Bessie G. Sanborn, Seed Analyst Walter H. Lyford, m.s., Soil Surveyor BACTERIOLOGY Lawrence W. Slanetz, ph.d.. Bacteriologist Arthur F. Howe, ph.d.. Assistant Bacteriologist Fred E. Allen, d.v.m.. Veterinarian Charlotte H. Langley, b.s.. Laboratory Assistant LeRoy E. Scarce, b.s.. Graduate Assistant in Bacteriology 45 BOTANY Albion R. Hodgdon, ph.d.. Plant Taxonomist Stuart Dunn, ph.d., Plant Physiologist Mathias C. Richards, ph.d., Plant Pathologist Charlotte G. Nast, ph.d., Plant Cytologist Leonard P. Wolfe, b.s.. Graduate Assistant DAIRY HUSBANDRY Kenneth S. Morrow, m.s.. Dairy Husbandman Harry A. Keener, ph.d.. Associate Dairy Husbandman Herbert C. Moore, m.s.. Associate Dairy Husbandman N. F. CoLOVos, M.S., Associate Animal Nutritionist A. D. Littlehale, Herdsman Frank Wright, b.s.. Graduate Assistant ENTOMOLOGY James G. Conklin, ph.d.. Entomologist Robert L. Blickle, ph.d., Assistant Entomologist Wallace J. Morse, b.s., Research Chemical Assistant in Entomology FORESTRY Clark L. Stevens, ph.d., Forester Lewis C. Swain, m.f., Associate Forester HOME ECONOMICS Francis Platts, m.ed.. Research Assistant in Home Economics HORTICULTURE Albert F. Yeager, ph.d., Horticulturist Elwyn M. Meader, M.S., Associate Horticulturist L. Phelps Latimer, ph.d.. Associate Horticulturist William W. Smith, ph.d.. Associate Horticulturist Russell Eggert, m.s., Supt. Horticultural Farm Edward B. Risley, b.s.. Greenhouse Supt. Robert Goodman, b.s., Graduate Assistant Charles C. Jack, b.s.. Graduate Assistant POULTRY HUSBANDRY Richard C. Ringrose, ph.d.. Associate Pouhry Husbandman Fred E. Allen, d.v.m.. Veterinarian Alan C. Corbett, d.v.m., Pathologist C. W. Hess, ph.d.. Geneticist George Faddoul, ph.d.. Assistant Pathologist E. T. Bardwell, R. 0. P. Supervisor C. F. ZoERB, Poultry Inspector Richard Ford, Supervising Technician in Poultry Laboratory Donald S. Cross, Senior Laboratory Technician in Poultry Husbandry Virginia LaChance, Laboratory Technician in Poultry Husbandry Kathryn Moore, Assistant Laboratory Technician in Poultry Husbandry 46 CHANGES IN PERSONNEL Additions to Staff John B. Bartlett, Assistant Agronomist, February 1. 1949 Richard Foley, Graduate Assistant in Horticulture, October 1, 1949 Virginia Wooster LaChance. Laboratory Technician in Poultry Husbandry, July 1^ 1948 Frances Platts, Research Assistant in Home Economics, September 1, 1948 Constance Rollins, Laboratory Instructor in Bacteriology, September 1, 1948 Shirley H. Roseman. Laboratory Assistant in Agricultural and Biological Chemistrr September 16, 1948 Leonard Wolfe, Graduate Assistant in Botany, September 1, 1948 Losses from Staff Allen Atwood, Research Assistant in Agricultural Economics. December 31, 1948 T. B. Charles, Poultry Husbandry, January 31. 1949 Richard Foley, Graduate Assistant in Horticulture. May 31. 1949 George M. Foulkrod, Agricultural Engineer. June 23. 1949 (death) James Macfarlane, Greenhouse Assistant. February 28. 1949 (retirement) William Mitchell. Graduate Assistant in Agronomy, June 30. 1949 J. R. Prescott, Research Assistant in Dairy Husbandry, June 30, 1949 Ralston Read, Jr., Graduate Assistant in Bacteriology, June 4, 1949 Constance Rollins, Laboratory Instructor in Bacteriology, June 30, 1949 Todd O. Smith, Associate Chemist, June 30, 1949 (retirement) 47