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-) |Extract from the 16th Annual Report of the Indiana Agricultural Experiment Station for
1897.]

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OF THE

- Botanical [epartment.

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By J. O. ARTHUR.

DISTRIBUTED APRIL, 1898.

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INDIANAPOLIS:
, WM. B. BURFORD; CONTRACTOR FOR STATE PRINTING AND BINDING.
1898,

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REPORT OF THE BOTANICAL DEPARTMENT.

To C. 8S. Plumb, Director :

Sir—The work of the Botanical Department of the Station for
the year 1897 has been a continuation of that of the previous year
without serious interruption, there having been no change in the
personnel of the department or in its policy. At the close of the
previous year the rooms of the department were renovated and
treated with paint, and an additional room provided, having 300
square feet of floor space, to be especially devoted to laboratory in-
struction. This improvement has added both to the convenience
and the efficiency of the experimental work, by the partial with-
drawal of studentsfromthe general laboratory, especially for the five
months from January to May, inclusive, during which University
classes in vegetable physiology, ecology and pathology receive in-
struction.* A general account of the equipment of the department
was given in the report of last year, which remains equally applica-
ble at the present time.

POLATO:

It is a matter for congratulation that the efforts of the depart-
ment in the study of the potato scab, and especially the attempt to
provide a cheap, safe and convenient remedy, have met with the
most signal success. Experiments were begun in the greenhouse in
the winter of 1895-6 and carried to completion in the field during
the following summer, which led to the conclusion that formalin
was an effective fungicide against scab, and furthermore, that it met
the above-named requirements of cheapness and convenience, and
particularly of safety. What had been wanted was a remedy pos-
sessing the good qualities of corrosive sublimate, but without its
deadly poisonous properties. Such a remedy has been found in
formalin.

The results of the trials of 1896 were first published in a news-
paper bulletin in February of the present year (1897), in order to
give the farming public the benefit of the discovery in time to make

* Much of the botanical instruction SES by Pika Univ ersity is given at ie ahs
oratories in Science Hall by Professor Stanley Coulter and his associates, especially in gen-
eral. structural and systematic botany, histology, fermentation, bacteriology , adn other
special subjects.

2

it of service in the management of the year’s crop. The full report
of the experiments, which had been prepared at the close of the
previous season, was not printed until June, and in a limited edi-
tion. Persons desiring it (Bulletin 65) are expected to make appli-
cation to the Director of the Station. It will be sent to such persons
prepaid and free of charge.

The bulletin on “Formalin for Prevention of Potato Scab” (No.
65) consists of 20 pages and two plates, and gives the history of the
subject, the results obtained at the Station, the results obtained by
others, some account of the nature of formalin and specific direc-
tions for its use. It also discusses the relation of soil moisture to the
increase of scab, and details an important method for the estimation
of the injury to the crop.

The department carried on no tests of formalin during 1897, but
hoped that it would be tried by many potato growers under suffi-
ciently diverse conditions to gauge its value as a serviceable fungi-
cide for general use. All reports so far received from growers
agree in commending the remedy as meeting every reasonable
requirement and fully affirming the good points claimed for it in
the bulletin. Two letters are selected from the correspondence—
one from Nebraska and the other from Massachusetts—which not
only represent widely different sections of the country, but add
some items of practical interest worthy of record.

Mr. B. B. Rice, of Grand Island, Neb., writes, under date of
October 27, 1897, that he treated 21 bushels of Early Ohio pota-
toes. The seed tubers were “large, quite free from scab, having
been selected from the seabby crop of last year.” He purchased a
one-pound bottle of formalin ($1.25). Two barrels were used, and
into each was put (by guess) 15 gallons of water and one-half the
formalin. A bushel of uncut potatoes contained in a sack was
dropped into each barrel, and after remaining a time, another
bushel was put in, the same solution being used over and over until
all were treated. The course of treatment was as follows:

One bushel in each barrel 3 times for2 hours.......6 bushels
One bushel in each barrel 2 times for 244 hours..... ...4 bushels
One bushel in each barrel 2 times for 2% hours....... 4 bushels
One bushel in each barrel 2 times for 2%4 hours.......4 bushels
Three-fourths bushel in each barrel 2 times

for 3:-WOUPS is A er chore Ibe onthe eel eee 3 bushels

Total a: eXaainaielasbes jane ele lcie ee peohepaleete tebe ot corn cies iene 21 bushels

3

He goes on to say (and this is a specially valuable contribution
to the subject): “I could detect no difference in the amount of
seab in the crop from seed treated first or last.’ He says, further:
“T think now that the seed, although quite clean, should have been
washed before it was placed in the solution, but I did not know it
at the time the treatment was given. The 21 bushels were planted
on four acres. One-third the field was well cared for; there the
tubers were quite free of scab. The rest was very weedy and the
potatoes a little more scabby. Yet on the whole the crop was not
more than one-third as scabby as it was last year. The average yield
was over 80 bushels per acre. I think your remedy is valuable and
that it has benefited me, for the neighbor from whom I bought my
seed a year ago did not doctor his potatoes last spring, and his crop
this fall is very seabby—three times as bad as mine. Both fields of
potatoes were planted in fresh soil—land not previously used for
potatoes.”

The other letter from which I wish to quote was received from
Mr. Frank H. Goodhue, of North Andover, Mass., dated December
18,1897. He writes: ‘The land I used for the experiment, about
three-fourths of an acre, had been in mowing for 13 consecutive
years. I broke the sod about nine inches deep, then harrowed
thoroughly, furrowed thre¢ feet apart and put seed about one foot
apart in the hills.

“T used 800 pounds Stockbridge potato fertilizer and 500 pounds
Standard potato fertilizer, but used no stable manure. I put a
large handful of fertilizer in each hill, mixed it thoroughly with the
soil, then dropped the seed, covering it with about two inches of
soil, scattered another handful of fertilizer over it, and finished
off with some more soil. In order that the fertilizer might not cause
the tubers to vary, the same kind was used on treated and untreated
seed of each variety.

“The land was nearly level, only a slight rise on the west side;
soil moist, but not wet. As far as moisture was concerned, the soil
was alike on both treated and untreated seed. There was not a
tree or building near the field to interfere.

“T planted four bushels each of Somerset and Rose Standish and
also a few potatoes of Early Harvest and Early Fortune, and also
some of Dandy and Old Merino, one-half of each variety being

treated with formalin. The smaller lots were subjected only two
2

4

hours to formalin, but the Somerset and Rose Standish were treated
three hours. All of the seed was nearly free from scab. ‘In order to
be as accurate as possible, I put only three rows of untreated seed
between the rows of treated seed.

“The seed was treated, then dried and planted about a week after
treatment. Being very busy, I did not empty the formalin for
eight days after using, and on doing so I found two tubers of the
Somerset variety in the bottom of the cask. I planted them along
with the Rose Standish that were not treated, making two hills of
them, so that I would know them at harvest time. When we came
to them I dug them myself. They were large, smooth and the
cleanest potatoes I have ever dug from the soil.

“All the treated seed produced clean, smooth and handsome
tubers, with not a rotten one among them, while the untreated were
rather inferior in size, with many tubers considerably scabbed, say
one-third of the surface, and about 3 per cent. were rotten.

“T think, with eight ounces of formalin to 15 gallons of water,
that four hours’ treatment are better than two hours. J am also in-
clined to believe the remedy is to some extent a preventive for rot.”

Both of these reports indicate the important character of this
remedy and the ease of its application. As shown by Mr. Goodhue,
the length of time the seed tubers are kept in the solution does not
noticeably affect their growth, especially if they have not sprouted
too much, and a longer immersion kills the germs of the scab disease
more completely. It is probable that the repeated use of the same
solution could not, as a rule, be safely carried so far as practiced
by Mr. Rice, but a half dozen times might still give good results, if
the tubers were free from dirt and the periods of immersion were
sufficiently prolonged. The report of Mr. Goodhue is especially to
be commended for the careful way in which the treated and un-
treated material were subjected to uniform conditions. It will bea
most important point gained when cultivators generally learn to try
new remedies and methods of all kinds with a control for compari-
son, as in this case.

LETTUCE.

Several crops of lettuce have been grown in the greenhouse of
the department during the last two years, but the most important
part of the work reached completion in 1897. The results have

a

5

been embodied in a bulletin of 20 pages and two plates, prepared
by the Assistant Botanist, Mr. Wilham Stuart. This bulletin has
been sent to those thought to be interested in the subject. It can
be obtained by others upon application to the Director. A brief
statement of the main facts, unaccompanied by tables, has been pre-
pared and printed by the Station in a bulletin bearing date of Oc-
tober, 1897.

The results obtained embrace some important items for the culti-
vation of indoor lettuce. By the use of commercial fertilizers the
yield of the benches was increased more than three and a half times,
when properly combined and applied; but with injudicious use their
application decreased the yield. A moderately thick planting was
found, contrary to expectation, to produce a heavier crop per square
foot of bench than thinner planting. The use of flower pots to
secure a ball of earth around the roots when marketed, and also for
convenience in handling, was found to invariably lessen the yield.
A method of obtaining the advantages of the pot with only the
shghtest check to growth is recommended in the bulletin, based
upon the result of the experiments. The crops obtained by methods
considered commendable were of the highest market value in both
amount and quality.

CORN.

Observations and studies of corn smut have been continued dur-
ing the year. The inoculation of young plants in second leaf with
formation of smut pustules was successfully accomplished during
October in the greenhouse by spraying with germinating spores.
All the results and facts obtained will eventually be brought. to-
gether in a bulletin.

BERT.

Further researches into the nature of the peculiar sugar-destroy-
ing disease of thesugar beet, some account of which has already been
published in Bulletin No. 39 (April, 1893), and there ascribed to
a specific kind of parasitic bacteria, have been prosecuted, most of
the work being done by Miss Clara Cunningham as a part of her
University studies. The bacterial nature of the disease, a point
which has been called in question, has been confirmed, and many

6

details of the life history of the parasite have been worked out.
Excellent photographs have been secured, showing clearly the
characteristic appearance of diseased beets, which will be used to
illustrate the next contribution to the subject.

ROSE.

The use of different commercial fertilizers in growing the rose
for cut flowers has been continued from last year. The same plants
that were used last year, having been wintered in a cold pit, were
used again without repotting. Most of the cans received an addi-
tional amount of the same fertilizers used the preceding season, a
few cans being reserved, however, for special treatment. The re-
sults of the season confirm in the main those of last year.

In order to test in the open field the results obtained in the vege-
tation house, a piece of ground was planted with 14 varieties of
hardy and semi-hardy roses. They were from two-and-a-half-inch
pots, twelve of each variety. Nothing of importance was learned
the present season, however, as the plants did not become suffi-
ciently well established to respond noticeably to the presence of
fertilizers.

This set of experiments is especially under the charge of the
Assistant Botanist.

CINERARIA.

The plants of this attractive flower, which had been brought
into bloom in December, 1896, continued to fill the greenhouse to
its full capacity through January, February, March and April with
a rich and brillant display of flowers. Many of the plants bore
more than 300 flowers each, and as specimen plants or in mass
were universally admired. About 30 ladies of the city were asked
to cooperate with the Station in testing the adaptability of the
plants to decorative purposes under ordinary household conditions.
‘Fhey received plants and cared for them as they thought best until
no longer decorative, reporting upon the frequency of watering,
amount appled, temperature of the rooms, extent of exposure to
sunlight, time when the first flowers failed and time when the plant
became unattractive. The trials resulted most satisfactorily, and,

vs

taken altogether, much data has been accumulated upon the
method of handling the plant and its adaptability to household dec-
oration, which it is hoped may be early embodied in a bulletin.

FOOD OF PLANTS.

Of all the problems in the physiology of plants, probably none
so directly bears upon the methods and profits of intensive farming
and high cultivation generally as the application to the soil of barn-
yard and commercial fertilizers for the purpose of supplying food
for the growing crop. Great advance has been made since the days
of Liebig, the great promoter of high-grade husbandry, in the profit-
able use of fertilizers and in a knowledge of the requirements of
different crops, and yet the practice remains largely empirical.

An exact knowledge of the kinds of food required by each
kind of plant, of the method of its assimilation and of the ap-
portionment of it within the plant to the building up of the differ-
ent organs, has been exceedingly difficult to acquire. From Roman
days, when agriculture was held in such high esteem that it was
considered a worthy subject for the pen of the greatest poets, until
the present time, little of a fundamental character has been added
to our knowledge of the subject by the open-field method. Field
experiments properly follow, but cannot take precedence, in provid-
ing the initial facts upon which rational husbandry should find a
sure foundation. A great impetus was given to the elementary
study, when, in 1860, the modern method of water cultures was
introduced, by which, among other things, the now well-known fact
that the carbon of the plant is obtained from the air and not from
the soil was first definitely established. Since then cultures in water,
sand and artificial earths and in restricted amounts of soil, kept
under conditions controlled by the experimenter, have yielded the
most valuable additions to our knowledge.

With a view of promoting a better understanding of some of the
questions connected with the food and food supply of plants, the
department has carried on studies in pot and bench cultures since
the erection of the vegetation house, in 1893. Oats, wheat, corn,
potatoes, buckwheat, roses, lettuce and certain weeds have been
used in the experiments. Some of the data, discussed from the
commercial side, was recently presented in the lettuce bulletin,

8

referred to above, but the bulk of the results yet remain unpub-
lished.. It is proposed to continue these studies, with the hope that
they may add some facts of importance to exact knowledge, and in
particular, furnish data for improved and more economical ways
of increasing yield by means of fertilizers.

SIZE OF SEED.

Experiments have been instituted from time to time, and the
results partly published, which have established beyond doubt
that the larger seeds of any particular kind of plant give a larger
crop than the smaller seeds, both being grown under the same con-
ditions. The experiments are now being continued in a somewhat
modified form to ascertain how far the increase can be expected to
extend, by selecting the largest seeds from each successive genera-
tion. Peas and beans are used, an account being kept of the size
of the seeds sown each time, and of the size of the resulting plant,
as well as of the number and size of the resulting seeds. It is, in
fact, an attempt to ascertain the law of increase in size when
brought about solely by the selection of the largest seeds through a
series of generation.

SUB-WATERING FOR GREENHOUSES.

Of the various factors influencing the growth of plants, none is of
greater moment than the control of the water supply. It has been
until recently almost an axiom in culture under glass that an atmos-
phere heavily charged with moisture was a prime essential to suc-
cess. ‘To secure this condition excessive watering and sprinkling of
the surface was resorted to. The plants being grown in shallow
benches or in pots often suffered for moisture in the soil about the
roots when the surface soil and the atmosphere were excessively
moist.

Most crops forced under glass, especially those belonging natur-
ally to temperate climates, such as tomatoes, lettuce, radish, cauli-
flower, carnations, roses, chrysanthemums, ete., thrive best with a
moderately moist and well-aerated soil and rather dry atmosphere.
The last condition is especially needed to promote a rapid move-
ment of water through the plant, by which the food materials taken

)

from the soil are transported to the upper parts and made available
for growth. In some cases the continued health of the plants de-
pends upon the strength of this transpiration stream.

This method of sub-watering supplies moisture readily to the
part of the soil where it is most needed; it keeps the soil friable and
well aerated; it prevents the packing of the surface soil and retards
the accumulation of weeds and slime; it promotes a drier atmos-
phere, especially in contact with the plants, and removes much of
the danger of invasion by molds, rots and other fungous diseases by
permitting the surface of the foliage to be kept dry, and in many
ways it brings about cultural conditions better than those obtained
by the old methods.

The crops grown with this system of watering are larger and of
better quality than usually secured, and it is believed that the re-
sults of our trials, especially during 1897, warrant its recommen-
dation for commercial houses, although the first cost is consid-
erable (13 cents per square foot in the trial bench at the Station).
The system has been explained, with illustrations, in the bulletin on
indoor lettuce (No. 66), previously referred to.

B OUTSIDE STORAGE.

For several years the department was without suitable means of
carrying tubers, bulbs and dormant plants through the winter, In
the fall of 1896 an outside storage pit was constructed that has
met the demands so fully that it is worthy of brief mention. There
is nothing novel about the method, but its cheapness and efficiency
are probably not generally recognized.

The pit consists of a cellar nine by fifteen feet, two-thirds sunken
below the general surface of the ground, with five hotbed sashes
forming the north slope of the roof, and the rest of the roof and
the sides banked with earth and layers of straw. A bulkhead en-
trance with inner door and extra banking of straw in the coldest
weather kept the pit from freezing during the winter of 1896-7.
The bench was formed by leaving a ledge of earth, and the roof
and side supports were made from the roughest material. The total
cost of the structure was very small.

Perle des Jardin and Kaiserin Augusta Victoria roses, alto-
gether over 100 pots, were placed in the pit November 25 and were

10

taken out April 1, every plant in excellent condition, many of them
still retaining much of their foliage. A few potatoes were also
stored in the pit, and were kept in perfect condition. It is again
being used to its full capacity for the winter season of 1897-8.

This is a cheap and efficient means of winter storage, and its pos-
sibilities deserve to be kept in mind. The department could econ-
omically use a much larger pit than the present one, and the pur-
poses to which it is put might profitably be much extended.

Respectfully submitted,
J. Gr ARTHIER:
Botanist.

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