ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
Agricultural Experiment Station
OF THE
A. & I. COLLEG E,
AUBURN, ALABAMA,
FOR
1898.
MONTGOMERY, ALA.:
THE BROWN PRINTING CO, PRINTERS AND BINDERS.
1899.

ALABAMA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE, (A. & M. COLLEGE,)
AUBURN, ALA., Jan. 24th, 1899.
Governor JOSEPH F. JOHNSTON,
Executive Department,
Montgomery, Ala.
SIR:-I have the honor herewith to transmit to you the
Eleventh Annual Report of the Agricultural Experiment
Station of this College.
The report of the Treasurer, herewith included, is for the
fiscal year ending June 30, 1898.
This report is made in accordance with the provisions of
the act of Congress (approved March '2nd, 1837), establish-
ing Agricultural Experiment Stations in the several States
and Territories.
It contains the report of the Botanist, the Chemist, the
Veterinarian, the Agriculturist, the Biologist and the Hort-
iculturist, for the year ending December 31st, 1898.
Respectfully,
WM. LEROY BTOUN,
President.
TRUSTEES.
His Excellency, JOSEPH F. JOHNSTON, President-----Ex-Oficio
J. O. TURNER, Superintendent of Education------------Ex-Oficio.
J. G. GILUHRIST----------------------- --------------- Hope Hull.
TANCRED BETTS---------------------------------------Huntsville.
WALTER 0. WHITAKER ------------------------------ Tuscaloosa.
JONATHAN HARALSON---------------------------------Selma.
THos. WILLIAMS ---- --------- ----------- -- Wetumpka.
J. A. BLBRO--------------------------------------Gadsden.
I. F. CULVER------------------------------------------Union-Springs.
T. H. FRAZERE----------------------------------------Mobile.
H. CLAY ARMSTRONG--------------------- -- Auburn.
R. H. DUGGAR----------------- ---------------------- Gallion.
J. T. GLENN, Treasurer.
J. H. DRAKE, M. D., Surgeon
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION.-
COMMITTEE OF TRUSTEES ON EXPERIMENT STATION.
I. F. CULVER.............................................. U nion Springs.
J G. GILCHRIST .............................. ................ H ope Hull.
H. CLAY AR3MSTRONG.............................................. Auburn.
STATION COUNCIL.
WM. LERoY BR ..ouN. ............................................. President.
P. H. MELL........................................ Director and Botanist.
B. B. Ross ......................................... ...... Chemist.
C. A. CARY, D.- V. M ........................................ Veterinarian.
J. F. DU(GA R..................Agriculturist.
F. S. EARLE.. .............................. Biologist and Horticulturist.
*C. F. BAKER..................................Entomologist.
J. T. ANDERSON................ ....................... Associate Chemist.
ASSISTANTS.
0. L. HARE...................................... First Assistant Chem ist.
R. G. WILLIAMS................................Second Assistant Chemist.
T. U. CULVER.................................... Superintendent of Farm.
- *On leave of absence in South America.
tIn charge of Farmers' Institutes.

REPORT OF TREASURER.
TREASURER OF A. & M. COLLEGE,
In account with United States Appropriation
Hatch Fund for the year 1897-98.
To cash received from U S.S. Treasurer for the fiscal year
endingJune 30th,1898--- -- ------------
Cr.
15,000 00
By amount paid
6 4 44
6c 4 "4
"I " "
"( " "
" "
Salary Account - ---- --- $ 9,150 00
Labor -------------- 1,095 50
Publications - ------------ 933 38
Postage and Stationery ---- 91 79
Freight and Express ----- 426 37
Heat, Light and Water ----- 180 01
Chemical Supplies ------. - - - 496 97
Seeds, Plants and Supplies- - 704 75
Fertilizers------------------- 350 62
Feeding Stuff ---------------- 99 35
Library -------------- --- 6--- 614 92
Tools and Implements-------- 107 05
Furniture and Fixtures-- --.- 92 50
Scientific Apparatus - - - 286 07
Live Stock ------------------ 25 80
Traveling Expenses ---. 89 06
Contingent Expenses --------- 10 00
Building and Repairs -----.- 245 86-$15,000 00
E. T. GLENN,
Treasurer A. & M. College.
THiE STATE OF ALABAMA,
Lee County. Personally appeared before me, Chas.
Gachet, a Notary Public in and for said county and State, E. T. Glenn,
known to me as Treasurer of the A. & M. College 
of Alabama, who,
being duly sworn, deposes and saith that the above and foregoing ac-
count is true and correct.
Witness my hand, this 23rd day of January, 1899.
CHAS. GACHET,
Notary Public & Ex-Off. J. P.
This is to certify that I have compared the above account with the
Ledger account of the Treasurer, and this is a correct transcript of
same.
Wm. LEROY BROUN,
President.A. & M. College.

REPORT OF DIRECTOR AND BOTAMIST.
DR. WM. LEROYBPIROUN, Pre8sideitt:
SIR: I have tle hdnor to sub ittie fllowing report
of the vork uinder m-'y charge ini the griultural Ekperi-
meinit S tatio ring ig the y ear1898.
REPORT OF DIRECTOR.
At the meeting of the Board of Trustees in 1898 I was
elected to the ppsition. of Director of the ixperiment
Station.
My official connection with the Station as 
Director has
been so brief I am only able to report at this date some
of the,more important routine work of the office. Suffice
it to say however, that the regular duties demandihig at-
tention each day are numerous, and, when taken in con-
nection with the other interests pertaining to my position
as teacher in the College and as Botanist to the Station,
my time is amply occupied from ari early hoiFin the
day until oftenI a late hour at nlight. Suggestionfslook-
ing to the developmenhit of the Statioh work oalog cer-
tain lines will be submitted for your consideration and
approval in m y Annutal report prior to the next meebting
of the Board of Trustees. In the present paper I Will
simply discuss that portion of the work of the office now
in operation and which may be of special interest for
this report.
10
CORRESPONDENCE AND PUBLICATIONS
It is gratifying to note the growing. interest the farmers
of Alabama are taking in the Station and its work, as is
manifested by the increasing demand for the bulletins,
and by the many letters addressed to the Director seek-
ing for information upon all lines of agricultural and
allied scientific investigations. Parties living in distant
portions of the United States have also read the bulletins
of the Station and numerous letters have reached the
office asking for additional information concerning the
climate, the soil and the agricultural operations of the
State with the expectation of eventually settling in Ala-
bama. The foreign mailing list is showing a healthy
growth, thus indicating an appreciative interest in the
work of the Station by parties in other countries.
The number of bulletins issued during the year just
closed was 12-from 89 to 100 inclusive. These bulletins
comprise volume 6 which contains 320 pages. The fol-
lowing is an analysis of these bulletins
No. 89. Experiments with Cotton.
Summary: The weather in growing season; varieties;
classification of lint; where to get seed; seed from differ-
ent latitudes; old versus new seed; effect of late cultiva-
tion; distance experiments; topping; subsoiling and
liming; composting versus mixing in furrows; one-
fourth of fertilizer in drill; relative value of cotton seed,
cotton seed meal and nitrate of 
soda; relative values of
different phosphates; experiments with fertilizers. 24
pages.
No. 90. The Peach Tree Borer; The Fruit Tree Beetle.
Life history; remedies; experiments at Auburn. Il-
lustrated. 13 pages.
1it
No. 91. Co-operative Fertilizer Experiments with Cotton
in 1897.
Summary: objects and: methods of experiments;
names of farmers in Alabama making the experiments;
character of fertilizers used; details of experiments made
in different parts of the State; effects of kainit on rust.
63 pages.
No. 92. Experiments with Lime on Acid Soils,.
Experiments at Auburn; experiments 
at Deer'Park,
Alabama. 8 pages.
No. 93. Peanuts, Cowpeas and Sweet Potatoes as Food for
Pigs.
Summary: The pig's food; pasturing peanuts; peanut
pasture versus corn meal; peanuts versus corn meal;
cowpeas pasture for shoats; ground cowpeas and corn
versus ground corn alone; sweet potatoes versus corn
meal; effect of cowpeas and peanuts on quality of pork;
effect of foods on quality of lard. 22 pages.
No. 94. Strawberries.
Introduction; soils and fertilizers; preparation of soil
and planting; cultivation and mulching; insects and
diseases; marketing; varieties. 18 pages.-
No. 95. Experiments with Oats.
Summary: Varieties; what is the best variety; time
of sowing; cotton seed and cotton seed meal as fertilizers
for oats; cowpeas and velvet beans as fertilizers 
for oats
time of applying nitrate of soda; effects of lime; co-
operative fertilizer experiments; prevention of smut. 26
pages.
12
No. 96. Experiments with Crimson Clover and Hairy
e tc h.
Summary: Soil improving plants and root tubercles
inoculation of soil or seed;- crimson clover and hairy
vetch; inoculation experiments with crimson clover;
hairy vetch inoculated with vetch earth; inoculation
experiment with hairy vetch; inoculation practicable;
lespedeza earth as inoculating material for crimson
clover ; natural methods of inoculation; cause of frequent
failure of nitrogen; co-operative tests of crimson clover
and hairy vetch ; relative yields of rye and hairy vetch;
nitrogen in inoculated and non-inoculated plants; fer-
tilizer experiments with hairy vetch. Illustrated. 28
pages.
No. 97, Dairy and Milk Inspection.
Why inspect dairies and dairy products; dairy and
milk inspection should begin at the dairy; how to make
the tuberculin test; kind and condition of feed; time and
manner of feeding; water supply for dairy cows; drain-
age of barns. and lots; ventilation; location of dairy
barns and building; keeping the cows clean; personal
cleanliness of milker; impurities found in milk; Groten-
feldt's principles to regulate work in the dairy; source
of water used at dairy; composition of milk; fat in milk;
milk sugar or lactose; casein and albumen in milk; ash
or mineral matter in milk; colostrum; specific gravity of
milk; variation in composition of various kinds of milk;
determining the per cent. of fat in milk by Babcock test;
determining the per cent. of fat in milk by gravimetric
method; gravimetric method of determining the total
solids in milk; a close method of estimating the total
solids and the solids not fat; gravimetric method of 
de-
termining the ash or salts in milk; milk adiulteration by
13
adding water and abstracting cream, and chemical im-
purities; acidity of milk; bacteria; sour milk; alkaline-
producing germs ;. other. germs in milk; casein ferments;
bacillus tuberculosis in milk; typhoid bacillus in milk;
diphtheria, scarlet fever and Asiatic cholera transmitted
by milk; Pasteurization of milk; sterilization; how to
disinfect a dairy house; milk ordinance; references. 50
pages.
No. 98. Orchard Notes.
Contents:. Apples;- drawback to apple culture; whole
root versus piece root apple trees; northern versus south-
ern grown apple nursery stock; Japanese versus French
pear stocks for the South; the Stringfellow method of
short pruning; the blooming season of plums; spraying
with whitewash to retard blooming; Japanese persim-
mons. 19 pages.
No. 99. Cotton Rust.
Summary: Mosiac disease, or yellow leaf blight; ex-
periments at other places; experiments on the Station
farm, 31 pages.
No. 100. Lawns, Pastures and Hay..
Lawns: Preparation of soil; selection of seed; time of
planting, or sodding; description of the species recom-
mended; pastures and how to make them kinds of grass
recommended. 10 pages.
In this connection it may not be out of place to. make
an analysis of the bulletins issued by the Stationisince
it was organized in 1888.. Before time passage of the
Hatch act an Experimental:Stationexisted in connection
with the college and the State Department of Agr{culture,
which published, from 1863 to 1888, 32 bulltint. This
14
series comprises volume 1 and consists of 610 
pages
with 7 illustrations., Since the reorganization of the
Station under the provisions of the Hatch law there have
been issued 100 bulletins comprising 5 volumes with an
aggregate number of 2,843 pages with 304 illustrations.
1 bulletin treats of natural phosphates in Alabama.
13 bulletins treat of fruits and their cultivation.
11 relate to cotton and its cultivation.
4 treat of grasses and forage plants.
6 give information in regard to vegetables.
4 are on milk or dairying.
16 are on analysis of-fertilizers- and fertilizer experiments.
9 treat of diseases of plants.
9 give the results of co-operative soil, fertilizer and seed tests.
4 are on the microscopic study of the cotton.
4 are on insecticides.
10 relate to the cultivation of corn.
2 are on'rye..
I treats of chufas.
16 of the bulletins are devoted partially or completely to climatol-
ogy.
1 gives instructions on road building.
5 are devoted to feeding experiments.
2 are on potatoes and their cultivation.
4 are on wheat.
4 on oats.
4 on cultivation and curing of tobacco.
4 relate to diseases of animals.
6 describe insects and their extermination.
1 is devoted to foreign plants.
2 are on cane and syrup making.
1 on the flora of Alabama.
2 are devoted to fungi.
1 relates to flour from the standpoint of nutrition.
1 is on horticultural suggestions.
1 is given to the analysis of soils.
1 to meat inspection.
1 is on turnips.
1 is devoted to soil inoculation for legumes.
1 gives experiments 
with lime on 
acid soils.
2 give information in regard to the woods of Alabama.
1 is on'stock.
1 is on fishes, and how to raise them in ponds.
15
Many of these bulletins are devoted each to a special
topic- while others treat of several subjects in each issue.
A careful examination of these lublications show a
wide range of original investigation and research and at
the same time knowledge of the discoveries made by
scientific workers elsewhere.
Of the 132 bulletins printed by the Station, belonging
to the old and new series, 76 are now exhausted and can-
not be supplied by the Station.
EXPERIMENTS ON THE RAISING OF STOCK ATTHE FARM.
Now'that there is an awakening interest manifested
among the farmers of Alabama in 
the raising of stock,
it would seem to be: wise for the Station to devote more
attention to this question, paiticularly with stock suita-
ble for beef. There are so many native grasses in the
State, excellent for producing pasturage almost contin-
ually throughout the year, it seems to be the part of
wisdom to encourage the farmers to devote portions of
their lands to grass cultivation for pasturage and-hay
and raise stock for the market. Experiments on the im-
provement of the "scrub'" cattle of Alabama by cross-
ing with superior breeds of stock would be an interest-
ing investigation for the Station to undertake. This
matter of stock raising appears to be of special import-
ance at this time now that cotton is commanding such a
low price in the markets, and at the present rates is no
longer a profitable crop.
FARMER'S INSTITUTES.
I have attended several farmer's institutes duringthe
year and delivered lectures on botany, geology and dis-
seminated information in regard to the working of the
16
Experiment Station, and its iraprtance to the farmers.
Thesel trips were ,taken at- the ,invitation of 
the State
Commissioner of Agriculture and also at the request of
Dr. C,. A. Gary, who is Director o r oers' Institutes
under the auspices of the College.
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATIONS AND ,COLLEGES.
November last I attended the meeting in Washington
of the American Association of Agricultural Colleges and
Etkpnrient t itnti ioi 
seioi 6f the Assocaltil
was specially important because of the questions dis-
cussed relating to the interests of the several col-
leges and stations located 
in the different States. 
The
Board of Trustees of the Alabama College are wise n
sending a delegate each year to take part in the deliber-
ations of this national body.
STATIONILIBRlARY.
The following papes and magazines are sent to the
Library in exchange for the bulletins of the Station:
American Cultivator.;
American Swine Herd.
Boletinide la Socidied 11Nacional de Agricultura.
Boletine do Instituto Abvionomico do. Estado de Sao Paulo
- Brazil
Breeders' Gazette
Bulletin Botarical Department, Jamaica.
Bulletin Essex Institute.
Commercial and FinancialChronicle.
Cotton Planters' Journal,
Cotton GinnerA96Jonil.
Drainage Journal.
Elgin Dairy IepQrt.
Fartu nndt Home.
17
Farmers' Guide.
Farm and Fireside.
Florida Farm and Fruit Grower.
Farmers' Voice.
Farming.
Farming Foreign.
Farmers' Magazine.
Farmers' Home.
Gazette of New South Wales.
Gentleman Farmer Magazine.
Hoads Dairyman.
Homestead.
Indiana Farmer.
Kansas Farmer.
Montana Fruit Grower.
Massachusetts Ploughman.
New England Florist.
National Rural Family Magazine.
Our Grange Home.
Practical Farmer.
Rural New Yorker.
Southern Cultivator.
Southern Farm Gazette.
Sunshine.
Southern Farm Magazine.
Strawberry Specialist.
Sheep Breeder and Wool Grower.
Tri-State Farmer.
Western Rural.
Wallace's Farmer.
West Virginia Farm Review.
Western Fruit Grower.
Public Ledger of Philadelphia.
Baltimore Sun.
The subscription list comprises 27 American papers
and journals, 18 English periodicals, 19 German, 11
French.
The Library is also on the mailing lists of the various
Divisions and Bureaus of the Department of Agriculture
at Washington, and, in most instances, complete files of
the bulletins, ieports and circulars issued from the De-
partment are to be found in the Station Library. All the
18
publications of the various State Experiment Stations
are coming regularly to the Library, and as fast as a
volume is completed it is bound and placed on the
shelves.
Since my report to you for the period ending June,
1898, 135 bound volumes have been added to the Li-
brary, and 763 unbound pamplets, bulletins and extras.
BOTANICAL EXPERIMENTS.
The work on the improvement of the cotton fibre has
been continued, and the crop gathered this past season
has solved some important problems relating to the de-
velopment of long staple by hybridization of American
with Egyptian cotton. A bulletin giving the results of
these investigations is nearly ready for publication. A
bulletin on lawns, pastures and hay making has been
printed and will be distributed within the next week.
This bulletin was prepared in answer to many letters
addressed to the Station seeking for information concern-
ing the making of lawns and the cultivation of grass for
hay and pastures.
The experiments on the cultivation of the wild and
domestic grasses still remain an important feature of my
work.
During the past year an Aermotor and irrigation
system have been placed in the Botanic Garden to supply.
sufficient water for the grass experiments and other
botanical investigations. A number of the native forest
trees has been planted in the Garden as an addition to
the arboretum commenced two years since. Some inter-
esting foreign plants, shrubs and trees, have also been
added to this collection to determine their adaptibility
for the soil and climate of this region of the State.
Several hundred species of pressed plants have been
secured from Mr. A. H. Curtiss of Jacksonville, 
Florida,
' 19
comprising his last series of plants. The entire collection
of Curtiss' -Florida flora is now in the Herbarium of the
Department. Within the closing days of the year the
Department has received the collection of economic seeds
sent out by the Division of Botany of the United States
Department of Agriculture. This collection consists of
the seeds of 500 species and varieties of plants grown
for the use of man. It will be especially valuable to the
Station in the determination of unknown seeds sent in
by farmers and others for identification.
Miss M. E. Reese, the Assistant Librarian, has ren-
dered faithful service during the year, and she has been
prompt and industrious 
in the discharge 
of the duties
required at her hands.
Thanking you for the interest you have manifested
in the work under my charge I remain,
Respectfully,
P. H. MELL,
Director and Botanist.
20
REPORT OF CHEMIST.
DR. Wm. LEROY BROUN, President.
SIR :-I beg leave to submit the following 
report with
regard to the work of the Chemical Department 
of the
Experiment Station for the past year:
The analytical work of 
the year includes analyses 
of
marls, soils, waters, foods"and feeding stuffs, fruits 
and
other vegetable products, and miscellaneous 
materials,
in addition to more than 400 samples of fertilizers 
for-
warded by the Department of Agriculture and 
by indi-
viduals.
Analyses have been and are being made of a number
of agricultural products from the Experiment Station,
including chiefly forage plants, grown under different
conditions, fodder, ensilage, etc. Some of the analyses
which have proved of value and interest are those of
certain leguminous plants grown upon inoculated and
non-inoculated soils, the results, as regards nutritive
value and nitrogen content, being largely in favor, in all
cases, of the plants grown on inoculated soils, while 
the
results as regards yield were even more striking.
Analyses are now in progress to determine the com-
parative nutritive or food value of certain forage plants,
when cured under ordinary conditions and when en-
silaged, and it is hoped that results of some value from
an economic standpoint will be secured.
Some interesting experiments have been made in this
laboratory with regard to the character and-properties
of the lard obtained from pigs fattened upon varying
kinds of foods, especial attention being given to the
melting point of the various samples of lard tested. 
The
results of these experiments were of quite an interesting
21
character, and it is hoped that the investigation can be
continued further.
This department is now completing the work com-
menced some years upon an investigation of the com-
position and nutritive vale of foods and food materials
consumed within the State. All of the principal kinds
and forms of food materials have been investigated, and
attention is now being given to the food value of some
of the edible fungi of the State. During the past sum-
mer the investigation was devoted largely to the exam-
ination of fruits, a number of samples of grapes from
the Station vineyard being tested analytically, both as
regards nutritive value and adaptibility to wine making.
The department has endeavored to meet all demands
made upon it in the performance of analytical work
required by other departments of the Station, and has
engaged in co-operative work along several different
lines of investigation. In connection with the Agricul-
tural Department of the Station, this office has held it-
self in readiness to co-operate with the farmers through-
out the State to tes-t the adaptability of the sugar beet
to this section, and it was hoped that a number of
samples of beets would be forwarded to the lab6ratory
for analysis. Only a few samples, however, were sent
to this office for examination, and the results of the
analytical tests were not of an encouraging character.
Numerous inquiries with reference to the subject of
soil analysis have been addressed to this department,
and a considerable number of soils have been forwarded
for analysis. At least a partial analysis has been made
of all samples of soils received, but in making reports
of analyses and in answering communications upon this
sutdject, attention has been called to the fact, that in
many cases a simple chemical analysis of a soil fails to
give a definite idea of its fertilizer requirements, and
22.
such analyses are of value, as a rule, in those cases only
where the analysis happens to reveal a marked deficiency
in some important fertilizing constituent. Where such
a deficiency is indicated, it is easy to prescribe a fertilizer
adapted to the needs of the soil, but particular emphasis
has been laid upon the importance of practical soil tests
in determining the .needs and treatment of most of our
soils. A number of marls and mucks have been for-
warded to the laboratory for analysis, and in the case
of a majority of the samples analyzed, the materials have
been found to be of value for local use. The local ap-
plication of such materials has been recommendedin all
cases where the soil conditions.and requirements would
justify it, as it has been the practice of this department
to encourage the use of any natural manurial resources,
whenever practicable, rather than to depend exclusively
upon artificial manures.
Experiments in.the manufacture of syrup from sugar
cane have been conducted, during the past year, as well
as during several preceding seasons, and some new
clarifying agents have been tested with varying success.
Every effort has been made to encourage this industry
in this State, as the southern and middle parts of the
State should be able to produce all of this article re-
quired for consumption throughout the 
State, whereas,
under present conditions, only a portion of the market
is supplied by the home product, and that for only.- a
small portion of the year.
A limited amount of work upon food adulterations
has been performed in this laboratory, but the subject
will be more fully investigated as soon as the bulletin
on foods is completed.
A press bulletin upon the subject of commercial and
domestic fertilizers was issued during the past year, in
addition to the annual bulletin prepared for the. State
23
Department of Agriculture, while the data and materials
for a bulletin upon Foods and for another on Syrup
Makiigare at hand and will be utilized at. an early
date.
A series of soil and fertilizer tests are being conducted
under the supervision of Dr. J. T. Anderson, Associate
Chemist, and fuller information as to the details and
character of this work is embodied in a report submitted
by him.
Very respectfully,
B. B. Ross,
Chemist.
24
REPORT OF THE ASSOCIATE CHEMIST.
To the President:
The following report of original investigations under-
taken for the Agricultural Experiment Station by the
Associate Chemist is respectfully submitted:
I. To Determine Available Plant Food in Soils.
The constituents of the soil exist in different degrees
of solubility. Some are soluble in water, others, only
in acids, and others still are insoluble even in the
strongest acids. Only suchconstituents may be assimi-
lated by plants as are soluble under the action of the
agencies which are at work in the soil. One of these
agencies is soil water, that is, water holding in
solution such soluble material as it may come in contact
with, particularly, certain organic acids or other pro-
ducts of fermentation in the soil. This soil water,
therefore, is a more powerful solvent than pure water.
Again, in the process of growth plants emit from their
rootlets certain substances which act strongly on the
constituents of the soil, bringing much into a state of
solution which would otherwise be insoluble. Food
particles which yield to the solvent action of soil water
and organic life are classed as available food. To de-
termine, both practically and by chemical means, how
much of this available food a given soil contains,"is the
task here set. First in order is the direct practical de-
termination by culture tests. These investigations are
confined to the three essential constituents, phosphoric
acid, potash, and nitrogen, in as much as these are the
only constituents which are liable to be exhausted from
the soil. The cotton plant has been selected for culture
25
tests. The method employed is based on the assump-
tion that all the availale portion of a given constituent
may be withdrawn from the soil by the continuous cul-
tivation of plants in it, and that when this point is
reached, the plants will die of starvation. To insure
accuracy of results, the normal fertility of the soil as
regards all other constituents must be maintained by
proper fertilization. Zinc cylifiders imbedded in the
ground and filled with known weights of soil and sub-
soil are used. In this way, nothing in the soil under
examination can leak out and nothing from without can
get in. From one set of cylinders, phosphoric acid is
withheld, from another set, potash, and from a third,
nitrogen, in every case the other two constituents being
added in suitable form and amount. In each cylinder,
thus prepared, cotton is planted and at the end of the
season, the plants are gathered and preserved separately
for analysis. This process is repeated from year to year
until each constituent has been exhausted from its re-
spective cylinders, the analysis of the aggregate yield
from each cylinder showing the amount of the given
constituent that the plant has been able to get from its
soil. Having thus determined practically how much
of each of these three elements of plant food a given
soil contains, steps will be taken to find a chemical
solvent which will extract like amounts of these con-
stituents from the same soil when tested in the labora-
tory. The solvent used in the existing method of soil
analysis is acknowledged to be too strong and hence
extracts from the soil more than 
is available. It does
not give, therefore, an adequate knowledge 
of the agri-
cultural value of a soil tested by it.
26
II. To Determine the Water Requirements of the Cotton
Plant.
That water in the soil is indispensable to plant growth,
goes without saying. The deleterious effects of a too wet
or a too dry soil are also of universal recognition, but the
importance to the highest attainable productiveness of
plants of just the proper amount of moisture in the
soil, is not sufficiently recognized. Besides being itself
in one sense a food, water in the soil is the carrier of
food to the plants. When the supply of water is scanty,
the plants suffer from thirst, both because of the ab-
sence of a sufficiency of that element, and because that
which ij present is rendered less accessible to the plant
by virtue of its scantiness. It becomes surcharged with
soluble material and on that account the osmotic action
of the rootlets is retarded, thus hindering the inflow of
water. On the other hand, besides being otherwise in-
jurious, too much water so dilutes the solution of plant
food that the plants suffer for lack of sufficient nourish-
ment. The relation, therefore, of the proper supply of
moisture in the soil to the important problem 
of plant
fertilization, is apparent. Some recently published
European investigations on this subject show that the
effect of fertilizers on the productive capacity of plants
depends upon the moisture content of the soil to such
an extent that the highest absolute yield from the ap-
plication of fertilizers was obtained with a content of
soil moisture corresponding to the optimum. This op-
timum amount of soil moisture is not the same for all
plants. It has been determined for other agricultural
crops, but not for cotton hitherto. The Division of
Soils of the United States Department of Agriculture has
begun this work for cotton, but by a different, and it is
believed, less reliable process than the one here pro-
27
posed. For convenience in controlling the water 
supply,
the cotton is .cultivated in metal pots in the vegetation
house. By frequent weighing and watering, the water
contents are kept within desired ranges, some pots
being kept at a high content, others at a medium, and
others at a low content. The effect of these different
amounts of water can thus be closely studied.
Some relation of cause and effect is believed to exist
between the moisture content of the soil and certain
diseases of the cotton plant, notably rust and shedding.
With the co-operation of Prof. Earle, attention will be
given to this matter, also, during the progress of these
investigations .
III .. Investigations to Determine to What Extent Legumes
Depend ,on the Soil, and What Extent on the Atmios-
phere, for Their Nitrogen.
The bearing of this question on the renovation of worn-
out soils by the cultivation of leguminous crops is
apparent.
The.experiments are made with a variety of soils in
metal pots. The nitrogen in each pot is determined at
the beginning and at the end of the experiment and the
difference between the two represents what the plants
have taken out of the soil. The total nitrogen in the
plant is, also, determined by analysis, and this less that
gotten from the soil will give that gotten from the air.
Prof. Duggar is associated with me in these studies.
IV. Investigations to determine the amount of available
phosphoric acid in the several phosphatic materials from
which that constituent may be obtained for the purposes
of soil fertilization.
Known weights of soil and subsoil are put into clay
cylinders imbedded in the ground, and from each 
cylin-
-der all the available phosphoric acid originally in the
soil is extracted by the continuous culture.of plants, as
described in I. The normal fertility of the soil as re-
gards all constituents other than phosphoric acid must
be maintained throughout the investigation by proper
fertilization as often as is necessary. When the soil has
become completely sterile as to phosphoric acid, each
cylinder is fertilized fully for cotton, using known
weights of the phosphatic materials to be tested as sources
of phosphoric acid. Cotton is then cultivated in the
cylinders thus prepared until all the available phos-
phoric acid in each case has been exhausted. The
analysis of plants which each cylinder has produced,
will show the available phosphoric acid in each material
used. Thus will be determined practically 
the value,
absolute and relative, of these several materials as sources
of phosphoric acid. In addition it is hoped by this in-
vestigation to secure data which will be of service in
testing the accuracy of, in making corrections in, the
existing method of determining available phosphoric
acid in fertilizers.
Respectfully submitted,
JAs. T. ANDERSON,
Associate Chemist.
Accompanying this report, request is hereby made for
an appropriation of $100 to be used in providing equip-
ments for, and in defraying expenses to be incurred in
the prosecution of the work herein detailed.
29
ESTIMATES IN DETAIL.
1 Case of'drawers for air-drying green sample 
. . $ 35
1 Case of shelves for holding special apparatus 
and
samples in bottles . . . .
. 10
Chemicals and apparatus not required for 
general
labratory use . . . . . .
30
Sample bottles, glass 
stoppered, for holding 
ground
samples . . . .
15
Labor and small sundries . . .
. . 10
$100
Respectfully 
submitted.
JAs. T. ANDERSON,
Associate Chemist.
1r7i 3
30
REPORT OF VETERINARIAN.
To DR. Wm. LEROY BROUN, President.
DEAR SIR--The following is a brief synopsis 
of the
work done during the year 1898 in the 
Veterinary De-
partment.
As director of Farmer's Institutes for the 
Station I
have conducted institues at Cullman, 
Florence, Hunts-
ville, Livingston, Linden, Talladega 
and Rockford. At
these institutes morning and afternoon 
sessions were
held; at Culhman and Florence night 
sessions were held
also. The. interest taken by the former 
in these insti-
tutes has usually been very encouraging. 
The common
sense talks and demonstrations 
made by the different
institute workers upon 'agricultural 
subjects have been
more effective or more readily understood 
by the farmers
than publications upon similar subjects. 
One thing is
being done in these beginning institutes, 
that is, such
an interest is being awakened that the next 
institutes
held in the same places will be 
attended by greater
numbers.
Prof. Duggar has attended and worked in all 
the in-
stitutes but one; Prof. Earle has worked 
in five; Prof.
Mell has attended assisted in two and Prof. 
Baker one.
The work done by the station professors has 
been very
good and without doubt many good points 
have been
given to the farmers in the localities visited.
I have also assisted the Commissioner 
of Agriculture,
Major I. F. Culver, in Farmer's Institutes 
held at Mon-
roeville, Albertville, Wetumpka, Jackson 
and Troy. I
have attended the State Swine Breeders 
meeting; the
State Dairyman's Association and Stock 
Convention-
at all of which I lectured upon stock 
or diseases of
domestic animals. I have twice visited 
the Jefferson
county Dairy and Live Stock Association 
and lectured
31
to them upon Diseases of Dairy Animals, and Dairy and
Milk Inspection.
I have visited all places where cattle or other domestic
animals were attacked by infectious or contagious dis-
eases, when called upon by the proper authorities. I
have also answered numerous letters concerning domestic
animals and their diseases.
In September, Bulleton No. 97 on Dairy and Milk In-
spection was issued. It embraces full directions for in-
specting dairy cattle, barns, 
lots, dairy surroundings,
testing milk to detect impurities and adulterations and
for determing the number and kind of bacteria in milk.
It also tells dairymen and milk-dealers how to keep
milk pure and clean without using chemical preserva-
tives. Great emphasis is placed upon the necessity for
cleanliness in all milking operations, in handling milk
and in the cleanliness and the healthfulness of the cows
that produce the milk. The bulletin gives some idea of
the necessity for milk inspection, since tuberculosis,
typhoid fever, scarlet fever, diphtheria and other dis-
eases are some times transmitted to human beings by
means of infected milk. It is possible for every city or
town in Alabama with a population of 2,000 or more to
have an efficient system of Meat, Dairy and Milk 1n-
spection.
I have given my assistance to the city of Montgomery
whenever called upon by the city physician, to aid him
or his inspectors in the line of meat or milk or dairy
inspection.
The department has also furnished the city of Mont-
gomery, firee of cost, all the tuberculin used in testing
the cattle for tuberculosis. Several veterinarians have
been supplied with tuberculin; this was done upon con-
dition that full reports of all tuberculin tests be sent to
the department.
32
The toxic effects of cotton seed and cotton seed meal
upon pigs has been studied but so far no positive reason
has been found to explain whly they are poisonous when
fed to pigs. This work is being continued. The depart-
ment is investigating the cause, pathology and treat-
ment of Big-Head or osteo-porasis in horses and mules.
It is possible that we may issue a bulletin upon this
subject this year.
Our collection of animal parasites, pathological and
anatomical specimens is increasing. Data are being
collected concerning the distribution of infectious and
contagious disease among domestic animals in Alabama.
Infectious keratitis among cattle, tuberculosis swine
plague, hog cholera, Texas fever, glanders and rabies
appeared in our State 
during the year.
Our Saturday free clinic has furnished ample material
for practical demonstrations before the students and
also supplies the laboratory with many valuable patho-
logical specimens. Owing to the fact that I have been
called away so often upon Saturdays during the year,
the number of cases has decreased but the variety and
value of the clinics have increased. There were 408
cases at the* Saturday free clinic during 1898.
Respectfully submitted,
C. A. CARY,
Station Veterinarian.
33
REPORT OF THE AGRICULTURIST.
DR. W. L. BROUN, President:
SIR :-I have the honor of submitting the following
statement with regard to the work of the Agricultural
Department for the past year:
The experiments mnade during the year 1898 have
covered a number of subjects. Of these numerous 
sub-
jects, of investigation, those which have received the
largest share of attention are the following:
(1) The economical improvement of worn soils.
(2) Cotton culture.
(3) Pork production.
(4) Culture of oats and other grains.
The investigation of the best means for restoring the
fertility of worn or exhausted soils led to a careful study
of the class of plants known as legumes or soil-improving
plants. Of plants of this class we have given most at-
tention to cowpeas, velvet beans, crimson clover, and
hairy vetch. All of these are valuable for forage as well
as for renovating the soil.
Numerous questions relating to the cultivation and
best means of utilizing the cowpea have been investi-
gated and the results will be published at an early date.
Velvet beans have been studied for several years, and
special efforts have been made to ascertain how 
they
compare with cowpeas as a means of improving the
soil. Problems connected with the culture of velvet
beans have also received attention and the results will
be published as soon as they 
can be edited.
The most useful work which this Department has
done during the past year and the work which has at-
tracted most favorable and general comment from pro-
34
gressive farmers, not only 
in Alabama, but in Georgia,
Florida, Mississippi and many other States, has been
the investigation of crimson clover and hairy vetch.
This work has effected the very practical end of showing
the cause of the frequent failure of these plants in the
past and of demonstrating the easy and simple means
by which they may be made to thrive on the same fields
where they have previously failed.
The method referred to as the means of transforming
failure into success with these incalculably valuable
plants consists in "inoculating," or as might be said, in
"vaccinating," the field where clover or vetch generally
fails, using soil from a field of thrifty clover or vetch, or
using specially prepared material. Two bulletins have
been issued on this subject, describing the methods of
inoculation and narrating the startling effects of inocu-
lating clover and vetch at Auburn, where the yield of
clover and vetch hay has been increased 200 to 500 per
cent. and more, as the result of inoculation.
Other leguminous plants which have been studied
during the past year are beggarweed, a promising reno-
vating plant for deep sandy soils and for fields infested
with rootknot or nematodes; soja beans, bur clover, etc.
The work in cotton culture falls into two general
divisions, (1) experiments made on the Experiment
Station Farm at Auburn and (2) fertilizer experiments
conducted in 40 localities in the State under the direction
and with the material aid of this Department.
The work at Auburn deals with varieties, methods of
culture, effects of various rotations, and with numerous
other questions which confront the cotton farmer. The
manuscript giving the results of this work for 1898 is
nearly ready for the printer. The fertilizer tests con-
ducted on typical soils in various parts of the State
should save the farmers of the neighborhood in which
35
they are located considerable money by pointing out
what fertilizer materials they. need to purchase and what
class of fertilizers are unprofitable. The hope is to con-
tinue these tests long enough to learn the fertilizer needs
of the principal soil belts of the State and to -enable us
to make a soil map of the State which shall be highly
valuable to our own people and to settlers from other
States.
The investigations relative to pork production have in
view the same end as our earlier work along this line,
viz., to demonstrate the means by which Alabama
farmers may most cheaply produce their pork and to
ascertain the relative values of crops that may be grown
as partial substitutes for corn,-as peanuts, cowpeas,
chufas, artichokes, sweet potatoes, and various pasture
plants.
Oats, rye, wheat and a number of miscellaneous plants
have been under test in 1898.
The bulletins published by the Agriculturist during
1898 were as follows:
Bulletin No. 89. Experiments with cotton.
No. 91. Co-operative fertilizer experiments
with cotton in 1897.
No. 93. Peanuts, cowpeas and sweet potatoes
as food for pigs.
No. 95. Experiments with oats.
No. 96. Experiments with crimson clover
and hairy vetch.
Four bulletins are now in course of preparation, to
be published within the next two months.
During 1898 the correspondence of the Agriculturist
was large as usual. During the year the writer deliv-
ered addresses at fourteen (14) Farmers' Institutes,
eight of these being held under the direction of the State
Commissioner of Agriculture and six under the direction
of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute.-
Respectfully submitted,
J. F. DUGGAR,
Agriculturist.
REPORT OF THE BIOLOGIST 'AND HORTICULTURIST.
DR. WM. LERoY BROUN, President:
SIR: During the year 1898, the following fruits have
been planted on the-Horticultural grounds: Apples, 85
varieties; figs, 20 varieties; grapes, 100 varieties ;
peaches, 25 varieties; Japanese persimmons, 5 varieties;
plums, 6 varieties ; pear I variety; cherries, 12 varieties;
raspberries, 8 varieties, and strawberries, 26 
varieties.
In the vegetable garden particular attention 
has been
given to experiments with Irish potatoes, tomatoes,
beans and cabbage. Work has been continued With
means for preventing injury from the nematode root
knot, and various other diseases of fruits and vegetables.
Three bulletins have been published during the year
from the Horticultural Department.
No. 92. Experiments with Lime for Acid Soils.
No. 94. Strawberries,
No. 98. Orchard Notes.
In the Biological Department, special attention 
has
been given to diseases of the cotton plant, and bulletin
No. 99 has just been 
issued on cotton rust. 
Considerable
work has also been done on diseases of tomatoes, beans
and cow peas, the results of which are not yet ready 
for
publication.
At the time of my last report the herbarium of this
Department contained
11,154 specimens of fungi.
530 " " algae.
452 " " lichens.
200 " " mosses and hepatics.
12,336 - Total.
38
There have been added during the year from various
sources, 3,018 fungi; 229, algae; 139 lichens, and 44
mosses-total additions, 3,430 specimens, making the
total numer now mounted in the herbarium, 15,766.
This does not include the large quantity of duplicates
that have been collected for the purpose of making ex-
changes.
Work on the Biological and Agricultural Survey of the
State has been prosecuted as vigorously as other duties
would permit. An harbarium 
of 11,237 flowing
plants has accumulated- from various sources besides a
large amount of duplicate exchange material.
Contributions from the Alabama Biological Survey
'No. 1 has been published containing two papers on Ala-
bama fungi, and material is in the hands of specialists
for two other contributions, one on the spiders and one
on the myriapods of the State.
Respectfully submitted,
F. S. EARLE,
Biologist and Horticulturist.