Show J UTAII A6RICULTURAL t E1VP ED MT TATIbN < < irf i i li I Its Work and Results i i f < i y By Dr John A Widtsoo The retirement oL the two chief officers of the Utah Experiment station has made this year a notable one in j the history of the station Dr J M S Tanner who had been president of the station staff by virtue of his position as president of the college for the past four years severed his connection with the college on July 1st Two months later the resignation of Prof Luther Poster who had been director of the station since 1S9G took effect President J M Tanner was HUC cceded by YT KErr the successful success-ful president of the Brigham Young college at Logan Director Foster was succeeded by J A Wldtsoe who had been the chemist to the station since 1594 fr Charles A Jensen B S who had 1 been the second assistant chemist for Romo time resigned his position in September to accept an appointment in tho division of soils United States Department of Agriculture His work there will be mainly investigations into the nature and reclamation of the alkali lands of the West similar to the study of the soils of Salt Lake valley made a year ago by the station In cooperation with the Department of Agriculture Mr Jensen was succeeded in October by Mr Benjamin K Jones B S a graduate of the Massachusetts Agricultural Agri-cultural college Mr Jones had been assistant chemist at the Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment sta lon since IMS and came to Utah ready to carryon carry-on the work left by Mr Jensen During Dur-ing the fall Mr John Stewart who had been the first assistant chemist since 1SOG resigned owing to ill health The vacancy left by his resignation has not yet been filled Mr Stewart has been an able and faithful officer of the station sta-tion During the absence of the chemist chem-ist In Europe the past two yoars Mr Stewart had sole control of the chemical chemi-cal work of the station tJInco the lamented death of Dr F AV Brewer the station has had no biologist Early in the summer Dr E G Gowans formerly oi the Brigham Young college In Logan was appointed professor of animal biology in the college S col-lege and biologist to the station Dr Cowans does not intend to carry on any experimental work for the station this vcar The present organization of the station sta-tion is i as follow WJlllam J Kerr D Sc president J A Widtsoc Ph D director and chemist James Dryden meteorologist and I poultry manager R 13 Llnlleld B S A animal husbandry hus-bandry G L Swcndsen B S irrigation engineer en-gineer C P Close M S horticulturist E G Gowans M D biologist Lewis A Merrill B S agriculturist John A Crockett assistant dairyman TVillliam Peterson B S assistant horticulturist B K Jones B S assistant chemist Charles Batt foreman in horticulture J B Nelson foreman in agriculture EQUIPMENT k There has been no Important addition I addi-tion to the equipment of the experiment station during the year The irrigation engine has been provided with an automatic water register to be used In tho Irrigation I Investigations also with some electrical apparatus for the determination deter-mination of water and alkali in soils The agricultural department procured a SSOO moter for use In running the thresher shredder cutter and grinding machines etc The poultry department purchased a small heater and cooker for use in keeping1 a constant tempera turo in the hcm try and for cooking various foods for the birds The other departments icplacod worn out apparatus ap-paratus restocked 1 the storerooms butS but-S made no new additions to their stock 0 WORK AND PUBLICATIONS The work of the past year has in the S main bten a continuation of the work of previous years The agricultural department has carried on some valuable experiments with sheep to determine the feeding < < values of wheat screenings frozen wheat bran and shorts and whole wheat The investigation investi-gation has an Important bearing on the encouragement of sheep industry the State on a more rational basis than has hitherto been considered Feeding experiments were also mado with horses fo determine the relative value of lucerne and timothy fed with wheat oats or bran and shorts This work promises some very Interesting results The experiments in the production of pork which have been in progress for many years were finished and the results re-sults are now published Experiments on the influence of varying amounts of water on tho composition and yield of sugar heels were continued and it was found that the acre yield of sugar may be Increased materially by the applica lion of just the right amount of water More extensive Investigations in irriga tlon were also planned and a beginning toward their realization made Many varieties of field crops were grown in order to study their behavior and yield under Utah conditions The department of dairying carried on Its usual work on the maintenance of a dairy herd The most interesting results were obtained from an investigation S investi-gation on the effect of different feeds on the quality of butter It was found for instance that a marked difference in color and flavor exists between butter obtained from cows fed lucerne and from those that were fed on corn The best disposition of the byproducts of the dairy skim milk and whey was continued as an important line of study The study of the value of pas turing for dairy purposes under a system of irrigation was continued and S important results obtained The horticulturist devoted himself largley during the past year to expcrl ments in cooperation with farmers livIng S liv-ing away from the station In Brigham he carried on experiments on the effect of different methods of thinning on the yield and quality of peaches Near Ogden an experiment on the erect of ringing grape vines for producing more and better grapes wore made In Provo ho studied the alue of dif ferent spraying materials In combatting the codling moth in an apple orchard In these three places results of far reaching importance weni obtained that wljl be of great benefit to fruit growers of the State On the station grounds the horticulturist experimented with the collage orchard grew varl vall ties of new as well as wellknown vegetables and In the forcinghouse studied the best < < methods of producing winter lettuce radishes etc The poultry department continued its conlncd brilliant work on the production of fowls and eggs and in the care of the flock The rcults obtained have value in confirming the results of earlier years New experiments were alt0 earlcr I augurated that will benclit all poultry poulr keepors In the State and outside The department of Irrigation nearing did IrrIgton cnjrl some valuable work durln the lu5t < > ason In slll tt sttiiying the water supply In various pans of the State in determining the duty of water as determining ordinarily um3dcl tho bj UUlh Minors and determiing amount of amoUit water lost bj r seepage and evaporation from the evapomlon I ordinary Irrigation canals In addition to this work Rdd1lon the measurements of the water applied to the different farm plots were made by this department The department of chemistry 9 its established lines ot IAycatga pur J 4 Lions In anticipating the coming dc mand of Utah farmers for a greater variety of fodder this department Is making a study of different well known crops with reference to their value as cattle foods The study of Utah soils amid waters occupied tho department de-partment lo n small extent On the whole much valuable information infor-mation for the successful pursuit of agriculture was obtained by the sat tlon during the past year TIE PAS WORK OF THE STATION Every Institution no matter how noble Us purpose or successful Its operations ope-rations will be required at different times to explain to men of little knowledge knowl-edge or narrow vision the reason why it should exist There have been citizens citi-zens of this State so burled in their awn way of living that all else was overshadowed who have asked What good has the experiment station done the State What good Is i it doing What good will It do Fortunately the Utah Experiment station has the confidence of the great majority of the Intelligent progressive farmers ot tho State and thoughtful men of all professions pro-fessions who realizing that successful agriculture is the basis of all national greatness have given without stint words of commendation and commendaton encouragement encourage-ment to the ofllcers of the station Such generous words are 0 storng stimulant in the slow and tedious process pro-cess of mastering nature I Still there are many In the State who though they are kindly disposed I toward the station have no clear conception con-ception of even the leading results accomplished I ac-complished during its existence for I t them it may be well to summarize a few of the Important results that have come from the station Investigations The station was organized about ten years ago Ddrlng that time It has received from the Federal Government about 150000 The State has given It not to exceed 50000 The station has cost the State and Federal Governments Govern-ments about 200000 during tho past ten years Have the investigations of the Utah Agricultural Experiment station sta-tion increased the Income of the State by a like amount To most people tho answer to this question will decide whether or not the station has a good reason for Its future existence At the lime of the organization of the station there was D strong sentiment among many of the leading agriculturists agricul-turists of the East that crops when put up green or sHoed were very mueli more valuable as cattle foods than when cured in the ordianry manner The building of the silo for containing the green fodders and the handling of the tons of water they contained were expensive items in the system but it was claimed that the better use that the animals made of the silage more than compensated for the extra cost of silo and handling The cry for the silo and silage was coming westward and progressive Utah farmers began to consider the advisability of sHoeing their chops At the time Prof J W Sanborn who was the director of the I station took up the subject from the I experimental side n silo was built on the college grounds It was filled with Utahgrown crops and the silage was fed to animals The results showed with 1 considerable force that the silo could be operated in Utah only at a loss that in spite of Its success in the East and In Europe under Utah conditions condi-tions the system was from an economic econo-mic point of view unsuccessful The published statement of this work checked at once the hardlyformed movement toward the silo and saved many Utah farmers useless expense and disappointment There can be no doubt that the total saving to the State by this one line of experimentation Is not far from thb total cost of operating the station since its organization Early in the DOs modern successful dairying was practically unknown in tho Slate Butter and cheese were Imported im-ported in large quantities and perhaps larger quantities of oleomargarine were disposed of as pure butter The people had begun to realize that this state of affairs was undesirable but few < < active efforts towards the establishment of the dairy industry within Utah boundaries had been made At this time the agricultural college and sta tion engaged Prof F B Llnflcld versed in the theory and practice of dairying and experiments were at once undertaken under-taken to solve the problems necessary to place dairying on a successfuLBbasis The professor of dairying delivered numerous addresses before men who contemplated tnterlng the dairy business busi-ness ho taught the most approved methods of feeding and caring for and maintaining the dairy herd the rational basis for buying mlk the modern methods of butter and cheese production produc-tion and assisted In planning the construction con-struction and equipment of creameries and in framing laws for the protection of the dairymen Such firsthand information in-formation was appreciated and in a few years dairying had become an Important Im-portant Industry In the State Mean en while experiments were carried on at the station for testing different Utah fodders and combinations of fodders for the purpose of milk production Experiments were also undertaken to determine the best use that can be I made of skim milk and whey the byproducts I by-products of the dairy The results of this work are being used by the majority I ma-jority of Utah dairymen and have been the cause qf a large increase in the revenues of tile Industry The value of the assistance given the dairy industry in-dustry by the station exceeds by inany times the > 00000 that the station has received The success of the sugar companys factory at Lou caused many capitalists to consider the possibility of erecting other sugar factories In the State The first consideration of an individual or corporation that intends to build corporaton buid a sugar factory is Will the farmers surrounding the factory grow the necessary beets Many factories have been seriously handicapped by the re fusal of fearful farmers to raise a crop with which they were unfamiliar In this respect the station has done noble service The most promising counties have been studied through cooperative experiments and it has been shown with great definiteness that beets of high sugar content and purity can be raised In all the parts of Utah that have been studied This has encouraged en-couraged both capitalists and farmers to engage In the beetsugar industry Today the farmers of the State are I profiting by the sugar factories to the extent of hundreds of thousands of dollars annually and as more of the I planned factories are built the greater will be the Income of the beet growers I When in future years the great success Ceat succes of the sugar Industry IB considered thoI I I help which the station gave it In its early years must not be forgotten It I may be that in this way alone the I station Is paying I hack more than it has I received And experiments to develop this industry arc still going on I Tho climate of the State hay been I studied carefully by tho station and I It hut published the onlY complete and I accurate report on the subject The I bullolln has received much favorable I comment and copies of It have been I nskod for from all parts of America II has been un important moans in I I bringing many new settlers ant consequently I conse-quently much capital Into the State Fruit raising has been practiced In I I Utah since Its settlement The station has done much of late years In advising I ad-vising fruitgrowers concerning tile i tle I best varieties to grow the I vallrtes proper care of UIQ orchard and the best methods of overcoming the numerous pests Through the activity of the station horticultural department and the State Board of Horticulture fruit raising I promises to become more than ever important to the State The poultry industry has also received re-ceived a new Impetus of recent years largely through the efforts of the station sta-tion Four years ago experiments on egg production were commenced and results have already been obtained that Indicate the changes which if I made will make the poultry Industry second to none In value to those who engage in it The experiments made at the Utah station have a general application ap-plication and requests for our results have been received from almost every civilized country upon earth Lucerne Utahs stable fodder crop has been studied in great detail at the station I has been shown how lucerne lu-cerne changes In its food value during growth and thus light has been shed on the muchdisputed bent time for cutting the plant It has also been compared with other Utah fodders and its great superiority demonstrated Not least In value are the tests that have shown with what feeds lucerne should be combined for tho best re bults the production of flesh fat or milk being considered Much work has been done on animal production Especially lino results have been obtained on the production of pork The best and most economical economi-cal feeding and treatment of hogs have been shown In such a way as to be of great value to every farmer in tho Slate who owns such animals The results re-sults of this work as applied by thousands of farmers means a large r increase in the farmers profits over those from the oldfashioned haphazard I methods The held experiments on methods of plowing sowing and harvesting on the value of different varieties of igratns and other crops etc are quietly o revolutionizing revo-lutionizing the practice of farming1 In Utah by making it more rational and systematic The numerous other Investigations that have been carried on iy the station sta-tion and that are now bting applied by the farmers of the State cannot be mentioned without taking too much space They cover such subjects as the nature of the soil Irrigation and drainage tree planting the growing of vegetables corn culture studies of Utah fodders earthen dams for irrigation I Irriga-tion works etc etc eta Each investigation in-vestigation has Influenced In some degree de-gree the methods and practice of Utah farming Enough has been said I think to prove that the Utah Agricultural Experiment Ex-periment station Is a paying proposition proposi-tion Any one who doubts may convince con-vince himself by examining the files of station correspondence that shows the reliance that hundreds of farmers place of the stations advice on subjects that deal with agriculture The work accomplished by the station hasa cumulative nature Each cumulatve year profits by the results that have been wouj 1 their value continues throughout the years Above all value Is the Influence which the staton has exerted to make agriculture agri-culture a business of the head a well as of the hand I has taught tho farmer to reason nnd to apply known I facts In an Intelligent manner to his special needs I hns elevated the art of farming and made it more respected I than ever by showing that It rests on a foundation of scientific facts In this respect the work of the station IK i I beyond a value measured by money FUTftUE WORK OF THIS STATION i With so much accomplished what will the station have lo do In the future fu-ture Tlc work already done is but a fragment compared with the future work Scores of great problems Ho before be-fore us unsolved and scores of others l are but half solved The most important because the most fundamental problem of Utah agrlcul ture J Irrigation The sveat empire I I 5 1 which will rise on the wastes of tho arid West will grow wilh the growth of Irrigation By thc gTowth of irrigation irri-gation much It i meant The Irrigation congress has for Its watchword Save the forests and slorc the floods Undoubtedly Un-doubtedly this is the flrst necessity but It is so large n subject that the Federal Government must handle It the station can have nothing to do with it directly But the station asks When the forests are saved and the floods stored what will you do with the water wa-ter How will you use it Shall It be wasted or shall every drop be treasured treas-ured as the possible lifeblood of a growing plant Hand In hand with the getting of water must be the improvement I im-provement of the methods of using StAnd St-And it is here that the station hopes in the immediate future to do much eo valuable work The station plans without Interfering with existing lines of work to concentrate its efforts on tho study of irrigation to determine the best use of water to aid in the te empirebuilding by strengthening the most Important factor of its growth Just in this direction is the greatest need of such careful accurate scien scen tific study a the station can give We want absolute results not approximate ones cooperative experiments for some time will be of little value The problems arc manifold On n given soil with a given crop how many inches of water shall be applied annually nually A farmer who has plenty of water adds UG or 72 inches and gets poorer crops than his neighbor who has little water and can apply only 12 Inches But after the right amount has been determined how shall It be applied and at what times How does an excess of water or an insufficiency affect different plants What Is the effect on the root development on the stem development on the leaf surface on the yield of seed How must the soil bo treated to conserve the soil moisture best What Is the effect of excessive irrigation on the physical and chenilcal composition of the soil What is the effoct of different systems of watering wa-tering on the quality of fruits and vegetables What Is the relative feedIng feed-Ing value of crops grown with different differ-ent amounts of water and so forth through hundreds of questions The answer to these queries must be obtained ob-tained before water can be used most economically or irrigation be a complete I com-plete success I may seem strange that so little Is known of the underly ing principles of Irrigation but it is readily understood when it Is recalled that the science of agriculture was developed mostly In countries of Europe Eu-rope where there was abundant rainfall rain-fall and therefore no need o Irrigation Irriga-tion Thus the science of Irrigation has been left for Its development to districts where it Is of Importance I seems natural that since the flrst Irrigation Irri-gation by AngloSaxons In America was done In Utah the Utah station should devote much of its efforts to the systematizing of the art The next great problem that the sta tion senses is tho improvement of the live stock of the State by an Infusion of better blood and a more careful obedience to the established laws of heredity The general subject of stock breeding will bo emphasized more than before Then will follow as far as the means of the station will permit experiments on the sugar beet lucerne and other crops the encouragement of the fruit poultry dairy sheep and other industries of new and better I varieties of plants and animals Into lImo Slate Withal new problems will wJ arJse as the years pass on TIlE NEEDS 010 THE STATION As lime goes on new demands for new investigation are maH upon the I station sta-tion Each Investigation requires the I time and thought ot a scientific lmo a seicmtOcl specialist spe-cialist and In addition the outlay of considerable money for the purchase of suitable apparatus and for the employment em-ployment of laboj The Investigations that are already in progress absorb to the last dollar ih Inccrne of the station and it has become evident of kite years that as the present investigations investiga-tions grow some Hues of work must be discontinued The main need of the station then is that the Stale will extend aid to its operations Time barn and other buildings of the station sta-tion built ton ycus ago are now overcrowded over-crowded and unsuilcd for our needs New barns must be provided for the best work of the future To aid in the advancement of animal industry purebred Iurc bred cattle sheep aId hogs should be within the stations reach The great work in Irrigation should certainly be aided by the State as far as the furnishing fur-nishing ofhouses apparatus and other permanent additions to the equipment goes Then next in Importance to the obtaining of results valuable t the farmer is the dissemination of the information in-formation in the best possible form The expense of printing l and illustrating ing the yarious bulletins of the station takes 600 to JOOO annually from tho station funds I the State would us Bitnie thR burden of publishing the experimental ex-perimental results obtained at the station sta-tion the increased amount of money available would almost double the quantity of work that could he done This is a subject worthy of careful thought by the pcoplo of the State and by the legislators of tIme coining session of the Legislature I is the custom of most States to add largely to the income of the experiment stations and the framer of the bill creating the stu tious intended that the Federal appropriations appro-priations should only be a part of their Incomes Last year for instance Alabama Ala-bama gave 10000 to her station Cal S forum 15000 Connecticut 15000 Iowa 10000 Louisiana 18000 Massachusetts Mas-sachusetts 11000 Michigan 12000 Minnesota 13000 Nevada 1200 New York SSGOOO Ohio 19000 Wisconsin 15000 and so forth The people of Utah want their public Institutions to bo among the best The agricultural experiment station is not S the least in value to the State I has now reached a point where its growth 0 ill cease unless the late comes to its aid That this will bo cone every citizen citi-zen o Utah who has lived here long enough to learn the temper of tho people knows Is certain ccrtaln THE STATION AND THE FARMER This report must not be concluded without mentioning in a grateful spirit the kindly help that the farmers of the State have given the station The suggestions sug-gestions from practical farmers concerning con-cerning the most important problems of different localities have been excellent excel-lent guides in the devising of new lieos l of work The cooperative work in which many Utah farmers have been associated with the station has yielded yield-ed lesults that the station by itself could have obtained only with great difficulty Above all the short messages mes-sages that have come almost every day telling how some of our results have been applied successfully on Utah farms have spurred the station staff on to greater activity The station Is for the benefit of the farmers and It wants to be In close touch with thorn THE STATION AND THE PRESS Another generous ally of the station has been the Utah press With prac tically no exceptions tho newspapers of the State have gone out of their way to accommodate the station by printing summaries of bulletins announcements Of work In progress and other matter that tended to keep the station beforo the public eye This cooperation Is of especial value as It enables the station at frequent Intervals to reach the reading public of the State THE FUTURE OF THE STATION There Is no uncertainly about the future of the station Its mission Is only begun n century will not suffice to solve all the unsolved problems of Utah agriculture I is a need of the State that cannot be risen cd with Jt Is the source of much success ampng those who follow the pursuits of agriculture a1li culture WHh e vch yenr Us value will is OI U > lJAl < tta < V jfii aejji ilu V be more forcibly demonstrated and its discoveries of more farrcachlng import im-port limo station Is fortunate in having lines of Investigation that will yield good results I has an enthusiastic working staff to whom researches In agriculture mean moro than the earn ing of a salary The statjon force is possessed of an earnest eager desire to discover new truths and to apply them to the benefit of man and occasional occa-sional successful investigations are a dearer reward to the Investigator than I the luxuries of life Then too the sta tion has a sympathetic board of trus tees who aid the work largely by their I intelligent liberality The Utah Agricultural Experiment station after a decade of successful work bids the nineteenth century farewell fare-well and hails the coming century which will bring It great successes so great that they will be luminous throughout all the coming time |