Show THE EXPERIMENT STATIO NITS N-ITS HISTORY AND WOUK FOR 1901 The first year of the twentieth century cen-tury has been a most successful one in the history of the Utah1 experiment station The plans of Its future operations opera-tions have systematlzed the npw I work inaugurated and results far reaching In their importance to the agriculture of the State have been obtained I > STATION STAFF A number of changes hac occurred in the personnel of the station staff On the first of January the resignations resigna-tions of Mr John Stewarj B S and B K Jones B S took effect Mr Stewart resigned owing to ill health and Mr Jones to take up the study of Jaw Later In the year Prof C P Close 11 S who had been connected with the Institution but two years resigned re-signed also his resignation took effect investigations This was done and six acres of land with deep uniform soil were obtained On this new farm the main irrigation experiments will be continued Utah possesses a great variety of unusual soils To gain some comparative com-parative knowledge of the watqr requirements re-quirements of these sols the Legislature Legisla-ture appropriated S1SOO for the construction con-struction and equipment of a vegetation vegeta-tion house In which pot experiments of different classes of Utah soils will be conducted This work will be undertaken un-dertaken the coming season The barn used by the college and station for more than ten years had of late become too small for the needs of the Institution Besides i needed a thorough renovation The Legislature Legisla-ture appropriated nearly 12000 for a cattle barn a sheep barn and for the conversion of the old barn into a I j l F 1 f 3 S 4 ri I r 4 4 iatSt I Fa k rLtcc Q Flumo for Applying Measured Amou nto of Water to an OrchardUtah I I Experiment Station on the 1st of October Mr Osbornc J P Wldtsoe D S was engaged car In the spring to act temporarily as assistant chemist At the June meeting ot the board Mr W W Mc Laughlln B S and Mr P A Yoder Ph D were elected assistant chemists Mr McLaughlin had formerly been connected with the experiment station n assistant chemist and entered upon up-on his duties on June 1st ready to take up his work at once Dr Yoder returned in June from germany where he had been studying for the past two years and entered upon his duties dn July let The chemical department de-partment is now In n better condition for effective work than It has been for some time pastt The extensive ir igatlon Investigations that were undertaken un-dertaken with the opening of the season sea-son necessitated the appointment of an assistant to Prof Swendsen the Irrigation engineer The board selected se-lected Mr W D Beers B S a graduate gradu-ate of the college to act a assistant I In irrigatjon On the resignation of Prof Close Mr J A Wright the deserved de-served popular secretary of the State Board of Horticulture was elected to fill the position of station I horticulturist At the present writing the station staff stands fully organized II organ-ized and with the carefully matured plans for Its future jxorkthe station staton should become a jitMl aid to the farmers of the StateJ At present the sl non staff Is organized or-ganized follows J W J Korr D Set president of the college John A WldtsoePh D director and chemist F B Llnfleld BS A animal industry In-dustry James Dryden meteorologist and poultry manager G L Swendsen B S hydraulic engIneer en-gIneer Lewis A Merrill B S agronomist E G Gowans M D biologist J A Wright horticulturist I John A Crockett assistant Crocket dairyman dairy-man J f Mi m A L I S u Avfcr rrr V > > H A i F kt t c J > J J S > r t t I r i q T4L g i ibi j < i h 1 I Moasuring Weir nnd WaterRegister for Applying Knomi Quantities of Water to Crops Utah Experiment Station Peter A Yoder Ph D assistant chemist chemist W W McLaughlm 1 S assistant W D Beers B S assistant in irrigation irri-gation DEPARTMENTS REORGANIZED Since the organization of the station sta-tion the Agricultural department has had charge of all the work in both animal ani-mal and plant production This has been too much work for one deparl nient and therefore the work relating to animal production has boon assigned as-signed to Prof F B Lin field the station sta-tion dairy Investigate and the work In plant production to Prof L A Met till who had been assistant agrlcul url t for soveiul ycaYs past This division o duties will It is believed result In more effective work than could be expected when ono department depart-ment had to divide Its energies between be-tween two impoiant lines of investigation investi-gation EQUIPMENT The elation has received a number of important additions to Its equipment equip-ment during the past year As usual the various departments have been supplied with new appaiatus to replace re-place voin outv or broken articles Special pieces of apparatus for special Investigations have also been purchased pur-chased in a number of cases The new work In Irrigation later to be men tioned required a number of additions to the equipment chief of which was a series pf Hume for the irrigation pints Three water registers iylth Dutiable clockwork annngoments for measuring the amount of water added to the dIfferent plats were also purchased pur-chased The soil o the present college farm Is very shallow averaging less than fifteen inches in depth and It Is underlaid by a layer of limestone gravel These conditions make it undesirable unde-sirable for irrigation work The last Legislature was asked to appropriate money for the pm chase of Q piece of land more suitable for the irrigation horso barn and Q storehouse for farm machinery and seeds These new buildings are now nearly completed and will be used Jointly by the college and the station nnd as far as buildings build-ings are concerned the department of animal husbandry Is now equipped for the very best work The station dairy herd had been afflicted af-flicted for several years with tuberculosis tuber-culosis and other contagious diseases I was thought unwise to move thes animals Into the new barns and thus to make the place a source of danger to all animals that might be purchased In the future The board therefore ordered the sale of all the live stock owned by the station early in the spring While this has interfered this year with the station feeding experiments ex-periments beneficial it will ultimately prove beneficialPLANS PLANS OF WORK On the retirement or I Prof Foster from the directorship of the station a number of Investigations that had been In progress for many years were finished No plans for a main line of work had been formulated and it consequently con-sequently became necessary at the very beginning of the year to formulate formu-late plans for the future work of the Institution The result of this work was briefly reported In The New Years Tribune of last year Utah Is a new country with a rather peculiar climate and very peculiar soils The investigations that need to be undertaken cover practically the whole field of agriculture With the limited funds at the disposal of the experiment station a careful selection had to be made I was decided Inasmuch In-asmuch as the art of Irrigation is the most important for Utah agriculture that the main energies of the station should be given to this subject Other investigations were not to be excluded but would be made secondary as far as tho time and the means of the station sta-tion are concerned Though Irrigation Is one of the oldest of tho arts of agriculture agri-culture it has the poorest scientific foundation of any practice of equal ImpOltance This Is due lo the fact that irrigation was practiced most ex tenblvely among the ancient peoples the details of whose lives and practices have been lost and secondarily that the science of modern agriculture has been developed In countries of abun dant rainfall where as l consequence irrigation wa an almost unknown practice Thcagrlcultuial progress of the State of Utah depends primarily upon the proper use of the Irrigation water of tho State Besides modern Irrigation on the Western continent originated In the State of Utah I was therefore felt thnt no mistake could be made by tho station In decid Ins upon the subject of irrigation as its leading line of work and during the past season such extensive and thorough experiments concerning irrigation irri-gation have been inaugirated at the taLon that it Is bdljoved that In a few years the art of Irrigation wjll be placed on a rational and scientific basis r WORK ACCOMPLISHED The careful planning and preparation for the new lines of Work to be undertaken under-taken consul a great deal of the time of tho station staff so that It was Impossible to inaugurate all tho propose pro-pose work of the nast season however How-ever a large part of the work was begun be-gun as the follqwlng summary of the years work will show For the work In Irrigation lOS plats 2x4 rods of the best soil found OT the college farm were set aside OnelTnain rectangular flume 080 feet long leading from a carefullypropaied weir was constructed along the middle line of the Irrigation section Lateral triangular flumes were connected with this main flume at the head of each series of plats < See illustration The total length of the lateral flumes was nearly 3SOO feet A carefullyconstructed eonstruote water register connected with a twelvehour clock furnished on accurate accu-rate record of the amount of water that passed Into the system ot flumes any time of tho day By this arrangement tho exact amount of water applied to any plat could be determined On tho plats thus flumed experiments were undertaken un-dertaken with corn potatoes oats wheat lucerne peas sugar beets tomatoes toma-toes cabbage and Home eight varieties of grasses The questions to be solved by these experiments related chiefly tQ the right amount of water for the different dif-ferent crops the best waer lme to apply tEi the effect of surface tillage In conserving conserv-ing soil moisture the value of subsoIl Inpr for the same purpose floodlnc of against furrowing nnd the effect these different treatments on the yield add composition of the crops Tbc agronomist and horticulturist were responsible re-sponsible for dll the field work In these experiments excepting the Irrigation The irrigation engineer observed that the planned amounts of water was applied ap-plied to the plats and the chemist analyzed an-alyzed all the crops and made moisture determinations o the soil before and 1 after Irrigation and at other stated Intervals In-tervals I was an experiment in Itself to learn whether four departments I could work together harmoniously without violating the rigid rules that were necessary to make the work successful suc-cessful T was truly a greJU pleasure to all who were concerned that the I seasons work Involving nearly COO distinct dis-tinct water measurements GOO soil moisture determinations and a corresponding corres-ponding number of other operations passed off without difficulty except such as were due to the newness of the experimental methods All of the experiments ex-periments were successfully concluded I Is believed that this series of experiments experi-ments stands alone In tho history of Irrigation Ir-rigation when its comprehensive thorough thor-ough and strictly scientific treatment In considered The results which will bo published In tJne early spring of 1002 promise to be of much value Tie success suc-cess or the first seasons work has led to an extension of the plans for tho coming season In cooperation with the bureau of soils United States Department of Agriculture the station made a i survey of the alkali lands of Sevier and Weber counties The results of these Investigations gations throws much light on the agricultural agri-cultural needs of the Slate I Is hoped that In somo future year the station win bo able to construct n soil map for the whole State This will enable every farmer to see at a glance the nature of the soils of his locality I is how fully realized that farms that have been persistently cropped for I many years are diminishing In their fertility To give rational advice for the treatment of such lands l and for tho purpose of showing Utah farmers how such a diminution of Soil fertility maybe may-be avoided the Station inaugurated year of reorganization the results are very atalsfactory to all who arc connected con-nected with the station Tho irrigation work that has been Inaugurated will w1 in i time be of the highest importance to Utah agriculture The most serious handicap has been lime disorganization of the experimental work with cattle sheep and swine as before explained In addition to the strictly scientific clentfo Investigations of the station a great deal of miscellaneous but important work has been accomplished Chiefly in this work must be mentioned tho records that have been devised nnd pre pared for the Agricultural department department A speciallyruled book giving the complete com-plete history of all tho farm plat for the past ten years has been worked out nnd nil the work tliat has been done on the farm since the organization of tho station Is summarized in IL This has been found very useful Prof Bferrin devised also a record for the rl the department of agronomy In which the operation on the farm are entered systematically and with a minimum of labor The card Index of experiment sta tion literature that has been In t cess of ce publication since 1893 was sorted and arranged under proper headings In a suitable library case The labor connected with this classlfi cation was considerable but claS3lne tlon workers have found the Index valuable val-uable in their experimental work work I During the year five bulletins and an annual ropoi were published Two of these reports were credited however to the preceding year since Athc work they contained was done under Prof Fosters direction Those credited thin year are numbers 7 72 and 73 dealing respectively with the carrying capacities capa-cities of Irrigation canals a soil survey of Salt Lake valley and a record of butter and cheese experiments There Is 1 a groat deal of material on hand that should be published but the funds of the station are so fully consumed by the payment of tho salaries of tho station staff and the necessary ex pens 3 of the experiments In progress that very little Is left for the publication publica-tion of the results obtained In this way the purpose of the station is being be-ing partially defeated The preceding paragraph indicates one of the gneat needs o the station As now organized the station requires all Its funds for salaries and maintenance mainte-nance To publish properly the results re-sults of tho station Investigations requires re-quires an annual expenditure of 512000 Tho result Is Inevitable Important Investigations remain on the station file for years and In cases l many cacs are never published In full Tho people asa as-a consequence are prevented from gaining the full benefit of the station rM = zte 2j I C I MFr I i4krVt 5S7 Part ot Irrigation Plats Showing Station System of Flumes Utah Experiment series of experiments on the rotation of crops suitable to Utah conditions and climate I will be some years before correct conclusions can bcdrawn from this experiment The Important work of finding varieties varie-ties of graIn suitable for fndlng farms has been continued The station is now in a position to publish Its iccommen dations with regard to the varieties that arobest adapted to Utah which will be done in the near future The Important and growing fruit Industry In-dustry of the State also received attention atten-tion during the year At Provo experiments experi-ments to destroy the codling moth were continued At Ogden experiments on the value of ringing grapevines were made and at BrIgham experiments neie made on the effect of thinning peaches At the station orchard the testing of varieties was continued The fruitgrowers of the State have yet much to learn 1 in the way of elementary facts and it Is the purpose of the station sta-tion for some time to come to encourage encour-age the Industry rather than to begin I elaborate experiments that will be moiQ useful when the Industry I firmly established es-tablished ITovetor a beginning was made this year toward the study of tho best methods OL irrigating an orchard Horsefeeding experiments have ben I In progress for some years During the S past year they have been extended and I some Important new features added An L experiment has recently been planned Ito I-to test the effect of early medium and I latecut lucerne on horses This Is a live i question that has recently been much discussed in the agricultural press The work with poultry has been as I usual very successful this year Much I Important Information has been obtained ob-tained from experiments on artificial i Incubation An Important line of work has been the breeding experiments that have for their object the breeding up I of a flock with uniformly high egglay ing capacities experiments made at this station have aroused such widespread wide-spread attention as have those with poultry and this is quite deserving for no other poultry experiments have been carried out so systematically as those conducted here Owing to the change In the head of the department oC animal husbandry and the sale of all the station live stock in the spring very little work on the feeding of animals has been hen accomplished accom-plished this year A few sheep experiments experi-ments testing the comparative values of wheat and wheat screenings wore conducted on lines laid down a year earlier The Irrigation engineer has been ex tremely busy during the year planning and building the flumes for the irriga tion plat and in measuring tho I amounts of water applied to different plats Still he has found some time to continue his work on the use of water In Cache valley and on the seepage from Irrigation canals I his work shows anything at all It Is that the S people of the northern part of the State do not use irrigation water economical ly They do not make It go ns far as it should Several years ago the chemical department de-partment began the study of the best L time lo harvest different crops In 1901 L the work dealing with barley oats and I wheat was finished and partially prepared pre-pared for publication During the summer an extensive and Ir I careful study was made of the dry farming possibilities of the State and I the conditions and methods of culture S that make dry farming successful This 3 work Is now lii the press and It in I hoped will give encouragement to this very Important Industry of the State Without going Into further detail It may be said that several other lines of work of less Importance were considered consid-ered by the station stuff during the year and valuable results obtained This brief report will show that tho m lines of Investigation carried on at the State experiment station during 1001 were numerous and touch upon many phases of farm work The results ob I tamed nil have a distinct value to Utah agriculture When it is considered that this work was accomplished during u work To curtail the investigations would not be worse for there are continual con-tinual requests for Information along every line of work attempted and along many others The station should expand ex-pand and not contract Its Investigations Investiga-tions It would seem eminently proper for the State to assume the burden of publishing the reports of the station Investigations It Is important that thin be done else some of the station experiments must be discontinued Another An-other nr < vd of equal importance should soon be met by the State Legislature The climatic and soil conditions of Utah are very peculiar and besides vary greatly in different parts of the State For Instance the soils in the northern part of the State are comparatively com-paratively poor In Time the soils In Sanpeto county on the other hand consist con-sist of 20 to 60 per cent of lime Tho soils In Emery and Juab counties are rich In gypsum These differences In composition affect greatly the properties prop-erties of the soils with respect to irrigation ir-rigation tillage and kinds of crops that may be grown Then In the north the rainfall is much higher than in the south hence the cultural conditions condi-tions In the two parts of the State are II Ho rent For this reason It has long been evident that results obtained from experiments at Logan cannot with safety be applied to the whole State To meet these conditions the State of Utah must follow the example of California Cali-fornia Colorado Oregon Arizona and many other States that possess a variety va-riety of soils and climatic conditions viz must establish substations or experimental ex-perimental farms In representative parts of the State where crops suitable suit-able for a locality may be tested the value of dliferont methods of irrigation irriga-tion and culture can be determined and a clear Insight into the nature of Utah soils may be won The expense of maintaining such experimental ex-perimental farms would bo very small and the results obtained would In the coure of a few years be of untold benefit to the people The Congressional Congres-sional appiopriatlon which supports the Utah Experiment station cannot be used for the maintenance of such stations Upon the State therefore falls the burden of establishing and supporting these Institutions However the scientific laboratories at the central cen-tral station can be used for the chemical chemi-cal biological and other strictly scientific scien-tific work connect with experimanta at the substations The people of the State have already realized the need of experimental forms in various pectlonw of the State as Indicated by the establishment of a horticultural experimental farm in Washington county The deplorable error was made however of giving it no official connection with the Central Experiment station at Logan and thus both institutions are deprived of the benefits that could bo derived from mutual cooperative work Utah Is anew a-new and vast Held for agricultural inquiry In-quiry Her neople cannot afford to waste their efforts by duplication Co operation has ever been a watchword in Utah It is hoped that the coining Legislature Legisla-ture will give serious attention to the question of establishinga few experimental experi-mental farms In the State to supplement supple-ment the work done at the State Experiment Ex-periment station CONCLUSION The Utah Experiment station labors for the advancement of the cause oC agriculture in the State It desires and needs the cooperation of the farmers In this work This they have given this year as in the past freely and intelligently in-telligently The success of the past year has been fiue mainly to the great unity of tho station staff which has led to an unwonted un-wonted and highly pioductlve concentration concen-tration of effort If the plans now formulated for time work of the Utah station be left undisturbed undis-turbed and If they be carried out Intelligently In-telligently and with vigor the agriculture agri-culture of this State will be a great gamer DR JOHN A WIDTSOD |