The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1888-04-11

State-aS one Whlcn cOmDlneS ECONOMY
of money and labor with great variety of
work and wide field of operations. By
far the largest portion of its work has
already been assigned the station by
State and Federal legislation.
The Act of Assembly in 1886, from
which it derives part of its funds, pre-
scribes: ssThe object shall be determine
the capacity of new plants FOR acciima-
ton, the manurial value of fertilizers
and composts; testing the purity and
vitality of seeds; examining weeds,
grasses and other plants; investigating
the growth, requirements and compare
tive value of different crops; studying
the economic production of milk and
butter, and of conducting such other
tests, investigations and experiments IN
the field as may bear upon questions
connected with the science or practice OF
agriculture.
The United States law known as the
ssHatch Act is still more explicit, for in
Section it provides: ssThat it shall be
the object and duty of said experiment
stations to conduct original researches
or verify experiments on the physiology
of plants and animals; the diseases to
which they are severally subject, with
the remedies for the same; the chemical
composition of useful plants at their
different stages of growth; the compare
tive advantages of cropping as pursued
under a varying series Of crops; the
capacity of new plants and and trees for
acclimation; the analyses of soils and
water; the chemical composition of
manures, natural and artificial, with the
experiments designated to test their COM
parative effects on crops of different
kinds; the adaptation and value of
grasses and forage plants; the compost
ton and digestibility of the different
kinds of food for domestic animals; the
scientific and economic questions in
volved in the production OF butter and
cheese; and such other researches or ex-
periments bearing directly on the agri-
cultural industry of the United States as
may in each case be deemed advisable,
having due regard to the varying condi-
tions and needs OF the respective States
and Territories. Herein is mapped out
an enormous amount of work of the
most varied kind, work which requires
field tests without end and analyses by
the thousand, and calls for large corps
of trained specialists and practical agri-
culturahsts.
We propose to meet these demands to
the best Of our ability. The
FIELD WORK AND TESTS
Will be carried on at our three farms.
At the upper or Piedmont farm tho
cereals and grasses, stock-raising, fruit
culture, &C., will receive large share of
the attention. At the central farm field
experiments in the acclimation of plants,
and stall tests Of the digestibility Of food
will be made. Such tests require large
amount of chemical research. The food
and water allowed the animals and the
excrernents must be analysed, the FORM
er repeatedly and the latter daily.
Again, the experiments bearing upon
the economic production of milk, butter
and meat must be conducted on this
farm. And here must be grown the
plants to be analyzed at different stages
of their growth. For all these materials
must be in easy reach of the laboratories
and should be gathered or collected by
the analyst in person. At the lower
farm tests of forage plants for ensilage,
OF the sugar cane, sorghum, &C., will re-
ceive special attention. But ali these
will devote much time and labor to tests
bearing upon the economic production
of our great staples, rotations, farm
practice, &c. At each farm every test
will be duplicated, and as many of them
will be carried on simultaneously at all
three, there will be checking and veri-
flying of the work which will give to the
results great value and weight. And
this repetition will enable US also to de-
termine the effects of differences in eli
mate or soil upon the same kind of plant
or fertilizer. Our field tests, carried on
at such widely separated and representa-
tive points, will have interest for the
farmer of every section of the State.
Field experiments confined to one To-
cality give valuable information only to
the farmers occupying soil exactly SINH
ldl w t11u W lI1O SC<Au1O1s IL 4S1ASNJ
this, many stations have been compelled
to make arrangements for having their
field tests carried on at several points,
leaving their direction to un-
trained and irresponsible men.
/ may add that we have 256 plats laid
off for experiments with cotton ct Co.
lumbia, and 200 at each of the other two
farms. We have provided 40 for corn
at each of the three. At Columbia these
field tests will be supplemented by pot
in the green house. The
Life history of the cotton plant will be
carefully studied, its termination, root,
system, growth, ratification, &c. I'm
proved farm machinery will be tested at
all three farms. As I have already ex-
planned, one-half of our income, or SlO,-
900, has been set apart for field work.
The other half will be required to meet
the cost of scientific Investigations. 1t
must be explained, however, that under
this head will be included the cost of the
publication and distribution of the
monthly bulletins and annual report,
,,ostaoe stationery chemicals apDaratus