The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-01-30
TO STUDY THE CROPS.
Directors of the Agricultural Exper
ment Station to Meet Next Week

directors of the Agricultural Expert
ment Station to Meet Next Week.
The directors OF the State Agricultural
Experiment Station will meet at Atlanta
next Monday to organize and take steps
toward the location Of the station.
Maj. G. N. Ryals is member of the
board and will go up Sunday to attend the
meeting. the board is composed of one
director from each congressional district, as
follows; First district, G.. III. Ryals
OF Savannah; Second district, J. NJ.
flushing of Boston; Third district,
Wright Brady of Americas; Fourth district,
J.. II. Mobley of Hamilton; Fifth district,
W. l.. Peek of Conyers; Sixth district,
Eden Taylor of Forsyth; Seventh district,
Felix Corrupt Of Cave Spring; Eighth dis
trict James B. Park, Jr, of Greensso
Ninth district, j. n. Twitty of jefferson
Tenth district, P. j. Berckmans Of Augusta.
The members of the board are all practical
and successful farmers. In addition to the
appointive members the legislative act Gre
atlng the station deSignate5 the commits
sioner Of agriculture as er-o6ict0 president
OF tbs board. The chancellor of the State
University and the university professor of
chemistry are also made er-0ficiO members
The specific object of the station or expert
mental farm, as outlined in the act creating
1t, Is to determine the capacity of new plants
for accllmation; the manurial value of fer
tlIlzers and composts; making soil tests and
testing the purity and vitality of seeds ::
examining grasses and other plants; in
vestigating the growth, requirements and
value of different crops; studying the
economic production Of milk and butter,
and of conducting such other tests aud
making such other Investigations and ex
periments in the field as are suggested by
the act Of congress establishing state sta
tons, and as may bear upon questions con-
nected with either the science or practice of
agriculture.
The act provides that the directors in
selecting a location for the station shall
have reference to the central portion of the
state. The board will discuss the matter
at Its meeting on Monday, and will adver-
tlse for sixty days for proposals from locali-
ties for the purpose Of inducing the estab-
lshment of the station, and which may
wish to compete for it. The board will
meet again about April l to consider the
proposals and decide upon location.
Macon, Rome, Athens, Newman and
Griffin have already submitted their claims
Maj. Ryals had hoped that the station
might be located at or near
Savannah in order to develop
the rice and truck interests as well
as cotton and other crops, but the act pre-
cludes Savannah from any chance of secur-
ing it. Whatever location may be decided
upon in the Central or upper part of the
state Maj RIVALS says will bar experiment
in two Of the great and growing agricultural
interests-rice planting and truck farming.
The directors will have $50 900 for the
establishment and maintenance OF the sta
tion-$l5, 900 annually from the state and
S15, 200 annually from the general govern
ment The state appropriation will be
available as soon as the location is decided
upon.
The station, wherever established, will be
considered as connected with the state col
lege of agriculture and mechanic arts.
Maj. Ryals believes that 1t will be a great
thing for the farmers of Georgia, but he
regrets that its experiments and investiga-
tions cannot be made to include
the rice aud truck farming interests
which represent thousand Of dollars and
which are two of the most important agri-
cultural industries in the south Abiding to
the rapid progress that has been made in
truck farming in the past few years Mi.
Ryals pointed to the fact that the Ocean
Steamship COmpany'S vegetable ship
ments from Savannah in 1886 we're 225 900
packages In 1887 the ship ents were over
300, 900 packages, and last year they were
100000 ackages. an increase Of nearly 100
being introduced and developed every year.
Major Ryas has just returned from
Charleston, where he made tour Of the
truck farms One farmer at Mount Pleas
ant has forty acres of asparagus, from
which his income last year was $16, 600 In
the ueighbornood of Mount Pleasant there
are between 300 and 400 acres of asparagus
There is no reason, Maj. Ryals says, why
asparagus cannot be grown here
with the same profit that it is
grown at Mt. Pleasant. He has between
Ell yhteen and twenty acres of young aspara-
gus, from which he expects a handsome
profit as soon as it Is grown. Other crops
need only to be introduced with a practical
knowledge of their growth to mako them
prOduce a handsome Drofit