South Dakota State College - Jack Rabbit Yearbook (Brookings, SD)

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Department g'Agriculture and Agronomy IAMES W. WILSON, M. S. A Professor of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry I IOHN S. COLE, B. S. Assistant Agriculturalist in charge of Agronomy 19 ALBERT H. WHEATON Instructor in Dairy Science HARRY G. SKINNER, B. S. A. Assistant in Agriculture and Animal Husbandry GV, - fm 5'i?f.,194Lf::M 2? Sf3:7?:7rwN7?1r'.::f-q'by1 , .yygfgk-i3Bgf.,S,gc -

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND AGRONOMY. THE EXPERIMENT STATION AND ITS WORK. The Experiment Station is an institution created by Congress under what is known as the Hatch Act. This bill passed both houses of Congress in 1887 and became a law just twenty-five years after the bill passed, providing for the donating of public lands to the sev- eral states and territories to provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts. It was thc crowning effort on the part of Congress to make these institutions what they are to-day and great credit is due to Mr. Hatch, who was the principal promoter of the bill. The station is strictly an agricultural institution, its object being to solve problems for the farmers which they cannot solve thcmselvesg to assist in unlocking nature's secrets and bringing them to the attention of the farmer who works in the field with his coat off. George Washington foresaw the necessity of establishing a national board of agricul- ture to assist the farmers in their pursuits and, in one of his messages to Congress, empha- sized the importance of such an organization. President Roosevelt has said. While I am a son of Harvard, I feel that the state land grant institutions are doing a greater work and are closer to the hearts of the people than. many of the older and better equipped colleges. In this connection it might be stated that there are more people who hear of the South Da- kota Agricultural College through the medium of the experiment station bulletins than through any other source, and many there are in this state to-day who know nothing of the Agricultural College. while as a matter of fact the former is a part of the latter. The station receives 515,000 annually from the federal government for its support. The money is used for strictly experimental purposes. The equipment of the station, such as land and build- ings, is furnished by the state, wl1ile the laboratory facilities are provided by the station. It consists of six different divisions, viz.: Agronomy, Horticulture, Chemistry, Bot- any and-'Entomology, Veterinary and Animal Husbandry. The man who has charge of each of these divisions, is also professor of the subject in the College, thereby serving in a dual capacity, which arrangement renders the instructional feature of more value to the student than if two separate organizations were maintained. Considerable work in co-operation with the United States Department of Agricul- ture in the introduction of new fruits, grains, grasses and their improvement, has been done. which will prove of value not only to this state but to the entire Northwest. The department details two men to assist in these investigations. One is located at Brookings and the other at the state farm near Highmore, S. D. By growing the same crops in these two sections of the state it affords a better field for adaptation of new va- rieties of grains and grasses than would be possible with the one station, because the soil and climatic conditions of the two localities are quite different. The following lines of investigation are now under way in the different departments: In the Agronomy Department the work in crop rotation, which has been carried on for several years, is still under consideration. It consists of planting the same field to dif- ferent crops to notice the effect in yield per acre and the advantages or disadvantages in rais- ing such crops. This work is fully explained in Bulletin No. 79, which is free to all those who apply. In the Horticultural Department extensive series of experiments are being considered. Plant breeding is done along two lines: First, by selection from large numbers of individ- uals grown under the most favorable environment: second. by crossing and hybridizing with the best tame varieties, the object being to secure individuals combining the hardiness of the wild and the size and quality of fruit of the tame. About a quarter of a million seedlings may be found growing on the sixty acres set apart for this department. Many varieties of plants have been imported from foreign countries to use for- crossing with our native sorts, the intention being to secure improved varieties for our conditions. This fruit breeding establishment is second in size only to that of Burbank, of California. In the Chemistry Department the work is largely investigating the different wheats 18

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as to their milling quality. Numerous samples of wheat raised in different parts of the state have been analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Experiments have been made from the baker's standpoint, going so far as to determine the color of the bread and the nature of the Hours as to the sponge test. In the Botanical and Entomological Department considerable work has been done with forage plants, plant diseases and injurious insects. This department has ln charge the for- age testing station at Highmore. The Veterinary Department is experimenting with the diseases of animals. The Animal Husbandry Department has taken up the subject of origination of breeds, the best crosses to make under our conditions, and the feeding of grains and forage plants. The station publishes at least four bulletins every year. Last year there were seven published. There are 9,500 names onthe regular mailing list. This includes, however, the exchange of all the leading agricultural journals in the United States. Our bulletins are in demand from all parts of the United States and several foreign countries. Of the ninety- four bulletins published to date only thirty-four remain available for distribution, which shows that the investigation work of the station force is popular with the people. . X, ajliipt stat . - Q 'l--li M IT' i jf' 41 if' Eff f XFX -'5. .f-1X A fd 'Dig--,i..j:Qf:,, X ' J . 'JWQ .5 l 3,7 ' A7- :fr- J' f-' 20 . z-', ara 'iw