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the flies flying and buzzing continually, and other insects incessantly climbing and falling back. It is only after being exhausted by their efforts that they eventually get slimed by the liquid at the base of the leaf, and stupor then overtakes them.

I have seen ants, and occasionally flies also, fall immediately as they entered the leaves before they could have eaten honey.

I remark, further, that if this sweet internal secretion be stupefying, that outside on the wing (the "trail") must be equally so, and therefore insects ought to be found at the base of the leaves on the ground. I have never myself seen such, nor have I ever heard of any other persons observing dead or intoxicated insects outside (J. H. Mellichamp, Bluffton, S. C., in American Naturalist).

Fertilization of Gentiana Andrewsii.

Humble-bees are in the habit of entering bodily into the flower of this gentian, forcing open the mouth of the corolla to do so where this is closed (as it is in the absence of sunshine), and the anthers open before the stigmas separate to expose the pollen - receiving surface; so it is evident that cross-fertilization is provided for. Our correspondent, Mr. M. W. Vandenberg, of Fort Edward, N. Y., communicates the result of some observations which show that this flower has likewise an arrangement for self-fertilization. The short tube of cohering and extrorsely opening anthers is higher than the stigma when the blossom first opens. The pistil afterwards lengthens, so that its apex protrudes; the broad and introrse stigmas now separate, at first moderately, but at length they diverge strongly and become revolute, so as to bring a portion of the broad stigmatic surface into contact with the outer face of the anther tube, which usually is still covered with abundance of pollen. The pollen appears to retain its freshness for a long time, and in this slow movement of revolution of the stigmas they are seen to take up considerable masses of the moist pollen. Those stigmas, therefore, which have failed to receive extraneous pollen from bees during the first day or two of anthesis will afterwards secure it from their own anthers. "Get fertilized-cross fertilized if you can, self-fertilized if you must—is nature's golden rule for flowers" (A. Gray, in American Naturalist).

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL ECONOMY.

By Professor W. O. ATWATER,

WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY, MIDDLETOWN, CONN.

The year 1877 has been remarkable for the manifestations of increased interest in the study and the practical applications of agricultural science. A report of progress in this direction will most properly begin with the agricultural experiment stations, from which by far the largest part of the investigations come.

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS.

Growth of the Experiment Stations.

The twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the first European station was held at the parent institution in Moeckern September 15, 1877. The reports and statistics prepared for this meeting furnish a proof as cheering as it is convincing that agriculture is gradually coming into line with the other arts and industries in the march of modern progress, and making use of its share of the benefits of science.

The first agricultural experiment station was established in 1852, by some progressive farmers, at Moeckern, near Leipsic, in Saxony. There are to-day no less than 119 regularly organized agricultural experiment stations in the different countries of Europe-Portugal, Greece, and Turkey being the only ones without them.

The rate of progress of the experiment-station idea will appear from the following figures, which show the number founded each year since 1852:

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The number thus given is 127. To these should be added

6, the exact dates of whose founding it is not easy to find, making 133 in all. Of these, 14 have been discontinued or replaced by others, leaving 119 in actual operation.

These stations are distributed among the countries of Europe as follows:

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Besides these 119 regularly organized stations, there are not far from 50 laboratories and other institutions, mostly connected with universities and agricultural schools, and devoted to agricultural researches. There are, for instance, some 20 such establishments in France, as many more in Germany, a number in Russia, and so on.

Resources, Appliances, and Work of the Experiment Stations. The work of the stations is varied. Each one has usually a specialty, though in many, indeed, the majority of cases, one will follow several lines of investigation. Of the branches of mere purely scientific experimenting, 16 European stations are engaged in investigations of soils, 24 in experiments on culture and manuring, 13 in grape-growing and wine-making, 3 in orchard-culture, 1 in olive-culture, 9 in forestry, and 2 in reclaiming marshes and moors. Researches upon vegetable physiology are carried on in 28; upon diseases of plants in 11; upon animal physiology, feeding of domestic animals, etc., in 20; upon questions connected with dairying in 11; silk production in 6; agricultural technology in 4; sugar industry in 3; manufacture of alcoholic liquors in 4; and chemical technology in 22. Among the exclusively practical forms of work 54 exercise a control over the sale of fertilizers, 38 over the sale of feeding-materials, and 44 over the sale of seeds.

For appliances each station has, first of all, a chemical laboratory. In addition, a few have farms, experimental fields, or gardens. More have stables for cattle, or greenhouses for

plants, under experiment. Most of the larger and more successful ones are connected with universities or agricultural schools, whose advantages are found of much more practical utility than those of isolated farms.

The working force of each station consists of a director, who is very often professor in a university or school, and usually one to three or four skilled chemists as assistants, besides sometimes a farm superintendent and servants.

The support of the stations comes from government appropriations, from contributions from agricultural societies, corporations, schools, and individuals, and from analyses of fertilizers, feeding-materials, etc. The revenues of the German stations average some $2375 per annum, of which about 52 per cent. comes from governments, 17 per cent. from agricultural societies, corporations, and private individuals, and the rest from analyses. The largest government appropriation to any one station is $3750. The largest total revenue is $7900; the smallest, $600.

A report prepared for the anniversary at Moeckern, above mentioned, and giving statistics of the stations during the first twenty-five years of their existence, forms an octavo volume of 449 pages. A bare outline of the organization, equipment, and kind of work of each station occupies 140 pages. No less than 152 pages are filled with the mere titles of their investigations.

In short, there are to-day in Europe over 170 institutions, in which not less than 250 chemists and physiologists are devoting their labor to scientific researches for the benefit of farming. Such is the picture of the present status of agricultural investigation in Europe.

Experiment stations in the United States are still in their infancy, but promise a brilliant future. Only two have as yet been successfully inaugurated one in Connecticut and one in North Carolina. Efforts are in progress, however, to secure the establishment of stations in a number of other states. Several of our leading universities, agricultural schools, and bureaus and boards of agriculture have been doing excellent work in this direction, notably the Bussey Institution of Harvard University, the Georgia Bureau of Agriculture, and various others.

THE ATMOSPHERE AS RELATED TO VEGETATION.

Nitrogen Compounds Brought to Soil by Snow.

Messrs. Ballart and Comstock report some determinations of the amounts of nitrogen compounds in snow, conducted under the direction of Professor Perkins, of Union College. Three samples of fresh snow gave, on the average, in 100,000 parts by weight, 0.0465 part of ammonia, and 0.041 part of organic nitrogen. From these figures the total amount of ammonia and of organic nitrogen to the acre for each inch of water (that is, melted snow) is found to be-ammonia, 0.1055 pound; organic nitrogen, 0.093 pound.

Using as a basis the observations at the Dudley Observatory, according to which the total snowfall last winter (November 1, 1876, to March 31, 1877) was five feet eight inches, and reckoning ten inches of snow equal to one inch of water, the authors calculate that in this winter's snowfall "there could not have been more than 0.69419 pound of ammonia and 0.61194 pound of organic nitrogen to the acre. This shows that though snow may be a great protective to the ground, still it does not act as a very powerful or rich ma

nure.

Influence of Forests upon Rainfall and Temperature.

Fautrat has continued his observations upon the temperature, the hygroscopic condition of the atmosphere, and the rainfall over forests, as compared with those over adjoining open territory, noting at the same time the amounts of water in the soils. He had previously found more moisture and more rainfall over a forest of deciduous trees than over open land. The amount of water received by the forest soil was less, however, because the trees kept part of the rain from reaching it. But, on the other hand, the tree-covering so diminished the evaporation from the forest soil that the latter retained much more water than did the open land. Similar observations have since been made upon forests of evergreen trees and adjoining open land. The results are similar in kind to those with deciduous trees, but more marked. The rainfall over a pine forest was, on the average, 10 per cent., and that over a forest of oak and beech 5 per cent. more than over adjoining open fields. The total rainfall

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