Tenth Annual Report. REPORT OF THE BOARD OF CONTROL. TO HON. WILLIAM MCKINLEY, JR., Governor of Ohio: SIR: The Board of Control of the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station submits herewith the annual reports of the Director and other officers for the year ending December 31, 1891. The past year has been an eventful one in the history of the Station. In the last annual report were given reasons for believing that the time had come for considering the subject of the ultimate removal of the Station to a more eligible location. At the request of the Board of Control the General Assembly passed an act providing for such removal, and authorizing the several counties of the State to raise money to secure the location of the Station. The full text of the act is as follows: AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE SEVERAL COUNTIES OF THE STATE TO RAISE MONEY TO SECURE THE LOCATION OF THE OHIO AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION AND TO PROVIDE FOR SUCH LOCATION. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That the commissioners of any county in this state desiring to secure the location of the Ohio agricultural experiment station by making donations therefor, are hereby authorized and empowered to raise money for such donation by tax on all taxable property in such county, as listed on the county duplicate for taxation, the amount of which proposed donation shall be fixed by said commissioners. SEC. 2. That such tax shall not exceed one mill on the dollar of the taxable property of the county in any one year, nor shall the aggregate of all levies for such purposes exceed ten (10) mills on the dollar. SEC. 3. No such tax shall be levied or donation made until the question as to the amount to be donated has first been submitted by the county commissioners to the qualified voters of such county at some special election, a notice of which (specifying the amount to be donated) has been given at least thirty days previous to said election, in one or more newspapers published and in general circulation in the county; which election shall be held at the usual places of holding elections, and conducted in all respects, as far as may be, as other elections, except that the returns shall be made to the county commissioners, at the auditor's office; and those voting at such election in favor of said tax, shall have written or printed on their ballots the words, "Experiment Station Tax-Yes," and those voting against the same, the words, "Experiment Station Tax-No." And said commissioners shall meet at said auditor's office on the fourth day next after the said election, and canvass the votes; and if it appear that said tax is approved by a majority of the qualified electors voting at such election, then it is hereby made the duty of the county commissioners of said county to levy a special tax on all the taxable property of said county, to raise the sum donated by said vote, in accordance with section two of this act; and the money arising therefrom, when collected, shall be applied to no other purpose but the payment of bonds and interest as hereinafter provided for; and said special tax shall be entered upon the county duplicate, and be collected in like manner as other taxes are collected. SEC. 4. That to anticipate the collection of the tax authorized by this act, and the use of the money to be raised thereby, the county commissioners, on acceptance of the donation herein contemplated, are hereby authorized and required to issue and negotiate the bonds of such county, in sums of not less than five hundred dollars each, payable (within ten years) at such times, and bearing interest at a rate not exceeding six per cent., payable semi-annually, as the commissioners shall determine, which bonds shall not be sold or donated at less than their par value; and the proceeds thereof shall, on their receipt, be paid by said commissioners to the treasurer of state to the amount of said donation. SEC. 5. Such funds as may be paid into the state treasury under this act shall be held subject to the duly authenticated requisitions of the board of control of said station, such requisitions to be accompanied with vouchers showing the purposes for which the requisitions are drawn. SEC. 6. The board of control of said agricultural experiment station shall accept such donation as may in their judgment be most advantageous to the station, and it shall then be their duty to select within the borders of the county, the donation of which is accepted, suitable lands for the use of said station, said lands to be as convenient of access from all parts of said county as may be practicable, and also to be accessible by railroad from all parts of the state. Provided, that any member of the board of control who shall accept or receive, directly or indirectly, any money or property on condition of using his influence in favor of locating said experiment station at any particular place, shall be held to be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof in any court of competent jurisdiction, shall be fined not less than one thousand nor more than ten thousand dollars. SEC. 7. The board of control shall have power to receive and hold in trust for the use and benefit of the experiment station any grant or devise of land, and any donation or bequest of money or personal property to be applied to the general or special use of the station, as may be directed by the donor. SEC. 8. The title for all lands for the use of said experiment station shall be made in fee simple to the state of Ohio, with covenants of seizin and warranty, and no title shall be taken to the state for purposes aforesaid until the attorney-general shall be satisfied that the same is free from all defects and incumbrances. SEC. 9. The attorney-general of the state shall be the legal adviser of said board of control, and he shall institute and prosecute all suits in behalf of the same, and shall receive the same compensation therefor as he is entitled to by law for suits brought in behalf of the asylums of the state. SEC. 10. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage. Copies of this act, with a circular explaining some of the benefits to a county which might be expected to follow the location of the Station within its borders, were sent to the Boards of Commissioners of every county in the State. Within a few weeks offers were received from the Commissioners of Wayne, Clark and Warren counties, proposing to donate $85,000, $75,000 and $40,000, respectively, subject to the approval of the people. After a careful survey of Wayne and Clark counties, it was decided that the available sites in Wayne county offered a better opportunity for the prosecution and development of the work of the Station than those in Clark. Therefore, the proposal of that county was accepted on the first of September. The Commissioners immediately issued the required notice of election, and on the sixth of October the election was held. It resulted in a vote of 4,045 in favor of the measure and 1,069 against. The bonds thus authorized were sold on the 16th of December, and the proceeds have been paid into the State Treasury. Since that date the Board of Control has purchased for the Station a tract of land consisting of 452 acres, situated one mile south of the principal street of the city of Wooster. In expending the donation of Wayne county, the Board of Control has conscientiously endeavored to so locate the Station as best to serve the interests of the farmers of that county, as well as those of the State at large. Upon examination of a map of Wayne county showing its public roads, it will be observed that although the city of Wooster is not located in the geographical center, yet the public roads radiate from it in such a manner as to make it more easily accessible to the county at large than any other locality. Although there is as yet but one railroad in operation through Wooster, it is one of the great trunk lines of the State, intersecting no less than twenty-five other railways. It will thus be seen that no serious difficulty need be experienced in reaching the Station from any part of the State. The proper equipment of the Station farm will involve a considerable expenditure for buildings, fencing, draining, livestock, implements, etc. A part of this expenditure will be met by the unexpended balance of the Wayne county donation, but this surplus will not be sufficient for the entire equipment. The Station is now being established on a permanent foundation, and a wise economy demands that its buildings should be of a substantial character. No less than eight American experiment stations have suffered the loss of some of their principal buildings by fire during the past three years. The offices, libraries and museums of an experiment station often contain collections which it is absolutely impossible to duplicate, and such collections are constantly increasing in size and value. It is the desire of the Board of Control to so construct the principal buildings of the new Station that they can not be destroyed by fire. The principal office building will be erected and paid for out of Wayne county's donation, but for other improvements and needed equipment we ask the General Assembly to make the following appropriations: Main barn for feeding experiments, with fire-proof basement........... $16,000 Green-houses and insectary .. 6,500 4,500 4,000 1,000 7,000 1,500 6,000 We also ask for an appropriation of $500 to continue the field experiments with insects and fungous diseases of plants, full information concerning which will be given in the report of the Horticulturist, and one of $350 for expenses of the Board of Control. As the Station is a State institution, and one a very large proportion of whose work is of such a character that it must be of as much value to any other county in the State as to the one in which it is located, the Board of Control feel that it is a matter of simple justice that the State at large should furnish the necessary buildings and stock for the equipment of the farm. The work that the Ohio Station has done the past season justifies a generous support. We call especial attention to the continued study and examination of the soils of the State with reference to the best methods of maintaining fertility, and to the experiments and tests with fungicides and insecticides which have given such valuable results. The State appropriations of last year, amounting to three thousand four hundred dollars, have been or are being expended for the purposes for which they were granted, viz.: Eight hundred dollars for a fire-proof safe, office furniture and museum cases; six hundred dollars for field experiments with insects and fungous diseases of plants; one thousand dollars for sub-stations for field experiments with fertilizers; three hundred dollars for repairs and improvements; two hundred dollars for expenses of Board of Control, and five hundred dollars for illustrating bulletins. During the year the following changes have been made in the Board of Control and working staff of the Station: J. L. McIlvaine, whose term of office as a member of the Board expired, was succeeded by the appointment of R. H. Warder. C. M. Weed, Entomologist and Botanist, resigned April 1, to accept a position in the New Hampshire Agricultural College. Dr. H. J. Detmers, Veterinarian and Bacteriologist, severed his connection with the Station July 1, in order to give his entire time to the professorship of Veterinary Science in the Ohio State University. John A. Alwood, foreman of the farm, resigned April 1. Prof. F. M. Webster, |