Research continued after the war along conven- 

 tional lines aimed at increased production, better 

 strains of plants and animals, eradication of dis- 

 ease, control of pests, better utilization of farm 

 and forest products, etc. Much of this research is 

 basic, but problem-oriented. In 1957, Agriculture 

 established its first pioneering research laboratory 

 at Beltsville, defining pioneering research as: 

 . . .not aimed at specific practical problems or 

 objectives but rather at the advancement of 

 science. . . . Such research will be undertaken 

 to discover the principles underlying research 

 areas and to develop theory which will greatly 

 facilitate problem research as needs arise. It 

 will be expected to build a foundation for the 

 quick effective and economic solution of re- 

 search problems. If"** 

 Sixteen pioneering research laboratories had been 

 established by 1961. 



Agriculture — Current Trends 



The size and breadth of the Department of Ag- 

 riculture's current program is amply demonstrated 

 in Part I. Its estimates for basic research in FY 

 1977 are $194.0 million total, with $115.9 million 

 for the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), 

 $48.9 million for the Cooperative State Research 

 Service (CSRS), $24.7 million for the Forest Serv- 

 ice (FS), $3.9 million for the Economic Research 

 Service (ERS), and less than a million for the Sta- 

 tistical Reporting Service."''' Table 2 of the Agri- 

 culture section of Part I shows the breakdown of 

 the total research, basic and applied, by scientific 

 field. In spite of the breadth and size of the pro- 

 gram. Agriculture has been criticized for inade- 

 quate research in human nutrition.'™ 



ARS is organized into 4 regions and 26 areas 

 with facilities at 149 locations, of which 2 are 

 large animal disease centers. 4 are large regional 

 Agricultural Adjustment Act laboratories, and 1 is 

 the principal central laboratory at Beltsville. CSRS 

 funds considerably less than half of the research at 

 the 56 State Agricultural Experiment Stations, plus 

 some at 29 schools of forestry, 16 land-grant col- 

 leges, and the Tuskegee Institute. ERS conducts 

 its research in Washington, D.C., and at 70 other 

 locations. FS has eight regional experiment sta- 

 tions, the Forest FVoducts Laboratory, and the In- 

 stitute of Tropical Forestry; in addition, some FS 

 research scientists do research in the field — fre- 

 quently on or near a university campus. 



The Smithsonian Institution 



Origins 



The history of the Smithsonian Institution is 

 very complex. When Smithson died in 1829, he 

 bequeathed about one-half million dollars "to the 

 United States of America, to found at Washing- 

 ton, under the name of the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion, an establishment for the increase and diffu- 

 sion of knowledge among men."'!'! jhe bequest 

 became effective in 1835, and the following year 

 Congress finally authorized prosecution of the 

 claim to the legacy, but only after considerable 

 debate. 172 However, the fulfilling of the bequest 

 was delayed until 1846 because of further debate. 

 Some thought that the Smithsonian Institution 

 should be a scientific institution with laboratories; 

 others thought it should be a library, a museum, a 

 university, or a normal school. Some even wanted 

 to send the bequest back to England. 



Amidst the confusion in Congress, some groups 

 of science-oriented people attempted to get con- 

 trol of the bequest. The National Institute for the 

 Promotion of Science, founded in 1840, .was one 

 of the most important of these groups. It was or- 

 ganized with elected officers but was tied to the 

 Government, because the members of the Presi- 

 dent's Cabinet were designated as directors of the 

 Institute. (It was given care of the collections 

 from the Wilkes expedition by act of Congress in 

 1841, but because the first curator greatly dam- 

 aged the collections, they were transferred to the 

 Patent Office in 1843.) 173 



Creation— 1846 



In 1846, Congress created an establishment by 

 the name of the "Smithsonian Institution," con- 

 sisting of the President and Vice President of the 

 United States, the Chief Justice, the members of 

 the Cabinet, the Commissioner of the Patent 

 Office, and the mayor of the city of Washington. 

 It provided that the business of the Institution 

 should be conducted by a board of regents com- 

 posed of the Vice President, the Chief Justice, the 

 mayor of the city of Washington, three members 

 of the Senate, three members of the House of 

 Representatives, together with six other persons. 



i«<lbid.. p. .192. 



"'''Fedenil Funds. \/o\. XXVI, NSF77-.3 17. Table C-30. 



'■"'■'World Food and Nutrition Study: The Potential Contribu- 

 tion of Research." NRC Steering Committee Study on World 

 Food and Nutrition (N AS: Washington, D.C.. 1977), e.g.. pp. .'57- 



342 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS AND HISTORICAL TRENDS 



'"Will of James .Smithson, quoted in Oehser. Paul H.. Sons of 

 Science (Shuman: New York. 1949), p. 1 1. Hereinafter referred 

 to as Oehser I; also quoted in Oehser, Paul H., The Smitbsoni- 

 iin Institution (Praeger: New York. 1970). p. \5. Hereinafter 

 referred toas Oehser 11. 



I720ehserll,pp. 16-17. 



'■"Dupree. Chapter IV; Oehser I. Chapter III; Oehser II. pp. I.'i- 

 16. 



