OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 171 



be of general usefulness to the State. In experiments with orchard fruits it is 

 often better for the station to make arrangements to work in orchards already 

 established. Special investigations of different kinds must be carried on away 

 from the station in order to be of any use. By going into different localities, as 

 the needs of its work demand, the station can make itself more useful to the State 

 as a whole. Without doubt cooperative experiments need to be very carefully 

 planned and thoroughly supervised to be successfully conducted, and their success 

 depends on their quality rather than their number. It is encouraging to observe 

 that more careful attention is being given to this important matter by station 

 officers, and it is believed that this work maybe made much more economical and 

 useful than the permanent substations as ordinarily managed. 



Statistics of the stations. — Agricultural experiment stations are now in opera- 

 tion, under the act of Congress of March 2. 1887, in all the States and Territories. 

 As stated above, agricxiltural experiments have been begun in Alaska with the aid 

 of national funds, and an experiment station is in operation in Hawaii under 

 private auspices. In each of the States of Alabama, Connecticut, New Jersey, and 

 New York a separate station is maintained wholly or in part by State funds, and 

 in Louisiana three stations are maintained with national and State funds. 

 Excluding the branch stations established in several States, the total number of 

 stations in the United States is o6. Of these, 52 received the appropriation pro- 

 vided for in the act of Congress above mentioned. 



The total income of the stations during 1899 was 81,143,334.93, of which 8T20.000 

 was received from the National Government, the remainder, $423,334.93, coming 

 from the following s )urces: State governments. §240,300.20: individuals and com- 

 munities, .$12,100; fees for analyses of fertilizers, $75,294.42: sales of farm products, 

 $69,312.60; miscellaneous, $26,327.71. In addition to this the Office of Experiment 

 Stations had an appropriation of $40,000 for the past fiscal year, including $10,000 

 for the Alaskan investigation. The value of additions to equipment of the stations 

 in 1899 is estimated as follows: Buildings. $27,218.64; libraries, $10,796.15: appa- 

 ratus, $16,917.07: farm implements, $10,784.88: live stock, $16,265.95; miscel- 

 laneous, $22,521.93; total, §104,.504,62. 



The stations employ 678 persons in the work of administration and inquiry. 

 I he number of officers engaged in the different lines of work is as follows: Direct- 

 ors, 71; chemists. 148: agriculturists, 68: experts in animal husbandry. 9: horti- 

 culturists. 77: farm foremen, 21; dairymen, 23: botanists. 52; entomologists, 48; 

 veterinarians. 26: meteorologists. 17: biologists. 7: physicists, 7: geologists, 5; 

 mycologists and bacteriologists. 20: irrigation engineers, 5; in charge of substa- 

 tions, 16; secretaries and treasurers, 24; librarians. 9; and clerks. 43. There are 

 also 48 persons cla^-sified under the head of "Miscellaneous," including superin- 

 lendents of gardens, grounds, and buildings, apiarists, herdsmen, etc. Three 

 hundred and eight station officers do more or less teaching in the colleges with 

 which the stations are connected. 



During 1899 the stations published 445 annual reports and bulletins. Besides 

 regular reports and bulletins, a number of the stations issued press bulletins, 

 which were widely reproduced in the agricultural and county papers. The mail- 

 ing lists of the stations now aggregate 500.000 names. Correspondence with farm- 

 ers steadily increases, and calls upon station officers for ijublic addresses at insti- 

 tutes and other meetings of farmers are more numerous ea ch year. The station 

 officers continue to contribute many articles on special topics to agi'icultural and 

 scientific journals. A number of books on agricultural subjects, written by sta- 

 tion officers, have been published during the past year. 



COOPERATION OF THE STATIONS WITH THE DEPARTMENT. 



During the past year a considerable number of cooperative enter- 

 prises between diflferent Divisions of tliis Department and the experi- 

 ment stations have been inaugurated or continued. This Office has 

 made a record of all such entei'iDrises reported to it and has aided in 

 arranging for them as far as its assistance has been sought. Our 

 record shows that the Department is at present cooiDerating with the 

 stations in forty-one States and Territories. Among the subjects on 

 which cooperative investigations are being conducted are the follow- 

 ing : Tests of varieties of grasses and forage plants in many localities ; 

 special exi^eriments with grasses and forage i3lants for the arid region 

 and the improvement of range lands; breeding experiments with 



