178 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS. 



and research, and lias also extended its knowledge of such institu- 

 tions through reports received from members of the Office force and 

 other representatives who have recentlj^ visited such institutions. A 

 list of the foreign experiment stations, including the name of each 

 station, its location, and its director, was published in more complete 

 form than lieretofore. The Office was represented at the congresses of 

 agricultural education and of experiment stations held in connection 

 with the Paris Exposition, and accounts of these congresses have been 

 prepared for publication. With a view to giving an example of what 

 is being done abroad in the teaching of agriculture in common schools, 

 an illustrated account of the school at Alfter, Germany, was prepared 

 by Mr. C. B. Smith, after his visit there, and published as Circular 

 No. 42 of this Office. A notable instance of the progress of agricul- 

 tural education abroad during the past year is the establishment of 

 the chair of agriculture at Cambridge University, England, and the 

 formation of an agricultural executive committee at that university, 

 which has for its purpose the securing of systematic and efficient 

 instruction, both theoretical and practical, in agricultural subjects 

 suital)le to every class engaged in agriculture, and the diffusion 

 among the agricultural classes, by means of j)rinted matter and lec- 

 tures, of a more thorough appreciation of the advantages of instruc- 

 tion bearing directly or indirectly on agricultural industries. 



State bacteriological institutes are being established in various 

 parts of Russia. Among those recently founded are one at Vladivo- 

 stock, in eastern Asia, and one in Merv, in central Asia. The latter is 

 of special importance, because many epidemic diseases are thought to 

 have their origin in central Asia. 



A botanical garden and experiment station has been established at 

 Coquithatville, in the Congo Free State, and an association of thirty 

 landliolders has been formed to organize an exj)eriment station in 

 Chojnowo, Poland. 



A new departure in the line of experiment stations is one for milling 

 products, recently established in Berlin, Germany, in connection with 

 the Imperial Agricultural High School. Among the important objects 

 of the station are the examination of flour, mill products, and bran 

 for official i^urposes and for private parties; the analysis of oil cakes 

 and other feeding stuffs for individuals; the furnishing of advice to 

 millers and bakers, and the testing of implements. Investigations 

 are to be made on such problems as the effect of storage of flour on its 

 baking qualities, cause of differences in baking qualities of flours from 

 different kinds of wheat, occurrence of diastases in flours, fixing of 

 types of flours, etc. 



Publications of the Office. 



During the year the Office issued 58 documents, aggregating 3,307 

 pages. These include 10 numbers of the Experiment Station Record 

 with detailed index, 15 bulletins, 7 farmers' bulletins (including -l 

 numbers of the subseries entitled "Experiment Station Work"), 4 

 circulars, 4 reports, 4 articles for the Yearbook of the Department, 

 and 14 special articles published as separates. 



EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



General editorial management of the Record has been intrusted to 

 the assistant director. Dr. E. W. Allen, during the past year, and he 



