OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 183 



irrigation methods as tliey have been demonstrated by Pacific coast 

 experience, to tlie end tliat recourse to irrigation, wlierever it be found 

 desirable, may be facilitated and promoted." The topics treated 

 include the relations of cultivation and irrigation; effects of insuffi- 

 cient moisture; time of application; flowing water v. falling Avater; 

 development and utilization of irrigation water; preparing land for 

 iri'igation; methods of apph'ing irrigation water; how much water to 

 ap])ly; after-treatment of irrigated land; cover crops in the irrigated 

 orchard; and minor results of irrigation. 



EXPERIMENT STATION WORK. 



Experiment Station Work XI, XII, XIII, XIY, XV (Farmers' Bul- 

 letins Nos. 103, 105, 107, 111, 119) are the five numbers prepared dur- 

 ing the past year of the subseries of brief popular bulletins compiled 

 from the published reports of the agricultural experiment stations and 

 kindred institutions in this and other countries. In the preparation 

 of these bulletins the effort has been made to take into account the 

 work done at the different experiment stations and to compare results 

 obtained under different conditions, so as to present a more complete 

 view of the progress of investigations in special lines than could be 

 given by abstracts of the reports of single investigations. While it 

 has been our effort to show the practical application of these results, 

 we have also tried to so present them as to make clear to the reader 

 that our articles are intended to be essentially reports of progress in 

 agricultural investigations rather than final and authoritative recom- 

 meiKlations of changes in farm ijractice. It is believed that one of 

 the most important things which our farmers have to learn is that they 

 are not to follow blindly the advice of experts whose investigations 

 have necessarily covered only certain features of the complex problems 

 of practical agriculture. The farmer should be made acquainted in 

 a broad way with the results of investigations carried on by the experi- 

 ment stations and kindred institutions and taught how to take advan- 

 tage of the results of these investigations through his own knowledge 

 and skill as applied to the conditions existing on his own farm. 



CARD INDEX. 



Copy for 1,300 cards of the index of experiment station literature 

 has been prepared in this Office and forwarded to the Division of Pub- 

 lications during the i^ast year. The preparation of the index is now 

 kept as nearly up to date as the irregularity of the publication of 

 station documents will permit. The number of index cards distrib- 

 uted has reached 19,200. The receipts from sales of this index during 

 the pas|, year were $111.25. 



BIBLIOGRAPHICAL WORK. 



The most important piece of bibliographical work done by the Office 

 during the past year was the preparation of the subject and author 

 list of the publications of the exiDeriment stations in this country from 

 1875 to 1899, inclusive, in connection with the account of the stations 

 for the Paris Exposition (see p. 181). This list contained 5,885 titles. 

 An index to the record in Congress of the late Senator J. S. Morrill has 

 been compiled from the Congressional Globe and Record, with special 

 reference to his connection with the national legislation for the endow- 

 ment of agricultural colleges. Considerable additions have been made 



