242 Bulletin 159. 



matters. Scientific knowledge is far in advance of even the best 

 farm practice. The farmer must be awakened and educated : 

 how ? 



I. THE PRESENT-DAY PROBLEMS. 



On every hand, the farmer is beset with difficulties. Many of 

 these difficulties are such as pertain to business, or are inherent 

 in the social and economic condition of the times : these cannot 

 be removed by the special teacher or experimenter. Very many 

 of the difficulties, however, are such as pertain to the growing of 

 crops and the raising of stock ; to many of these we have given 

 attention. 



a. BULLETIN WORK. 



B}' special investigations on the farms and at the cen- 

 tral Station at Ithaca, an effort has been made to understand 

 the nature of a given problem : then the summar}' conclusions 

 are reported in an easy, readable, expository bulletin, in 

 which graphic and truthful pictures are made a special feature. 

 These bulletins are not mere essays. Every one of them has 

 been the result of careful investigation and study b^' an 

 expert ; but, in most instances, the details of the investigational 

 work have been omitted in order to relieve them of heaviness and 

 technicalit}'. 



The usefulness of a bulletin often depends quite as much upon 

 its attractiveness as upon its subject-matter. A " dry " bulletin 

 does little good to most farmers, even though its teachings are of 

 the utmost importance. The bulletin should be well printed, 

 handsomely illustrated, and, above all, well edited. It should be 

 timely. The effect of many a good bulletin is nearly lost because 

 it is dela^'ed until the need for it has passed. It must be 

 remembered that the experiment stations exist to help the 

 farmer, not the scientist. 



Although this extension work has drawn heavily upon the 

 time and strength of the staff, bulletins from the regular federal 

 fund have been as numerous as they were before the Nixon law 

 was enacted, considering the fact that the income from the federal 

 fund is $1500 less than it was then. From the beginning of 

 1894, 36 bulletins have been issued from the general federal fund. 



