AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENTS. 299 



great deal of faith in the, experiments that have been performed, 

 I do not care by whom, or where. But I know we are getting 

 nearer and nearer to what is true, and the only way to get at it is 

 by patient, earnest work; and although we get opposition from 

 the fanners, as I know we shall, yet we can only work on earnestly 

 and faithfully, and good will certainly result. 



In regard to the remarks of Professor Swallow, with reference 

 to a series of experiments being prepared for one section of the 

 country, I think I see the fallacy of his reasdning. Let us take 

 the example of the corn culture in Maine and Louisiana. The 

 experiment thai is being conducted in Maine may not discover a 

 law which will apply to Louisiana ; but if we conduct the experiment 

 in a certain way, and we find that certain results, if we carry on 

 the experiment with any other variety of corn in Louisiana, follow 

 relativeh r , it only follows that the law which we have been trying 

 to learn, is a general law, and that it applies not only to Maine, 

 but to Louisiana as well. It seem to me this shows at once how 

 important it is that these experiments should be carried on gen- 

 erally over the country — over a great area, in order to get some 

 data from which we can generalize — not laws that are local, but 

 general laws which agriculture may look to as settled and definite 

 laws. 



Prof. Hilgard. I agree with the gentleman in tin's : that the 

 more we employ experiments, the more apt we are to come to 

 general laws instead of local experiences. The matter of experi- 

 menting has been run into the ground. Experiments made by 

 private individuals have been reported as general laws, or illus- 

 trating general laws, without any basis for the assumption. It is 

 ■■ hat which make a great portion of the agricultural journals 

 worthless, and a stumbling block to one who is trying to learn the 

 the truth. Each man tries to put forward jiis own experiences as 

 the proper course to follow in all cases. 



I cannot agree with the strict separation that has been sug- 

 gested between experiments of a practical nature and those of a 

 scientific nature. One gentleman suggests we should" come as 

 soou as possible to the point, aud do something which will tend to 

 check the opposition we are apt to receive. I believe with Pro- 

 fessor Daniels, that we must face the music, and stand up and say, 

 we are not able to give general rules that will hold good for all 

 parts The practical men, so called, are really the most impracti- 

 cal in the long run. We must educate the people, show them the 



