AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENTS. 289 



which we could obtain ; a comparison of the different varieties of 

 potatoes, and so forth ; and the testing- of some varieties of 

 winter wheat and spring whftat, and different methods of culture, 

 and especially some of the simple matters. But under the cir- 

 cumstances in which we are placed, with an income which is 

 small, we have not been able to do .much, and the Agricultural 

 Department is simply one department of the University. We 

 cannot apply all our energies in one direction. We look more to 

 institutions that have devoted their energies more especially to 

 these matters, having more money to expend than we have had ; 

 any series of experiments, however, that the convention would 

 recommend, we should be glad to carry out to the furthest extent 

 possible. 



Dr. Miles. I would like to correct a misapprehension and 

 draw out some further information. I understood Professor Ham- 

 ilton to say that although an experiment might be conducted care- 

 lessly, and the result not accurate, if an average is taken in large 

 numbers, it would give satisfactory results. 



Prof. Hamilton, I did not mean to say "carelessly" — not by 

 any means ; but after as great care as possible has been exerted, 

 the result is not correct, and the only way to get accurate results 

 is to compare, and in the end get some law that is general and as 

 near accurate as may be. 



Dr. Miles. I understood you to say experiments might be tried 

 in a certain way, and although they were not accurate, yet by. 

 reason of the large number of them, we might get at great results, 

 which is the only means by which accuracy could be secured. It 

 seems to me if that be the position, it is going to lead us astray at 

 once. We must understand it is impossible to secure absolute 

 accuracy ; if it were otherwise, the matter of experiments would 

 be an easy thing, and we could go right along with it. But if we 

 cannot secure absolute accuracy, it seems to me we must avail 

 ourselves of every means to reduce the error to the smallest 

 possible amount, and even then we may find it difficult to draw 

 satisfactory conclusions from the experiments. I apprehend we 

 have been misled in our attempts to draw conclusions from aver- 

 ages of a large number of experiments that have been made. I 

 think we cannot get accurate results — we cannot get at any prin- 

 ciple, any law — by comparing experiments that are filled with 

 errors, provided those errors are of any considerable amount. For 

 that reason, I would insist upon being exceedingly particular on 

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