Extension Work in Horticulture. 



The Honorable Commissioner of Agriculture, Albany: 



Sir.— About a year ago (in Bulletin 110), I made an official 

 report of the progress of the work which had been undertaken 

 by this institution in furtherance of the purpose of the Experi- 

 ment Station Extension, or Nixon bill. That report was made 

 at the expiration of the second year's work under that law. A 

 third year has now been added to our experience, and we have 

 also made some departures in the character of the work; and 

 since the undertaking has now grown to such proportions that it 

 can no longer be handled by any of the regularly organized 

 departments of the College of Agriculture of Cornell University, 

 it has seemed to us to be worth the while to address you another 

 report of progress. 



1. General Scope of Work. 



In the former report, it was explained that the work of extend- 

 ing the influence and usefulness of the Experiment Station haa 

 been thrown into three more or less separate lines, — research or 

 experiment, direct teachings, and the publication of the results 

 of investigation. The animus of the entire enterprise has been 

 an attempt to inquire into the agricultural status, to discover the 

 causes of the rural depression, and to suggest means for improv- 

 ing the farmer's position. This attempt has been specifically 

 directed to a single great branch of rural industry, horticulture, 

 in pursuance of the provisions of the law; but what is true of 

 the horticultural communities is essentially true of other agricul- 

 tural regions, and, moreover, these two types of agricultural 

 industry cannot be separated by any arbitrary lines. The work, 

 therefore, has practically resulted in a broad study of rural 

 economics. We conceive that it is impossible to really extend 



